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Month: August 2014

Eastern Rumors: Pacers, Heat, Humphries

By | at August 13, 2014 9:30 pm

The biggest remaining free agent name from an Eastern Conference team is Greg Monroe, and the big man is reportedly close to accepting a qualifying offer to remain with the Pistons for what would almost assuredly be his final year in Detroit. Here’s a rundown of other notes out of the East:

  • In a reader chat response, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders says he hears that the Pacers are working the phones and gauging interest in their players for trades.
  • Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel suggests that, outside of financial limitations, the Heat haven’t signed some of the better remaining free agents because team cohesiveness is being prioritized over talent for end-of-the-bench spots. Winderman says an abundance of quality players vying for playing time in Miami has created tension in recent years.
  • Kris Humphries told reporters including Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post that his time in Boston made him a more efficient player, and that he’s excited to play for the up-and-coming Wizards this season. “I talked to Brad all the time and it’s just one of those things where, ‘Man, you got me a lot better,’” said Humphries. “Handling the ball, making plays, things like that. Shooting. I’m grateful for that. I’m grateful for the opportunity to keep playing in a lot of situations like the one I was in.”
0 comments Indiana Pacers Miami Heat Washington Wizards

Poll: Which Departures Will Teams Regret?

By | at August 13, 2014 8:29 pm

While many teams were spurned by their players for greener pastures despite their best efforts this offseason (the Heat by LeBron James, the Lakers by Pau Gasol, the Nets by Shaun Livingston) some teams decided not to up the ante when they could have, allowing key contributors to sign elsewhere. We’ll run down a few of the latter, and explore whether these teams will regret their decision:

  1. Lance Stephenson – from Indiana to Charlotte. Had Paul George‘s injury occurred before free agency, the Pacers might have been more willing to meet Stephenson’s demands. Instead, they let arguably their most versatile offensive piece walk, refusing to improve their five-year, $44MM offer before the combo guard signed with the Hornets for three years and $27.4MM. Rodney Stuckey and C.J. Miles are the incoming guards Indiana hopes can lessen the combined loss of Stephenson and now George. The Pacers also seeking Shawn Marion‘s services, but aren’t expected to win out over the Cavs in that pursuit.
  2. Chandler Parsons – from Houston to Dallas. The Rockets declined an option to retain Parsons for another season on one of the most team-friendly contracts in the league. The team decided to take their chances with the forward’s restricted free agency this summer rather than letting him hit unrestricted free agency next offseason, but ultimately decided against matching the Mavs’ three-year, $46.1MM offer sheet. The Rockets let Parsons go in part because they had already locked up Ariza, who is next on the list.
  3. Trevor Ariza – from Washington to Houston. Ariza bolted from the Wizards after turning in a career year for a team that advanced to the Eastern Conference Semifinals. The Wizards were unwilling to increase their offer, which equaled Houston’s four-year, $32MM arrangement, but practically amounted to $3MM less due to differences in state taxes. Washington quickly signed Paul Pierce in the wake of Ariza’s departure, and received an exception by signing-and-trading Ariza that was partially spent on Kris Humphries.
  4. Channing Frye – from Phoenix to Orlando. In a surprise signing, the Magic snatched the sharp-shooting Frye away from the Suns, who wanted to bring him back to their surprise-playoff roster. Frye is one of a few bigs that stretch the floor at an elite level, and the team signed another shooter in Anthony Tolliver to make up for Frye’s loss. Orlando’s deal with the 31-year-old was for four years and $32MM.
  5. Isaiah Thomas – from Sacramento to Phoenix. The Kings didn’t see the scoring machine of a point guard in their future, signing Darren Collison while Thomas was still a restricted free agent. Thomas was one of only five players to average 20 PPG and 6 APG last season. Sacramento hasn’t recouped much scoring punch in free agency, but did acquire a $7.2MM trade exception, as well as the rights to Alex Oriakhi, by executing a sign-and-trade sending Thomas to Phoenix.

As with any transaction, these front offices weighed the immediate future against their long-term plans, and tried to make the wisest choice. It might be painful to lose some of these players in year one, but fans might breathe a sigh of relief if the same players are underperforming for their new teams in the future. Then again, a player could blossom into an even stronger producer, compounding any misgivings about the teams’ non-action. What do you think?

Which Free Agent Departure Will His Team Regret Most?

  • Lance Stephenson 54% (1,151)
  • Chandler Parsons 28% (602)
  • Isaiah Thomas 10% (207)
  • Trevor Ariza 3% (70)
  • None - Each GM made the right move in letting their player walk 3% (65)
  • Channing Frye 2% (53)

Total votes: 2,148

3 comments Charlotte Hornets Dallas Mavericks Hoops Rumors Originals Hoops Rumors Polls Houston Rockets Indiana Pacers Orlando Magic Phoenix Suns Sacramento Kings Washington Wizards

Fallout From Clippers Ownership Transfer

By | at August 13, 2014 6:51 pm

Donald Sterling had been the NBA’s longest-tenured owner, but when Steve Ballmer closed on his purchase of the Clippers today, Sterling’s reign came to an end. We’ll round up the fallout from the ownership change here, with any additional updates on top:

  • As expected, a court of appeals has denied Donald Sterling’s final maneuver to prevent the sale of the Clippers, tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
  • While Sterling has previously vowed to sue the league for the rest of his life, Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com tweets that the Clippers are in no danger of ever returning to the hands of their disgraced former owner.

Earlier updates:

  • Attorneys for Donald Sterling asked an appellate court for an immediate stay and an order that would halt or unwind the sale, report Nathan Fenno and James Rainey of the Los Angeles Times. Still, other lawyers familiar with petitions like that believe there’s little chance the effort will bear fruit, Fenno and Rainey add.
  • Donald Sterling didn’t consent to the sale, so that’s why 10% of the team won’t be spun off into a charitable foundation in which Shelly Sterling would be heavily involved, as Fenno and Rainey write in the same piece.
  • Ballmer is purchasing 100% of the team, so that means Shelly Sterling didn’t exercise her option to spin a stake of up to 10% of the franchise into a charitable foundation, tweets Dan Woike of the Orange County Register.
  • The NBA has filed a countersuit in federal court against Sterling and the Sterling family trust in response to his antitrust suit against the league and commissioner Adam Silver, reports Nathan Fenno of the Los Angeles Times. The league is seeking compensation for damages and enforcement of an agreement it claims Sterling signed in 2005 indemnifying the league against litigation and monetary loss, as Fenno explains. Shelly Sterling agreed this May to indemnify the NBA for costs and litigation relating to the sale of the team to Ballmer.
  • Ballmer said he feels his record $2 billion investment in the Clippers carries much less risk than he took on in his business dealings, making him comfortable with the purchase, as he tells Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com (Twitlonger link).
  • Ballmer, who was a part of Seattle’s bid to wrest the Kings from Sacramento last year, also reiterated his long-held stance against moving the Clippers out of Los Angeles, as Shelburne notes in another Twitlonger dispatch.
0 comments City of Seattle Los Angeles Clippers Newsstand

Toure’ Murry Close To Deal With Jazz

By | at August 13, 2014 5:30 pm

WEDNESDAY, 5:30pm: The Jazz are finalizing the deal with Murry, writes Stein, who adds that the Lakers were also interested in the guard’s services.

5:53pm: Murry’s agent, Bernie Lee, said the report of a pending deal with the Jazz is “news to him,” notes Jody Genessy of the Deseret News (Twitter link).

TUESDAY, 5:31pm: Toure’ Murry is close to signing a two-year, $2MM deal with the Utah Jazz, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Murry had also been pursued by the Heat, and his former team, the Knicks, notes Stein. Murry will be able to provide depth at both guard positions for the Jazz, and will compete for playing time off the bench.

Utah will most likely begin the season with Trey Burke as the starting point guard, and Alec Burks at the two guard position. No. 5 overall pick, Dante Exum, will begin his career at shooting guard, but the franchise hopes he can develop his ball-handling and decision-making skills enough to eventually shift over to the point.

Last year, his first season in the league, Murry appeared in 51 games for the Knicks, and averaged 2.7 PPG, 0.9 RPG, and 1.0 APG, while logging 7.3 minutes a night. His slash line was .434/.417/.590.

2 comments Los Angeles Lakers Miami Heat New York Knicks Newsstand Transactions Utah Jazz

Late Signees Who Made It To Opening Night

By | at August 13, 2014 4:35 pm

The heavy rush of free agency is over, but many teams have plenty of work left before their rosters are finalized. More than two dozen players signed between this time last year and the end of September, when training camps begin, made it to opening night in 2013. That doesn’t count all the signees whom teams released before the preseason was over, nor does it count those who made it to opening night with another team if they were released in October. Draft picks from 2013 don’t figure into the calculation, either.

The list of signings that do fit the criteria is below. It includes sought-after players, like Nikola Pekovic, just as such a list for this year’s late signees would have Eric Bledsoe and Greg Monroe on it. There are also names, like Toure’ Murry and Michael Beasley, who figure to repeat as late-season signees this year, too. The date listed is when the team formally announced the signing or the transaction otherwise became official, according to the RealGM transactions log.

The RealGM transactions log was used in the creation of this post.

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Each Team’s Most Expensive Signing

By | at August 13, 2014 2:51 pm

Teams take vastly different approaches when it comes to signing players. The Knicks made it a priority to re-sign Carmelo Anthony, even if it took the maximum salary to do so, as it nearly did. The Sixers are laying back in rebuilding mode, and they haven’t signed a single free agent so far. Their only addition has been draft-and-stash signee Pierre Jackson, whose rights they acquired via trade from the Pelicans. He inked for the rookie minimum salary.

The other 28 teams fall in between, and the methods each club used to make its most lucrative signing of the summer are almost as varied as the amounts of money all the teams spent. Some teams made their most significant expenditure by re-signing one of their own free agents, while others signed outside free agents, signed offer sheets, matched offer sheets, completed sign-and-trades, signed first-round picks to rookie scale contracts, and, like the Sixers, signed players drafted in previous years. The only avenues of player acquisition not accounted for here are waiver claims, since no team made its most lucrative addition this way, and trades, since trades generally involve an exchange of salaries already on the books (sign-and-trades are counted here, however). The list also includes Tony Parker‘s veteran extension, which outpaces San Antonio’s four-year, $28MM re-signing of Boris Diaw.

The complete list of each team’s most lucrative signing of the summer is below, in descending order of expense, with the amount of the payout in parentheses. These amounts, rounded to the nearest $1K, include all options and non-guaranteed salary, where applicable:

  1. Knicks: Carmelo Anthony (five years, $124.065MM — re-signing)
  2. Heat: Chris Bosh (five years, $118.705MM — re-signing)
  3. Jazz: Gordon Hayward (four years, $62.965MM — matched offer sheet)
  4. Wizards: Marcin Gortat (five years, $60MM — re-signing)
  5. Raptors: Kyle Lowry (four years, $48MM — re-signing)
  6. Mavericks: Chandler Parsons (three years, $46.085MM — unmatched offer sheet signing)
  7. Spurs: Tony Parker (three years, $43.336MM — veteran extension)
  8. Cavaliers: LeBron James (two years, $42.218MM — free agent signing)
  9. Rockets: Trevor Ariza (four years, $32MM — sign-and-trade)
  10. Celtics: Avery Bradley (four years, $32MM — re-signing)
  11. Magic: Channing Frye (four years, $32MM — free agent signing)
  12. Hornets: Lance Stephenson (three years, $27.405MM — free agent signing)
  13. Suns: Isaiah Thomas (four years, $27MM — sign-and-trade)
  14. Clippers: Spencer Hawes (four years, $22.652MM — free agent signing)
  15. Bulls: Pau Gasol (three years, $22.346MM — free agent signing)
  16. Bucks: Jabari Parker (four years, $22.24MM — rookie scale contract signing)
  17. Lakers: Nick Young (four years, $21.326MM — re-signing)
  18. Pistons: Jodie Meeks (three years, $18.81MM — free agent signing)
  19. Pacers: C.J. Miles (four years, $18MM — free agent signing)
  20. Warriors: Shaun Livingston (three years, $16.631MM — free agent signing)
  21. Kings: Darren Collison (three years, $15.041MM — free agent signing)
  22. Grizzlies: Vince Carter (three years, $12.264MM — free agent signing)
  23. Hawks: Thabo Sefolosha (three years, $12MM — sign-and-trade)
  24. Nets: Bojan Bogdanovic (three years, $10.277MM — draft-and-stash signing)
  25. Thunder: Anthony Morrow (three years, $10.032MM — free agent signing)
  26. Timberwolves: Zach LaVine (four years, $9,647MM — rookie scale contract signing)
  27. Trail Blazers: Chris Kaman (two years, $9.816MM — free agent signing)
  28. Nuggets: Jusuf Nurkic (four years, $8,473,305 — rookie scale contract signing)
  29. Pelicans: John Salmons (one year, $2MM — free agent signing)
  30. Sixers: Pierre Jackson (one year, $507K — draft-and-stash signing)

ShamSports was used in the creation of this post

2 comments Hoops Rumors Originals Newsstand

Extension Candidate Series

By | at August 13, 2014 1:21 pm

Eric Bledsoe and Greg Monroe have yet to sign, and the Kevin Love trade agreement will remain unofficial for another 10 days or so, but the first part of the NBA’s offseason has largely come to a close. The main feature of the back end of the offseason involves players signing extensions, with rookie scale extensions chief among them. I took a look at the rookie scale extension market as a whole last month, and I also listed those eligible for veteran extensions. We’ll be taking focused, in-depth looks at some of the most intriguing candidates on each list as part of our Extension Candidate series in the months to come.

This list of our Extension Candidate posts can be found at any time under the “Hoops Rumors Features” menu on the right sidebar. We’ll continue to update it as we examine more players who might be in line for long-term commitments to their current teams in the near future. Here are the extension candidates we’ve previewed so far, in alphabetical order:

1 comment Extension Candidate Hoops Rumors Originals Newsstand

Orlando Johnson To Play In Spain

By | at August 13, 2014 1:06 pm

WEDNESDAY, 1:06pm: Johnson has switched gears and has agreed to play for Laboral Kuxta of Spain, reports David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter link). Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia confirms the news (on Twitter). The team is presumably the Spanish club that made the lucrative offer that Pick identified earlier.

5:45pm: David Pick of Eurobasket.com suggests (on Twitter) that Johnson had a more lucrative opportunity from a Spanish team, but that the wing’s representatives pushed him toward Enel Brindisi.

SATURDAY, 8:40am: Johnson and Enel Brindisi are finalizing the deal, reports Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Carchia notes that it’s a one-year pact.

FRIDAY, 12:30pm: Former Pacers and Kings swingman Orlando Johnson is leaning toward taking a deal with Enel Brindisi of Italy, Sportando’s Orazio Cauchi reports (Twitter link). The terms of a would-be deal aren’t immediately clear, but it would likely offer him more security than an NBA training camp invitation would.

Johnson spent a year and a half with the Pacers, who drafted him 36th overall in 2012, but Indiana waived him at the trade deadline when the acquisition of Evan Turner and Lavoy Allen for Danny Granger created a numbers crunch. The BDA Sports Management client latched on with Sacramento on a pair of 10-day contracts, and while it appeared as though the Kings were likely to keep him for the rest of the season once the second of those 10-day deals expired, the Kings went with Jared Cunningham instead.

There hasn’t been much NBA interest in Johnson since, as our rumors page for the 25-year-old shows, though Brose Baskets Bamberg of Germany eyed him in July, as Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia reported. Should he take the deal with Enel Brindisi, Johnson would join a group of 10 others who are heading overseas after appearing in the NBA last season, according to the Hoops Rumors Free Agent Tracker.

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Deonte Burton To Join Kings For Camp

By | at August 13, 2014 12:52 pm

WEDNESDAY, 12:52pm: The deal is official, the team announced via Twitter. The Kings refer to Burton as a camp invitee, suggesting his deal is non-guaranteed.

TUESDAY, 5:46pm: Burton signed his deal yesterday, reports Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter links). Pincus confirms it’s a one-year agreement.

4:13pm: The Kings and undrafted point guard Deonte Burton have reached an agreement, reports Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). It’s not immediately clear whether the deal is a summer contract or carries some kind of guarantee. It’ll likely be a minimum-salary arrangement.

Burton appeared to have a strong chance of becoming a second-round pick heading into the draft, as Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress ranked him as the 52nd-best prospect while Chad Ford of ESPN.com listed him at No. 62. The 23-year-old spent summer league with the Wizards, averaging just 1.8 points in 17.3 minutes per contest, but he put up much better numbers as a senior with the Wolf Pack this past season, springing for 20.1 PPG and 4.4 assists against 2.0 turnovers in 38.6 MPG. He also chipped in 4.3 rebounds per contest, impressive considering his 6’1″ size.

The Kings have 15 others already in the fold, as our roster counts show, though that includes a partially guaranteed deal with Eric Moreland and Jeremy Tyler‘s non-guaranteed contract. The team is also thinking about waiving the newly acquired Wayne Ellington, so Burton appears well-positioned for a decent shot at making the opening-night roster.

Burton is not to be confused with the Marquette shooting guard of the same name.

2 comments Newsstand Sacramento Kings Transactions

Top Scorers Still On The Market

By | at August 13, 2014 11:29 am

Many NBA teams are largely finished with their free agent shopping, but most clubs probably wouldn’t mind adding a scorer or two to supplement their benches. Taking a flier on a summer league standout or an undrafted rookie can pay dividends, but there are plenty of proven veteran scorers still on the market as well.

Below is a list of the top 15 remaining free agents by points per 36 minutes. It’s no surprise that Eric Bledsoe, the No. 4 player in the Hoops Rumors Free Agent Power Rankings, is at the top as his restricted free agency drags on. Fellow sought-after restricted free agent Greg Monroe is on this list amid conflicting reports about whether he’s going to sign his qualifying offer. Ray Allen has been the subject of plenty of chatter even though he trails Mike Harris, a much less ballyhooed free agent, in this category.

Each player’s rate of points per 36 minutes during the 2013/14 campaign is listed in parentheses. To qualify, these free agents must have averaged at least 10 minutes per game and appeared in at least 20 contests this past season.

  1. Eric Bledsoe (19.4)
  2. Michael Beasley (18.9)
  3. Andray Blatche (18.3)
  4. Jordan Crawford (17.2)
  5. Greg Monroe (16.7)
  6. Ramon Sessions (16.6)
  7. Andrew Bynum (15.7)
  8. Leandro Barbosa (14.7)
  9. Jordan Hamilton (14.3)
  10. Jermaine O’Neal (14.2)
  11. Anthony Randolph (14.1)
  12. Mike Harris (13.4)
  13. Ray Allen (13.0)
  14. Darius Morris (12.3)
  15. Antawn Jamison (12.2)

Honorable mention:

  • Earl Clark and Chris Douglas-Roberts would have been next on the list, as both averaged 12.0 points per 36 minutes.
  • The No. 3 position would have gone to Charlie Villanueva, who notched 18.4 points per 36 minutes, but he was 20 total minutes shy of meeting the qualifying criteria.
  • MarShon Brooks (18.1), Byron Mullens (16.4) and Al Harrington (15.9) scored at rates that would have put them in the top 15, but they’ve all agreed to deals with overseas teams.
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