2014 March | Hoops Rumors

Arn Tellem Interested In Share Of Bucks?

March 31st, 2014 at 12:28pm CST by Chuck Myron

Powerful NBA agent Arn Tellem “wouldn’t mind” buying a share of the Bucks, tweets Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times. Tellem owns a part of Israeli team Hapoel Jerusalem, as Woelfel points out. Acquiring a stake in an NBA club would put his certification as an NBA agent in jeopardy, if not end it immediately, given the conflict of interest.

Tellem serves as vice chairman of Wasserman Media Group, which represents a long list of NBA clients, including Derrick Rose, LaMarcus Aldridge and Anthony Davis, as our Agency Database shows. Longtime Bucks owner Herb Kohl has interest in selling at least a minority stake in the club, if not the principal ownership. Former Timberwolves GM David Kahn is reportedly fronting a group that’s pursuing a share of the Bucks, though it’s unclear if Tellem is aligned with that bunch.

Brandon Knight, who will be eligible for a rookie scale extension this summer, is the only Tellem client on the Bucks. Woelfel previously indicated a new ownership group could be in control of the team before the draft, but if the sale isn’t complete and Tellem remains a candidate to buy even a small portion of the club, it could play a role the negotiations for Knight. The Bucks have until October 31st to sign the point guard to an extension or set him up for restricted free agency in the summer of 2015.

Cavs Sign Scotty Hopson

March 31st, 2014 at 12:11pm CST by Chuck Myron

12:11pm: Hopson’s salary will be about $1.44MM next season, rather than $2.5MM, Lloyd now says (Twitter link).

10:45am: The Cavs have signed Turkish league swingman Scotty Hopson, the team announced. The deal was originally reported by Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal (Twitter link). It’ll run through the rest of the season, and it’s non-guaranteed for 2014/15, Lloyd tweets.

The Cavs used their room exception to accommodate the contract, which is worth $2.5MM next season, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com (Twitter link). He’ll receive a prorated portion of the room exception this year. The room exception actually allows for a salary of up to $2,743,125 next season, but it’s unclear if he’s receiving that much. In any case, the inflated contract creates some trade flexibility for the summer, as Lloyd explains in a full piece. Hopson’s contract can be used as trade ballast to allow the Cavs to acquire a larger contract, and since the deal is non-guaranteed, Hopson’s new team could simply waive him in that scenario.

The 6’6″ Hopson went undrafted out of Tennessee in 2011, and he’s conducted his pro career almost entirely overseas. He hooked on with the Heat’s summer league team this past offseason, but he didn’t wind up in an NBA preseason camp. He’s averaged 10.9 points and 3.3 rebounds in 24.9 minutes per game with Anadolu Efes in Turkey this season.

The signing fills what had been Cleveland’s final open roster spot. The team cycled through three players on 10-day contracts before settling on Hopson, as our 10-Day Tracker shows. Seth Curry‘s 10-day deal with the team ended just last night, and Lloyd reported that the team didn’t intend to re-sign him.

Lakers Plan To Keep Nash, Marshall

March 31st, 2014 at 12:08pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Lakers have plenty of time before they’ll be under pressure to make a decision about retaining Steve Nash and Kendall Marshall for next season, but for now the team plans on keeping both point guards, reports Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times. There’s been lots of speculation, some of it coming from Nash himself, that the Lakers would waive the 40-year-old this summer and use the stretch provision, but the Lakers instead envision taking the full $9.701MM cap hit next season for his 2014/15 salary. Marshall’s minimum salary contract is non-guaranteed for next season.

The deadline for the Lakers to use the stretch provision on Nash is August 31st, so if they wind up with a chance to sign a desirable free agent and need extra cap space to accommodate such a deal, I wouldn’t be surprised to see them reverse course with Nash. Still, it appears that for now, Nash is on track to continue his career with the Lakers. He’s admitted he’s sticking around in part because he doesn’t want to forfeit his salary, though he would still earn the money even if he walked away. Nash’s salary is guaranteed and he’s already played in his 10th game this season, washing away the chance of a medical retirement.

It’s no surprise that the team wants to keep Marshall, who’s blossomed since the team signed him in December. The 13th overall pick in the 2012 draft spent most of the first two months of this season out of the NBA, but he’s since averaged 8.9 assists and just 2.8 turnovers in 29.4 minutes per game for the Lakers.

Nash and Marshall are two of just five Lakers on the roster with contracts that run through next season. Coach Mike D’Antoni is also under contract for 2014/15, but there’s less certainty surrounding the team’s plans with him. The Lakers nonetheless won’t let his fate linger, as they’ll decide soon after the end of the regular season whether to retain him, Bresnahan writes.

NBA Suspends Arnett Moultrie For Drug Violation

March 31st, 2014 at 10:20am CST by Chuck Myron

The NBA has suspended Sixers power forward Arnett Moultrie five games for violating the league’s anti-drug policy, the league announced via press release. The 27th overall pick in the 2012 draft will go without pay for the five games, costing him $32,036 of his $1,089,240 salary for this season. He’s been on D-League assignment since March 15th, but he’ll be unable to play for either Philadelphia’s D-League affiliate or the Sixers until the Sixers complete their game against the Raptors on April 9th.

The suspension isn’t for any performance-enhancing drug, since the league program for such a violation mandates a 20-game suspension on the first offense. The NBA’s penalty structure suggests that it’s marijuana-related, though the league hasn’t specified the nature of the violation.

The Sixers have already picked up his 2014/15 option, worth $1,136,160, for 2014/15, but GM Sam Hinkie, armed with significant cap room, has shown little fear of waiving guaranteed contracts. Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News doesn’t envision Moultrie remaining with the team into next season (Twitter link).

Injuries have hampered the former Mississippi State Bulldog, who’s averaged just 3.6 points in 12.4 minutes per game over 59 NBA contests. The Heat originally drafted him, trading him to the Sixers in part for a first-round pick that Miami traded once more to the Celtics earlier this year. Still, the protections on the pick make it more likely that Moultrie will only end up costing the Sixers a pair of second-round picks instead of a first-rounder.

Bobcats Re-Sign DJ White To 10-Day Contract

March 31st, 2014 at 10:18am CST by Chuck Myron

The Bobcats have re-signed power forward DJ White to a second 10-day contract, the team announced via press release. White’s first 10-day deal with the team expired last night.

The team brought him aboard to shore up its depth inside, but the Bobcats have had little use for him so far, putting him in just one game for a total of four minutes. Still, the front office is familiar with his game, having had him during the 2010/11 and 2011/12 seasons. The Jeff Wechsler client has spent most of the season in China, where he averaged 20.2 points and 8.5 rebounds per game for the Sichuan Blue Whales.

Charlotte’s move fills the team’s final open roster spot once more. The Bobcats will have to decide whether to keep White for the rest of the season or part ways at the end of his second 10-day contract. Last year, Boston picked him up out of China and gave him a pair of 10-day contracts before keeping him for the season. The Celtics also included a non-guaranteed season for 2013/14 in his deal, but they traded him to the Nets, who waived him over the summer.

Contract Details: Butler, World Peace, Suns

March 31st, 2014 at 9:38am CST by Chuck Myron

Mark Deeks has updated his salary databases at ShamSports, and, as usual, he’s revealed several nuances about the latest contracts signed around the NBA. We’ll pass along the details we hadn’t previously heard about here:

Caron Butler gave up $1MM in his buyout deal with the Bucks. He signed for that same amount for the remainder of this season with the Thunder, who dipped into their mid-level exception to accommodate Butler’s $1MM salary.
Metta World Peace gave up $305,166 of this season’s $1.59MM salary in his buyout deal with the Knicks. All contracts with player options include a clause indicating whether or not the player receives the money for his option year in the event that he’s waived before deciding on the option. It looks as if the clause in World Peace’s deal stated that he would not receive the option-year pay, since Deeks doesn’t list any of World Peace’s $1,931,550 salary for 2014/15 on New York’s books.
Shavlik Randolph‘s contract with the Suns includes a non-guaranteed year for 2014/15, rather than a team option, as we suspected.
If the Hawks exercise their team option on the fourth season of Mike Muscala‘s deal, the contract will nonetheless remain non-guaranteed until the leaguewide guarantee date. It’s similar to the structure of the contracts a handful of Sixers have, including recent signee Jarvis Varnado.
Chris Johnson also has such a deal with the Celtics, although there are a pair of guarantee dates attached to the third and fourth seasons. The third year becomes fully guaranteed providing he’s not waived on or before September 1st, 2015, and the fourth year becomes fully guaranteed if he’s not waived on or before September 1st, 2016.
The Celtics also arranged for a couple of guarantee dates on Phil Pressey‘s three-year contract. Next season is non-guaranteed if he’s waived on or before July 15th, but if the Celtics keep him beyond that date, it’s fully guaranteed. The same happens for the third year of the deal on July 15, 2015.
The Rockets have a team option on Troy Daniels worth the minimum salary for next season.
Luke Babbitt‘s two-year deal with the Pelicans is for the minimum salary. Next season isn’t guaranteed, but it becomes partially guaranteed for $100K if he isn’t waived on or before July 22nd.
The Magic used cap room to sign Dewayne Dedmon to a three-year contract that gives him $300K for the rest of this season, slightly more than what he would have made on a prorated minimum-salary deal. Dedmon is set to make the minimum salary in the other two seasons covered in the pact. Next season is non-guaranteed if he’s waived on or before opening night, when it becomes partially guaranteed for $250K. The final season is non-guaranteed if he’s waived on or before August 1st, 2015, when it becomes fully guaranteed.

Jordan Clarkson To Enter NBA Draft

March 31st, 2014 at 8:23am CST by Chuck Myron

Missouri combo guard Jordan Clarkson will enter the NBA draft, sources tell Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com. Most NBA executives have told Goodman that they see him as a late first-round pick, but he’s just No. 58 in Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress top prospect listings and No. 63 in Chad Ford’s ESPN.com rankings. Clarkson slumped in the second half of the season, Givony notes (Twitter link), so perhaps the information that he and Ford are hearing about Clarkson’s draft stock is more up to date. Still, Clarkson had to deal with off-the-court matters late this season, including his father’s diagnosis with cancer (Twitter links).

The 6’4″ 21-year-old averaged 17.5 points and 3.8 rebounds in 35.1 minutes per game this season with the Tigers. He scored 20 points or more on 14 occasions, but none of those came during his final nine games, as Missouri went 4-5 and lost in the second round of the NIT. He dished out 3.4 assists per contest but averaged 2.7 turnovers, and he shot just 28.1% from behind the arc, though he did make it to the free throw line 5.6 times a night. His athleticism intrigues scouts, as does his size at the point guard position.

The junior was in his first season with Missouri after transferring from Tulsa and sitting out 2012/13. He has until April 15th to withdraw from the draft and return for his senior year.

And-Ones: Izzo, Harrison Twins

March 30th, 2014 at 10:51pm CST by Cray Allred

Most people close to Tom Izzo think the coach would entertain NBA offers, but wouldn’t leave Michigan State in the vulnerable situation they face next year, per ESPN Insider Jeff Goodman [subscription only]. Here’s a roundup of the rest of the night’s notes:

Kentucky coach John Calipari has previously indicated that Andrew Harrison and Aaron Harrison would return for their sophomore seasons, but a source close to the process tells Sean Deveney of The Sporting News that the twins have not made their decision.
NBA GMs and scouts tell Deveney they expect the Harrisons to declare for the draft, and think their performance in the NCAA tournament has significantly bolstered their value.
Many league executives tell Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com [subscription only] that their opinions of the Harrisons have changed for the better over the course of the tournament, but most still have them ranked in the 20-40 range of the 2014 draft.
Goodman says that the twins are polarizing for talent evaluators, and quotes some executives who are more pessimistic about drafting the brothers due to doubts of whether they could play well apart from each other.

Eastern Notes: Cavs, Sixers, Bucks

March 30th, 2014 at 10:14pm CST by Cray Allred

DeMar DeRozan tells Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe the Raptors trade that sent Rudy Gay to the Kings is working out for everyone involved. “The move was a good situation for both of us,” said DeRozan. “When he got traded, the first thing he told me was, ‘This is your time and it’s time to take advantage.’ That meant a lot, just coming from somebody like that.” Here’s more from the East:

The Cavs have been surging, and even have a slim chance at making the playoffs. Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio says coach Mike Brown‘s message has finally broken through, and credits the top-down culture change to interim GM David Griffin, who took the reigns when Cleveland was underperforming and dealing with reported locker room issues.
Sixers coach Brett Brown thanked Philadelphia fans for their patience, telling Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer that the team’s transparency during their rebuild has been reciprocated with good will. “You may not agree with it,” Brown said. “But this is our path. This is our plan. And I think that the city’s patience has been remarkable. We’re grateful.”
Kate Fagan of ESPN.com doesn’t think the Sixers can become competitive in the near future, writing that fans shouldn’t expect a competitor in Philadelphia for a few more years.
Bucks coach Larry Drew tells Charles F. Gardner of The Journal Sentinel that he has no interest in tanking games to keep Milwaukee’s odds the highest for securing the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft lottery. “I know people are looking at the future, as far as the draft is concerned. They’ve already got their eyes pinpointed on players of the future. And that’s normal,” said Drew. “But I just let it be known I don’t pay too much attention to that. I just go out and try to coach this team, and wherever we end up, that’s where we are.”
Ramon Sessions has taken being traded to the worst NBA team in stride, and Drew tells Charles F. Gardner of The Journal Sentinel that Sessions’ professionalism has been welcome with the Bucks. “He’s been unbelievable,” Drew said. “He’s just been a real pro in his whole approach in coming into this situation. He really has reached out to our young guys and is helping them.”

Western Notes: Livingston, Canales, Dalembert

March 30th, 2014 at 9:07pm CST by Cray Allred

Kings coach Michael Malone tells Bill Ingram of Basketball Insiders that he hopes Sacramento can retain both Isaiah Thomas and Rudy Gay beyond this year. Thomas is set to be a restricted free agent, and Gay has a $19.3MM player option on his deal. Here’s more from out west:

Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee looks at the steep price the Kings would have to pay to keep Thomas and Gay, since their deals would coincide with DeMarcus Cousins‘ extension kicking in.
Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities thinks the Timberwolves should target Nets guard Shaun Livingston in free agency, noting that Brooklyn doesn’t own his Bird Rights and that he shares an agent with Nikola Pekovic (Twitter link).
Jeff Caplan of NBA.com sees parallels between Mavs assistant coach Kaleb Canales and the Heat’s Erik Spoelstra. The 34-year-old Canales was the interim coach for the Trail Blazers in 2012, and a finalist to become the permanent head coach alongside Terry Stotts, who eventually won the job. Caplan believes Canales could get another head coaching opportunity. “Obviously, looking down the road, I would love to have that opportunity again one day,” Canales told Caplan. “But that’s not where my concern is right now. I understand how blessed and fortunate I am, and I don’t take that for granted.”
After some struggles and a benching early in the season, Mavs center Samuel Dalembert has stepped up his play and earned the trust of his coach and teammates, he tells Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. “It was a challenge in the beginning,” Dalembert said of the first portion of the season. “But after the All-Star break, I kicked it up a little and really figured out how to contribute before my time is up.”

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