Thunder Sign Grant Jerrett
The Thunder have signed Grant Jerrett for the remainder of the season, writes Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman. The club has confirmed the signing via press release.
Jerrett, the 40th overall pick in last year’s draft, has played the entire season in the NBA Development League with OKC’s affiliate, the Tulsa 66ers. In 27 games with the 66ers, Jerrett has averaged 15.1 points and 6.1 rebounds in 29.3 minutes. The 6-foot-10 power forward has shown some solid range with his shot and has hit 36.4 percent of his 3-pointers this season. The deal means that Jerrett will finish out the regular season with the Thunder and will also be with the club during the playoffs.
Mayberry notes that the Thunder have made similar late-season additions with Robert Vaden, a 2010 second-round pick who was signed in April 2011, and Mustafa Shakur in March 2010. While neither player saw minutes during those deals, the Thunder gave Shakur a 10-day deal earlier this year and gave him a bit of playing time.
Marcus Smart Entering NBA Draft
It’s far from a surprise, but tonight, Oklahoma State star Marcus Smart announced that he will be entering the 2014 NBA Draft, according to a staff report from ESPN.com. Smart, a virtual lock for the lottery, also announced that he’ll be represented by the Wasserman Media Group, adds Emiliano Carchia of Sportando (on Twitter).
This time last year, Smart looked like he had a very real chance of being the first overall pick in the 2013 draft. However, the point guard decided against going pro right away and opted for another year in Stillwater, Oklahoma. While Smart has said that he doesn’t regret his decision, it has been a strong reminder that staying in school isn’t always the best move for top draft prospects.
Smart averaged 17.8 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists this season for the Cowboys, who lost in the second round of this year’s NCAA tournament. Recently, our own Eddie Scarito looked at Smart as a part of our Prospect Profile series.
Kent Bazemore Out For Season
The Lakers announced that guard Kent Bazemore will be out for the remainder of the season after injuring his right foot against the Clippers yesterday. Bazemore’s MRI showed a torn peroneus longus tendon and he’ll undergo surgery to remedy the issue.
The injury doesn’t mean much right now for the Lakers, who are lottery bound and have just five games remaining in the season. However, depending on the severity of the injury, it could have an impact on Bazemore. The guard will be a free agent this offseason and after earning a modest $762K in 2013/14, he’ll be looking for a pay bump on his next contract.
Bazemore saw just over six minutes per game with the Warriors in the first half of the season but he’s gotten more burn with the Lakers since coming over in the Steve Blake deal. In 28 minutes per contest for the banged-up Lakers, the 24-year-old has averaged 13.1 PPG and 3.1 APG.
Southwest Notes: Roberts, Hamilton, Machado
Here’s a look at the latest out of the Southwest Division..
- Brian Roberts achieved a key milestone Sunday, starting his 41st game for the Pelicans this season. That means he’s met the NBA’s starter criteria for restricted free agents, and the value of his qualifying offer surged from $1,115,243 to $3,450,156, as we detailed. It’ll be interesting to see if that prompts New Orleans to decline to make that qualifying offer for a player who’d likely return to a backup role behind a healthy Jrue Holiday next season. Without the qualifying offer, Roberts would become an unrestricted free agent.
- The Nuggets did not pick up the fourth-year option on Jordan Hamilton’s contract before the season, assuring he will be a free agent this summer, but he’s making the most of his situation now with the Rockets. “It’s a contract year, so I’m definitely auditioning for whoever,” Hamilton said, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. “I just have to come out every day and just play my ‘A’ game every chance I get when I’m out there. This is a great team, a great group of young guys. I’m young (24), as well. I think I would fit right in next year. I need to stay in shape and do all the little things they want me to do. This is a good situation.” Hamilton, who came to Houston in exchange for Aaron Brooks, went on to say complimentary things about coach Kevin McHale and the rest of the staff for helping him grow as a player.
- Former Rockets guard Scott Machado has signed in France with ASVEL Basket, according to a tweet from Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. The team has also confirmed the signing via press release (French link).
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Draft Notes: Kentucky, Wiggins, Magic, Kings
There are no NBA games scheduled this evening as the spotlight falls on the NCAA title game between Kentucky and Connecticut. Eight players on the rosters of the two teams are among the top 61 prospects in Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress rankings, though potential lottery pick Willie Cauley-Stein is injured and won’t play for the Wildcats. It’s nonetheless a bevy of talent on display, and with multiple sources telling Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times that just about every one of Kentucky’s decorated freshmen will declare for this year’s draft, it looks like it won’t be long before that talent is in the NBA (Twitter link). Here’s the latest on the next wave headed for the Association:
- The Magic have Andrew Wiggins, Dante Exum, Jabari Parker and Marcus Smart, in that order, atop their draft board, Chad Ford of ESPN.com reports in his latest Insider-only “Tank Rank” piece. Exum also has “some traction” with the Sixers, and the Lakers are high on him, too.
- The Kings don’t have Wiggins within their top three prospects, Ford hears. The ESPN.com scribe makes note of the draft plans for several other teams, too, though some of it appears to be educated guesswork.
- Wiggins has chosen BDA Management’s Bill Duffy for his agent, sources tell Bleacher Report’s Jared Zwerling (Twitter link). Duffy beat out Jay Z’s Roc Nation Sports, and Wiggins was also linked to Rich Paul of Klutch Sports.
- Parker, Randle and Joel Embiid are all expected to sign with Arn Tellem of Wasserman Media Group, Woelfel tweets. Woelfel includes Smart’s name on that list, too, reiterating what Zwerling reported last week.
- TNT’s David Aldridge ranks the shooting guards expected to be available for the draft in his Morning Tip column for NBA.com, giving Michigan’s Nik Stauskas the slight edge for the No. 1 spot over Gary Harris of Michigan State.
Lakers, Jordan Farmar Have Mutual Interest
Jordan Farmar wants to re-sign with the Lakers when he becomes a free agent this summer, and the Lakers would like to accommodate him, reports Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. A reunion isn’t a slam-dunk, Medina cautions, writing that much depends on other players the Lakers target and the offers that the Southern California native receives on the market. Still, the Tony Dutt client tells Medina that he’s optimistic about his chances to remain with the Lakers for years to come.
Farmar could have earned a combined $10MM for this season and next had he remained under contract with a Turkish team last summer, but he says he doesn’t regret his decision to leave that club and instead sign with the Lakers for the minimum salary, Medina notes. The point guard inked a three-year, $12MM deal with the Nets in 2010, but it’s doubtful he’d approach such numbers this time around after missing half of this season with two left hamstring tears and a strained right groin. Farmar is averaging 10.4 points, 4.7 assists and 2.2 turnovers in 21.9 minutes per contest.
The 27-year-old felt constrained in Phil Jackson‘s offense in his first stint with the Lakers from 2006 to 2010, and he’s a fan of embattled coach Mike D’Antoni‘s go-go attack, Medina writes. Farmar is one of 10 Lakers with expiring contracts, so there figures to be plenty of shuffling this summer for GM Mitch Kupchak and company. The Lakers can clear significant cap space, but if they use it up, they have Farmar’s Non-Bird rights, allowing them to exceed the cap with a deal worth 120% of his salary this season, slightly more than he’d make on a minimum-salary contract next year. He doesn’t appear to be one of the team’s first offseason priorities, but it looks like the Lakers wouldn’t mind bringing him back if the opportunity presents itself.
Thunder, Reggie Williams Part Ways
The Thunder have decided against re-signing Reggie Williams for the season after his second 10-day contract with the team expired last night, reports Shams Charania of RealGM. Williams’ pair of deals with Oklahoma City were sandwiched around Mustafa Shakur‘s 10-day contract with the team, but it’s unclear whether the Thunder are considering a reunion with Shakur.
The 27-year-old Williams only made it into three games for a total of 17 minutes in his time with the Thunder, scoring 11 points on 5 for 9 shooting. He’s otherwise spent the season outside the NBA after the Rockets waived him at the end of the preseason, in spite of his partially guaranteed contract. The swingman had been with Oklahoma City’s D-League affiliate at the time of his first 10-day signing, and he returned there before signing his second 10-day deal. That won’t happen this time around, since the season is over for the Tulsa 66ers, who didn’t make the D-League playoffs.
The Bulls and Grizzlies had interest in the Interperformances client earlier this season, so perhaps he’ll wind up with another NBA club before the season is through. The roster is full in Memphis, but Chicago, which brought him in for a workout in November, still has two open roster spots after signing Ronnie Brewer today.
Sixers Sign Adonis Thomas
11:15am: The team has formally announced the deal. The release states that it’s a 10-day contract, so it’ll go down as one officially, even though he’ll be with the club for the balance of the regular season.
7:53am: The Sixers will sign former Magic small forward Adonis Thomas, reports Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Pompey refers to it as a 10-day deal, though it would be tantamount to a contract for the rest of the season, since the final regular season games are April 16th. Philadelphia gained an open roster spot when James Nunnally‘s second 10-day contract expired over the weekend, and the team isn’t planning to bring him back.
Thomas made his NBA debut on a pair of 10-day contracts with the Magic shortly after the trade deadline, but he saw limited action, scoring seven points in 24 total minutes over four games. The Magic signed him at the same time that they inked center Dewayne Dedmon, as our 10-Day Tracker shows, but they chose to keep Dedmon for the season and let Thomas go. The former Memphis Tiger returned to the D-League affiliate of the Nets upon his departure from Orlando. Thomas has displayed a keen stroke from behind the arc in the D-League, nailing 46.6% of his 3.5 three-point attempts per game this year and averaging 16.6 points per contest.
The addition of the Relativity Sports client could bring an end to a maddening carousel of players on the Sixers this season. He’s in line to become the 31st player on Philadelphia’s payroll for 2013/14.
Bulls Sign Ronnie Brewer
The Bulls have signed Ronnie Brewer for the rest of the season, the team announced via press release. He and Mike James have been the leading contenders to fill the roster spot vacated when the team waived Erik Murphy last week, though over the weekend it appeared as though the addition of James was somewhat more likely. There’s a decent chance the team signs both, especially now that the Jazz have claimed Murphy off waivers, taking his cap hit off Chicago’s books and making it less likely the team would have to pay the luxury tax if Taj Gibson and Joakim Noah trigger bonuses this year.
Brewer, 29, worked out for the team at its practice facility Thursday, but the Bulls are quite familiar with him, having employed him as a key reserve on a pair of teams that finished with the best record in the Eastern Conference in 2010/11 and 2011/12. The swingman left for the Knicks last season and started 34 games in New York, which dealt him to Oklahoma City at the 2013 trade deadline. His minutes declined sharply from that point on, and the Rockets waived his minimum-salary contract shortly after the trade deadline this year.
The Bulls are back up to the NBA-minimum 13 players with the addition of the Creative Artists Agency client. The release simply says the contract covers the remainder of the season, so presumably there isn’t a non-guaranteed year tacked on for 2014/15.
Northwest Rumors: Wolves, Love, Corbin
Blazers GM Neil Olshey would deserve the NBA’s Executive of the Year award based on his acquisition of Robin Lopez alone, opines Jason Quick of The Oregonian, who believes Olshey scored with upgrades to the team’s bench, too. Coach Terry Stotts is similarly pleased, as Quick notes.
“I’ve said it many times: Getting Robin Lopez was the perfect fit for our team,’’ Stotts said. “Getting Mo Williams was the perfect fit for our team. Dorell Wright gives us the ability to play [him at either forward position]. And the young guys have improved. But those three guys in particular, for what we needed coming into the season … Neil did a terrific job of addressing those needs.’’
I think there are several other deserving candidates for the award, but after recording their 50th win of the season on Sunday, it’s clear that the Blazers have taken a significant step forward after last season’s 33-win campaign. Here’s the latest from elsewhere in the Northwest Division:
- Finding the proper successor to coach Rick Adelman will be critical for the Wolves, and some in the organization believe having the right coach in place will help convince Kevin Love to stay in Minnesota, as Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders writes in his NBA AM piece.
- Kyler also suggests that it’s far from certain that Love would sign with the Lakers if he decides to opt out of his deal in 2015, and that other teams would be on his radar (Twitter link).
- Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin and his staff will know by the end of the month if they’ll return to the team for 2014/15, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports, who includes the news in his latest NBA power rankings.