Gustavo Ayon Mulls Offers From Spurs, China
THURSDAY, 7:40am: FC Barecelona exec Joan Creus tells Spanish journalist Alex Gozalbo (translation via Sportando on Twitter) that Ayon is not tied to the club anymore and he is free to sign wherever he wants. It’s not immediately clear whether Ayon has paid the tab on his own buyout as he said he would do yesterday or if they have simply allowed him to break his contract.
Despite the offers from the Spurs and China, Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia writes that Ayon is likely to sign a three-year pact with Real Madrid. The veteran and Real Madrid shook hands on a deal before FC Barcelona interfered.
WEDNESDAY, 10:57pm: Ayon has told FC Barcelona that he’s willing to foot the bill for the buyout himself, according to Javier Maestro of Encestando, who adds that Real Madrid’s three-year offer is still on the table. The Spurs are offering less than $1MM, while Shandong’s offer is adequate, Maestro also reports (Twitter links; translation via HoopsHype).
1:10pm: The Spurs and Shandong of China have made formal offers to Gustavo Ayon, who’s debating between them and playing in Europe this season, reports Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter links). Ayon reportedly had a deal in place with Real Madrid, but Spanish rival FC Barcelona holds his European rights, and their insistence on a buyout worth roughly $376K has thrown a wrench in those plans.
The Spurs have consistently shown interest in Ayon for the past couple of weeks, with an initial report having surfaced late last month and another dispatch from this weekend that indicated that San Antonio was still in the mix. Ayon is one of several players the team is considering for its final regular season roster spot, including Michael Beasley, who’s reportedly working out for Spurs officials in San Antonio this week. The Spurs have Bryce Cotton, Josh Davis and JaMychal Green on deals with nominal partial guarantees as well as 14 fully guaranteed pacts.
Ayon is coming off a three-year, $4.5MM contract he signed with New Orleans shortly after the lockout. He wound up heading to the Magic and Bucks before spending last season with the Hawks, who made him an unrestricted free agent this summer when they declined to tender a qualifying offer. Atlanta hasn’t appeared interested in bringing him back, with the Spurs seemingly the only NBA club in pursuit.
And-Ones: Hawks, Douby, Heat
The league’s players have mixed opinions on whether or not they would consider signing with the Hawks, Ric Bucher of Bleacher Report writes. The majority of players polled agreed with Carmelo Anthony‘s assessment that players would avoid signing with Atlanta in the wake of GM Danny Ferry and majority owner Bruce Levenson’s racist remarks, notes Bucher. But there were a few that said they wouldn’t let the incident get in the way of their potential earnings, but also added that they “wouldn’t shake Ferry’s hand” when the deal was completed.
Here’s more from around the league:
- Former Rutgers star and NBA player Quincy Douby has signed with the Tianjin Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association, according to his agent Bill Neff, Zach Links of Hoops Rumors reports (Twitter link). Douby last appeared in the NBA during the 2008/09 season with the Raptors.
- The partial guarantee on Khem Birch‘s two-year deal with the Heat is worth $50K, tweets Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders.
- Keith Smart and Chris Quinn have been added as assistant coaches to Eric Spoelstra‘s staff with the Heat, the team announced.
- The Bulls are hoping for a healthy season out of Derrick Rose, and that their new additions of Pau Gasol and Doug McDermott will help them contend in the Eastern Conference. The crew over at Basketball Insiders previews the upcoming season, and the majority opinion is that Chicago will finish second in the Central Division.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Western Notes: Rockets, Faried, Terry
The Rockets roster will be quite crowded once the team completes the signings of Francisco Garcia and Kostas Papanikolaou, and the player with a guaranteed deal most likely to be waived or traded to make space is Donatas Motiejunas, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders opines (Twitter links).
Here’s more from out west:
- Nuggets power forward Kenneth Faried‘s stock is certainly on the rise after a strong 2013/14 season and his stellar play with Team USA during the FIBA World Cup. David Nurse of Hoops Hype profiles the “Manimal,” and provides arguments for and against Faried becoming a breakout star in the NBA.
- As part of the Jason Terry trade, the Kings also receive a trade exception of $5.85MM, Sam Amick of USA Today reports (Twitter link). He’s likely rounding down from Terry’s precise salary of $5,850,313, meaning that the Kings folded the salaries of Alonzo Gee and Scotty Hopson into existing trade exceptions.
- Former NBA point guard Acie Law is no longer committed to his deal with the Foshan Long Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association, David Pick of Eurobasket reports (Twitter link). Law last saw NBA action during the 2010/11 season, when he appeared in 40 games for the Warriors, and averaged 5.1 PPG and 1.8 APG.
Southwest Notes: Marion, Gentile, Clark
Shawn Marion said it was difficult to decide where to sign this summer and cited his continued longtime friendship with Mavs owner Mark Cuban, but he also told KRLD-FM in Dallas that the presence of his newborn son, who lives in Chicago, influenced his choice. “It wasn’t about the money,” Marion said, as the Dallas Morning News transcribes. “I got offered more money from different teams. It’s with just a matter of what I’m comfortable with. And also, from Cleveland to Chicago is not that far. It’s driveable and a quick flight.”
Here’s more from the Southwest:
- Alessandro Gentile isn’t interested in playing in the NBA for now, and he’s uncertain that he’ll ever do so, as he told the Italian newspaper Leggo, according to Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia. The Rockets acquired the NBA rights to the Italian-born small forward, this year’s 53rd overall pick, in a draft-night swap, but he signed a new deal with Italy’s Olimpia Milano in July.
- The pact between the Grizzlies and Earl Clark is non-guaranteed, as Eric Pincus writes for the Los Angeles Times.
- A member of the Spurs staff will be shadowing Livio Jean-Charles, last year’s 28th overall pick, throughout the season as he plays for ASVEL Villeurbanne in France, as Jean-Charles tells Frédéric Dussidour of BeBasket (translation via Jesus Gomez of Pounding the Rock). It continues San Antonio’s practice of keeping close tabs on its draft-and-stash prospects, as Gomez examines.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Knicks Sign Orlando Sanchez
4:42pm: Sanchez has officially signed with the team, the Knicks announced.
2:01pm: The deal is partially guaranteed, as Zagoria reports.
1:36pm: The Knicks have a deal with undrafted St. John’s power forward Orlando Sanchez, agent Brian J. Bass tweets. Bass indicates that Sanchez has a signed contract with the team, though the Knicks have yet to make any formal announcement. The terms aren’t immediately clear, but it’ll have to be a minimum-salary contract, since that’s all the Knicks can offer, and perhaps there’s a partial guarantee attached. It’s a one-year deal, tweets Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv.
Sanchez, 26, played just one season of college ball, having put up 7.4 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 22.3 minutes per game. He didn’t stand much chance of hearing his name called on draft night, but he had predraft workouts with the Kings, Pacers and Sixers. The 6’8″ Sanchez averaged 2.2 PPG and 2.5 RPG in nearly 11 minutes per game with the Dominican Republic team in the recent FIBA World Cup.
The Knicks had been carrying 14 fully guaranteed deals and three more with partial guarantees. Samuel Dalembert has one of those partial guarantees, so there will be little opportunity for Sanchez to make the opening-night roster.
J.J. Hickson Gets Five-Game Drug Suspension
The league has suspended Nuggets power forward J.J. Hickson without pay for the first five games of the upcoming season, Chris Dempsey of the Denver Post reports (Twitter links). The suspension is for an undisclosed violation of the league’s drug policy. The team is aware of the violation, but isn’t expected to comment, Dempsey tweets.
Hickson is in line to be the primary backup to Kenneth Faried at power forward, and in his absence Darrell Arthur will most likely handle the reserve duties. This suspension will cause Hickson to miss contests against the Pistons, Kings, and Cavs in Denver, and road games against the Thunder and the Kings. He’ll forfeit a prorated portion of his approximately $5.382MM salary for this season, though all of it will continue to count against the cap for the Nuggets.
In six seasons in the league, Hickson has averaged 10.1 PPG, 7.2 RPG, and 0.9 APG. His career shooting numbers are .509/.000/.637.
Rockets Acquire Jason Terry
SEPTEMBER 17TH: The deal is official, the teams announced in separate releases. It’s Terry and a pair of second-round picks to the Rockets, and Gee and Hopson to the Kings. The Rockets get Sacramento’s 2015 second-round pick if it falls anywhere from the 31st through 49th selections, according to Houston’s statement, not the 31st through 50th, as the previous report indicated. The Knicks 2016 second-rounder that’s headed to Houston via Sacramento is indeed unprotected.
SEPTEMBER 8TH: The trade will include Gee and Hopson, but not Powell, Feigen tweets.
AUGUST 31ST: 5:01pm: The picks that the Rockets are receiving come with some unlikely protections, notes Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. Houston would get Sacramento’s 2015 second-round pick as long as it falls between the 31st and 50th selections. There is no protection for the Knicks’ 2016 pick, writes Feigen. The deal will take several weeks to complete, notes Feigen, and will include other non-guaranteed contracts, likely either Scotty Hopson, Josh Powell, or both.
4:25pm: The Kings will send Houston two second-round picks in deal, including the 2016 second-rounder that was acquired from the Knicks, Wojnarowski reports (Twitter link).
4:10pm: The Kings are finalizing a deal that would send Jason Terry and a future second-rounder to the Rockets for a package of non-guaranteed contracts, including Alonzo Gee, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter links).
Terry had been acquired by the Kings at the trade deadline along with Reggie Evans, in exchange for shooting guard Marcus Thornton. Terry never played a game for the Kings, instead opting to rehab his surgically repaired knee in preparation for the 2014/15 season. Prior to the trade, Terry appeared in 35 games for the Nets, averaging 4.5 PPG and 1.6 APG.
Terry is on an expiring $5.85MM contract for next season, and he figures to see some minutes with the Rockets backing up both guard positions. Terry will likely be more motivated playing for a Houston squad that hopes to secure a high seed heading into next season’s playoffs, than a still-rebuilding team in Sacramento.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Tyshawn Taylor To Play In Russia
WEDNESDAY, 1:17pm: Taylor has signed his contract with the team, according to his representatives at the Interperformances agency (hat tip to Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia).
MONDAY, 11:33am: Former Nets point guard Tyshawn Taylor is putting the finishing touches on a deal with Dynamo Moscow, reports David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter link). It’s not clear whether it will include any sort of out clause that would allow the 24-year-old to return stateside if NBA interest perks up, but considering the sparse activity on his rumors page, it seems likely Taylor will begin the season overseas.
Taylor has been out of the NBA since the Pelicans cut him loose two days after acquiring him from Brooklyn. Prior to the trade, he more than doubled his minutes per game in his sophomore campaign for the Nets, who’d put him on the floor for just 5.8 minutes per contest in his rookie season. The 41st pick from 2012 averaged 3.9 points, 1.6 assists and 1.3 turnovers in 11.7 minutes per contest over 23 NBA games last year before finishing up the season in the D-League and with Puerto Rico’s Atleticos de San German.
Dynamo Moscow will compete in Russia’s Super League, a minor league that plays second fiddle to the VTB League, as Pick points out (on Twitter). That’s quite a comedown for Taylor, who averaged 16.6 points per game as a senior at Kansas in 2011/12. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him stay with the club for just a short time if he puts up strong numbers and proves he deserves a shot on a more well-regarded circuit.
Wolves Sign Glenn Robinson III
1:03pm: The deal is official, the team announced.
WEDNESDAY, 8:28am: The contract will cover just the coming season, Wolfson tweets, adding that no move involving Barea is imminent.
TUESDAY, 11:02pm: Robinson’s deal is partially guaranteed according to Wolfson, who also hears that the Michigan product is no lock to make the roster out of training camp (Twitter link).
2:58pm: The Wolves have agreed to a guaranteed deal with Glenn Robinson III, the 40th overall pick in this year’s draft, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). The deal will be the 16th fully guaranteed pact for Minnesota, but the team has reportedly sought to trade J.J. Barea, and the Wolves are also open to allowing the veteran guard to buy his way out of his fully guaranteed contract, as Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities hears (Twitter link).
The terms of Robinson’s deal aren’t immediately clear, and the Wolves have $1.555MM left on their mid-level exception to make it worth more than the minimum salary and extend the length of the deal beyond two years. Minnesota had held out hope of creating a roster spot for Robinson as the Kevin Love trade loomed, but that swap left the team with just as many players as it had before. Robinson turned down a partially guaranteed offer a couple of weeks ago, Wolfson tweets.
Robinson averaged 13.1 points and 4.4 rebounds in 32.3 minutes per game as a sophomore for Michigan this past season. The small forward is listed at the same 6’7″ height as his father, former No. 1 overall pick and NBA All-Star Glenn Robinson.
The 20-year-old Robinson will join Andrew Wiggins and Zach LaVine as 2014 draftees on the Wolves roster, which also features training camp deals with Kyrylo Fesenko and Brady Heslip. Whatever Robinson receives on his deal, that amount plus LaVine’s approximately $2MM salary wouldn’t add up to the more than $4.5MM that Barea is set to make in the final season of his deal this year.
Spurs Auditioning Michael Beasley
Michael Beasley is working out for the Spurs this week in San Antonio, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The former No. 2 overall pick is the latest and most high-profile in a string of veteran free agents the Spurs have reportedly auditioned, one that includes Hakim Warrick, Julyan Stone and Jamaal Franklin.
The Spurs are maintaining a dialogue with Aron Baynes, according to Wojnarowski, but fellow Yahoo! scribe Marc J. Spears reported this week that the club was open to sign-and-trade scenarios involving the restricted free agent. A fully guaranteed contract that bring Baynes back would be San Antonio’s 15th fully guaranteed deal, but while the slot sits open, the Spurs are showing interest in a long list of names, with Ray Allen the most prominent among them. Centers Gustavo Ayon and Ryan Hollins are also on the team’s radar.
The 25-year-old Beasley had a pair of workouts with the Lakers earlier in the offseason, but while several teams have reportedly expressed interest, no deal has materialized. The Jared Karnes client would have liked to have re-signed with the Heat, but the team didn’t make him an offer, tweets Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Concerns over Beasley’s defense and maturity had persuaded the team against bringing him back, as Jackson wrote last week.