Rockets Sign Nick Johnson
SATURDAY, 7:26pm: According to Pincus, Houston indeed used part of the mid-level exception to sign Johnson (Twitter link). Pincus’ updated salary sheet for the Rockets indicates that Johnson’s three-year deal is worth a total of $2,332,826.
FRIDAY, 4:42pm: Johnson has signed with the team, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter) and the RealGM transactions log, though the Rockets have yet to make an official announcement.
TUESDAY, 9:50pm: The three-year deal will be fully guaranteed, a source tells Shams Charania of RealGM.com (Twitter link). The Rockets are already above the salary cap, and considering that the bi-annual and minimum salary exceptions can only cover a deal of up to two years, it’s a near certainty that they’re using a portion of the mid-level exception to sign Johnson for three years.
8:25pm: The Rockets are expected to sign rookie guard Nick Johnson to a three-year deal with a team option in the third year, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. The nephew of Hall-of-Famer Dennis Johnson was selected with the 42nd overall pick in last month’s draft.
Johnson recently played for the Rockets’ summer league team in Orlando and Las Vegas. In Orlando, the 6’3 guard produced 15.8 PPG, 6.2 RPG, and 5.0 APG while shooting 44.6% from the field in 29.4 MPG through five games; in Las Vegas, Johnson’s numbers dipped to 12.5/4.4/2.3/0.384 in eight games despite a slight increase in minutes (30.3).
The University of Arizona standout played a total of three seasons in college, increasing his scoring, rebounding, free throw shooting percentage, and free throws attempted averages every year. In his final season as a Wildcat, Johnson notched 16.3 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 4.9 free throws attempted per game, and 33.1 MPG in 38 contests while shooting 43.2% from the field and 36.7% from long distance.
Seth Curry Weighing Overseas Options
Seth Curry is drawing interest from international teams, tweets Chema de Lucas of Solobasket.com (translation via Enea Trapani of Sportando). Curry is weighing interest from NBA teams against that of Spanish club Baskonia and German club Bayern Munich. The younger brother of Stephen Curry is reportedly open to playing in Europe if he is unable to secure an NBA contract.
It is doubtful that the interest from NBA teams amounts to much, if any, 2014/15 guaranteed salary prospects for the guard. Curry is one of may unsigned free agents whose track to an NBA roster this season is most likely through competing in training camp for one of a team’s remaining roster spots.
The Octagon Sports client went undrafted in 2013 and spent most of the year with the Warriors’ D-League affiliate in Santa Cruz. The guard struggled to break into NBA action, only playing a game apiece for the Grizzlies and Cavs on a non-guaranteed contract and 10-day deal, respectively. In the D-League, he averaged 19.7 PPG and and 5.8 APG with a .437/.372/.853 slash line.
Western Notes: Bledsoe, Jazz, Barton, Scott
Eric Bledsoe made his first public comments regarding his free agency status to Fox TV Birmingham, saying he feels the Suns are “using rules against me” (hat tip to Jude LaCava of Fox 10 Phoenix, Twitter link), Bledsoe’s remark further indicates a seemingly sour feeling between the two camps. Here’s a look at the latest from all three of the Western Conference’s divisions:
- The Jazz are set to hire Patrick Beilein to work as an assistant coach on Quin Snyder‘s staff, reveals Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Beilein is the son of University of Michigan head coach John Beilein.
- Will Barton‘s $900K deal with the Blazers is now fully guaranteed, reports Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com. Portland had until July 25th to waive Barton without being on the hook for his entire salary but chose to keep the combo guard on their roster.
- Jabari Davis of Basketball Insiders recaps the path that the Lakers took en route to negotiating terms with Byron Scott on a head coaching gig. Davis also examines how Scott’s coaching style might mesh with the current state of Los Angeles’ roster.
- While former Mavs forward Shawn Marion would like to secure a deal with a team for the upcoming season, he doesn’t want to force the issue and land in an undesirable situation, passes along Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News. “If I see something really comfortable, then I’ll do it,” Marion told Sefko. “Right now, I’m just staying with my [newborn] son and relaxing. It’s only July, man. We got two more months. We’ll just wait and see how it works out.”
And-Ones: Villanueva, Grizzlies, Clippers
The NBA is looking to extend the All-Star break into a seven day hiatus from regular season play, reports Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel. The longer break will likely be in effect for the 2014/15 campaign, says Winderman, who adds that the increased time off at midseason will mean an extra set or two of back-to-back games for clubs around the league. Let’s look at a few more miscellaneous notes from around the NBA..
- Free agent Charlie Villanueva remains unsigned after working out for multiple teams, but is excited about chronicling the process in his own web series despite the uncertainty, as he tells Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press. “It’s been five years with the Pistons and that road has come to an end, but I have a couple things lined up,” Villanueva said. “One of the things obviously is working out for some teams, but at the same time capturing every moment of free agency and what I’m going through.”
- After recently narrowing the field of candidates, the Grizzlies search for a GM-in-waiting has stalled, according to Grantland’s Zach Lowe (on Twitter). Lowe’s sources say that it’s now possible Memphis doesn’t hire anyone as the successor in waiting for current GM Chris Wallace. The Grantland scribe suggests the team could promote from within the organization, citing in-house counsel Joe Abadi as a hot name.
- Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe clues readers in about Natalie Nakase, an assistant video coordinator for the Clippers with ambitions of becoming the first female head coach in NBA history.
Cray Allred contributed to this post.
Pluto’s Latest: Love, Cavs, Wolves
Terry Pluto of The Plain Dealer hears that, unless something changes, the Wolves will not relent on their demand for Andrew Wiggins as part of any trade package with the Cavs for Kevin Love. It will be interesting to see if the rumored trade request from Love would be the kind of change needed to soften that stance. Pluto’s full piece is worth the read, but we’ll run down some of the highlights here:
- Minnesota and Cleveland haven’t had serious discussions about a Love trade for a week, writes Pluto. We heard recently that the trade market for Love was quiet in general, although speculation has continued to proliferate.
- Pluto also hears that the expectation for any would-be Love trade to Cleveland would be that the forward would still decline his player option next season, giving him the ability to re-sign to a longer, more lucrative deal.
- Minnesota is considering the unlikely possibility of keeping Love through the season and then working out a sign-and-trade with another team next summer, per The Plain Dealer scribe.
Pacific Notes: Boozer, Marshall, Casspi
While the Lakers have had an underwhelming offseason, Mark Whicker of the Los Angeles Daily News thinks that the hiring of Byron Scott for head coach could at least end the “nightmare” in Los Angeles. Here’s more from the Pacific Division:
- Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak was surprised when his team wound up winning the rights to Carlos Boozer, figuring another club would come in with a higher bid than the $3.251MM the Lakers put up, notes Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
- Kupchak also acknowledged the downside of the move, which largely forced the team to waive Kendall Marshall, tweets Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News.
- The Kings skirted the tax line when they decided to wait until Omri Casspi cleared waivers and sign him rather than submit a claim, but they gave serious thought to making that claim anyway and absorbing the extra cost, tweets Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Union To Vote On Executive Director Finalists
SATURDAY, 9:35am: Dean Garfield, a tech industry CEO, is the third finalist, tweets Wojnarowski.
9:00pm: Union president Chris Paul had been tight with Johnson, but others on the executive committee weren’t as supportive of the Sacramento mayor, as Wojnarowski details in a full story. Some prominent union members and agents worried that Johnson owed too much to commissioner Adam Silver in the wake of the NBA’s efforts to keep the Kings in Sacramento, according to Wojnarowski. Tension had festered for months between Johnson’s search committee and the executive committee, Wojnarowski hears. The union invited Johnson to take part in Monday’s proceedings, but he has no desire to participate, a source tells Wojnarowski.
Wojnarowski also pegs the number of remaining candidates at three in his latest dispatch.
7:59pm: Union members are set to choose from a field of three finalists Monday, according to USA Today’s Sam Amick, suggesting that a fourth finalist, as Wojnarowski alluded to, either dropped out or was never truly in the running. About 150 players are expected for the meeting in Las Vegas, as the union has made a strong push for its membership to take part.
7:50pm: Attorney Michele Roberts, who appeared to have been a finalist in February, is another candidate among the three making presentations on Monday, sources tell Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
7:19pm: Mavs CEO Terdema Ussery is one of the three who’ll make presentations to the union, Wojnarowski reports (on Twitter).
6:52pm: Wojnarowski tweets that three finalists will make presentations to the player’s union on Monday, and that a vote will follow.
FRIDAY, 6:32pm: Kevin Johnson informed NBA players via email that he is no longer a part of the search committee designed to find the next executive director of the player’s union, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports in a series of tweets. Wojnarowski describes the email as a “terse” message that reveals an out-of-process committee. Johnson was hired to head the committee this spring.
The Yahoo! scribe’s sources say that the search committee had run into conflict with the NBPA’s executive committee, with the latter desiring to exert more influence in the lead-up to a hire (Twitter link). Wojnarowski’s sources said that the candidates for the job have been narrowed to four in the last 48 hours, although the list was reportedly at just three names in recent days.
The union has been without an executive director since Billy Hunter was ousted in February of 2013. After working with the NBA in the initial stages of the ongoing Donald Sterling scandal, Johnson was presumed to have a favorable chance at landing the union job, a possibility that was disputed based on Johnson’s broader political aspirations.
Kevin Love Requests Trade To Cleveland?
Multiple league sources tell Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio that Kevin Love has likely requested a trade to the Cavaliers. The sources are uncertain if a formal trade request has been made, but are “under the impression” that he has made his feelings known to the Wolves through his agent.
Such a request would certainly alter the trade landscape for the All-Star, whose fate for this season and beyond has been a constant in the rumor mill since informing Minnesota that he would not opt in to his player option and pursue free agency next summer. Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press tweets that the elite scorer and rebounder has withdrawn from playing with Team USA this summer due to uncertainty about his situation.
A formal request of this nature would seemingly give the Cavs more leverage in their talks with the Wolves. The main sticking point in talks has been whether or not Cleveland is willing to give up No. 1 pick Andrew Wiggins as part of a deal. The Warriors were the early favorites to land Love, and the Bulls have regained momentum in recent days, while the Celtics have all but thrown in the towel. Since LeBron James announced his return to Cleveland, the team went from a longshot to acquire the power forward to a strong possibility, as Love was only open to re-signing with the Cavs once James was in the picture.
Exhibit 9 Contracts
Several players will sign summer contracts in the weeks ahead, and by definition, those contracts are non-guaranteed. Some of those deals, called Exhibit 9 contracts, will contain even fewer assurances for the player, but teams can only sign players to Exhibit 9’s under specific circumstances.
Standard NBA contracts ensure that if a player is hurt while performing for the team, his salary is guaranteed until he recovers or the end of the season, whichever comes first. Teams can waive Exhibit 9 contracts at any time should the player get hurt and owe a mere $6K.
Since most training camp invitees wind up getting waived before the start of the season, Exhibit 9’s are a vehicle for teams to avoid the sort of situation that befell the Clippers last year, when Maalik Wayns suffered a preseason knee injury. It was a non-guaranteed contract, but not an Exhibit 9, so the Clippers had to carry him on their roster into the regular season. The deal for Wayns was to have become fully guaranteed for the season if the Clippers failed to waive him by the end of December 1st, and he was still unable to play at that point. He gave the Clippers a break when he agreed to push the guarantee date back to January, and the team eventually waived him in advance of that deadline once he had recovered. Still, the injury cost the Clippers an extra month’s worth or so of salary that they may never have intended to pay out. The Clippers were luxury taxpayers last season, compounding the cost of Wayns’ injury.
Exhibit 9’s must be for one season, and they must be for the minimum salary. Just about every summer contract is a minimum-salary arrangement, but many of them stretch three or four seasons, as teams look to take advantage of rules that make lengthy deals more team-friendly. Still, such benefits have a price, as the Wayns example proved.
Teams must have 14 players on the roster before signing anyone to an Exhibit 9. Sometimes, there are players who are curiously released just at the start of training camp, before they have any chance to play their way on to the team. Such was the case with Patrick Christopher and Kalin Lucas last season. The Bulls signed the pair on September 12th and waived them on October 2nd, the second day of camp. As Mark Deeks of ShamSports explained, the Bulls signed them to non-Exhibit 9 deals to bring their roster to 14 and facilitate the use of Exhibit 9’s on the players they wished to have compete for a spot on the opening-night roster. They released Christopher and Lucas before they had a chance to get hurt.
Christopher agreed to a deal Friday with the Grizzlies, who already had 14 players under contract, so there’s a strong chance he’s receiving an Exhibit 9 this time. That’ll give him a chance to at least show what he can do against NBA competition in the preseason in an effort to make it to opening night, even if all the team owes him would be $6K if he gets hurt.
Just as with summer contracts, teams need not have the cap room or exception space to sign a player to an Exhibit 9, as long as they create the necessary room if they keep the player into the regular season. That allowance wouldn’t come into play in most circumstances, since the minimum-salary exception is all that’s necessary to have room for an Exhibit 9. Still, Exhibit 9’s are handy tools for clubs dealing with hard caps. The unintended imposition of guaranteed salary that an injury to a non-Exhibit 9 player might incur could put a hard-capped team in a difficult spot, one in which it might have to waive or trade another player to accommodate someone it merely intended to bring to camp.
The limited liability of Exhibit 9’s help create opportunities for the sort of player who teams would otherwise deem too much of a long shot to make the roster and not worth the risk of having to pay him throughout the season. Still, these deals open up fringe NBA prospects to medical expenses that $6K wouldn’t be enough to cover, just for a chance to compete for a spot at the end of the bench come November.
Note: This is a Hoops Rumors Glossary entry. Our glossary posts will explain specific rules relating to trades, free agency, or other aspects of the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement. Larry Coon’s Salary Cap FAQ was used in the creation of this post.
Eastern Rumors: Love, Knicks, Douglas-Roberts
The Knicks made a longshot trade offer for Kevin Love that the Wolves immediately turned down, reports Chris Herring of The Wall Street Journal. The offer was Amar’e Stoudemire, Iman Shumpert, and Tim Hardaway Jr., a package well shy of the value Minnesota is looking to secure in any potential deal for Love. Stoudemire and Shumpert have apparently been on the block of late, but while Hardaway is reportedly “virtually untouchable,” New York’s shot in the dark at least shows its willingness to part with him for the right return. Here’s more from around the East:
- A Wolves official disputes the notion that the Knicks ever made an offer for Love, as Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press reports (on Twitter).
Earlier updates:
- Chris Douglas-Roberts is among the free agents who interest the Heat as they look for veteran wing players, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Agent Wallace Prather has reached out to the team about client MarShon Brooks, but it’s unclear whether the Heat have any interest in him. The Heat are among 11 teams limited to paying no more than the minimum salary to free agents from other clubs, as I noted earlier today.
- Miami is remaining non-committal about bringing back free agents Michael Beasley and Greg Oden, as Jackson writes in the same piece. The agents for both veterans tell Jackson that the Heat have been in contact regarding their clients, but that they are receiving interest from other teams as well.
- The Hornets didn’t necessarily sign Brian Roberts for the room exception, as originally thought, when they made his deal official Wednesday, tweets Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times. It appears as though they have enough cap space to use on Roberts and preserve the exception to use on someone else, should they choose.