Reggie Williams To Join Thunder D-League Team
The Oklahoma City Blue, the D-League affiliate of the Thunder, has reached an agreement to bring aboard Reggie Williams, according an official release from the team. Williams spent training camp with the Heat but was waived shortly before opening night after signing a non-guaranteed, minimum salary pact with Miami in mid-August.
The 28-year-old swingman out of VMI signed two 10-day contracts with the Thunder last season, but only appeared in three contests for Oklahoma City. Since a strong rookie year when he posted 15.2 points in 32.6 minutes per game with the Warriors, Williams hasn’t had much of an opportunity to prove his worth on the hardwood. His minutes per game have steadily dropped each year since his rookie campaign in 2009/10.
It’s fair to infer that the Thunder will be keeping a close eye on Williams, given his history with team and the fact that his deal with its minor league affiliate comes in a season when Oklahoma City has struggled to stay healthy.
Knicks Notes: Acy, Jackson, Chandler, Fisher
The Knicks’ 5-26 start has them just one game ahead of the league-worst Sixers in the standings. It’s been a disappointing season for New York thus far, and as we wait to see if the club turn a corner against the Kings on Sunday, let’s have a look at the latest out of the Big Apple.
- Quincy Acy and John Wall will both be punished for their altercation on Thursday’s Knicks-Wizards matchup, the league announced (hat tip to Ian Begley of ESPN.com). Acy will be suspended one game, and Wall will pay a $15K fine. Players lose 1/110th of their salary for each game they miss while suspended, according Larry Coon’s Salary Cap FAQ, so Acy will forfeit $8,320.39.
- Phil Jackson‘s defense of the trade that sent Tyson Chandler to the Mavs is invalid, argues Marc Berman of the New York Post. Berman doesn’t believe any of the pieces obtained for the veteran center are long-term solutions for the Knicks but concedes that Cleanthony Early has a shot of making the deal look a little bit better if he can develop into an everyday player.
- Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPNNewYork.com implores Knicks fans to be patient with the rebuilding process that Jackson and Derek Fisher are spearheading in New York. Although Fisher might look uncomfortable as coach at times, Youngmisuk points to the improvement Jason Kidd made leading the bench from year one to year two.
Lakers Notes: Sacre, Bryant, Gasol
The Cavaliers had talks with the Lakers this summer about the availability of center Robert Sacre, according to Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). He adds that there have been no recent trade discussions between the teams, although Cleveland’s need for frontcourt help increased this week with the announcement that Anderson Varejao will miss the rest of the season with an Achilles tear.
There’s other news from Los Angeles:
- Concerns about Kobe Bryant‘s health are worsening, tweets Mike Bresnahan of The Los Angeles Times. “My knees are sore… [both] my Achilles are sore,” the Lakers guard said Thursday. “Metatarsals are tight. Back’s tight. I just need to kind of hit the reset button.” Bryant sat out L.A.’s Christmas Day loss to the Bulls as well as Tuesday’s game with Golden State. The 36-year-old is making $23.5MM this year and is on the books for $25MM next season.
- Coach Byron Scott said only “idiots” would suggest that the Lakers are a better team without Bryant, reports Steve Aschburner of NBA.com. “We have one great game without Kobe and everybody thinks now we’re a better team or something like that,” Scott said, referring to Tuesday’s win over the Warriors. “… But as far as all that [analytical] stuff goes, you know what? If I had my choice, I’d rather have him on the court for 48 minutes every time we played. I know we’d have a better chance to win.” Scott said Bryant could be out of action for up to a week.
- The Bulls’ Pau Gasol said it was an emotional experience facing his former team Thursday, although Bryant’s absence took some of the drama away, reports Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News. Gasol spent six and a half seasons in Los Angeles and won two NBA titles before signing a three-year, $22.35MM deal with Chicago over the summer.
Josh Smith Signs With Rockets
FRIDAY, 11:23am: The deal is official, the Rockets announced.
WEDNESDAY, 5:15pm: Smith officially cleared waivers Wednesday and is looking forward to joining Howard in Houston, reports Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston. Smith said the Rockets expressed interest in acquiring him even before he was waived. “Now we came together, and being able to be wanted by a team with so much dynamics as far as having a chance to win the title is very special and very humbling,” Smith said.
1:05pm: The updated version of Wojnarowski’s story indicates that Smith is signing a one-year deal, in line with what Feigen says, and seconds Feigen’s report that the team is in talks about a trade that would open a roster spot. Those talks could be complete as soon as later today, Wojnarowski writes.
1:01pm: The Rockets are working on a swap to create a roster spot, Feigen tweets. Feigen also indicates that Smith’s deal is for just one season, conflicting with Wojnarowski’s earlier report.
12:52pm: Smith will receive the full $2.077MM value of the biannual exception this season, reports Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link).
12:03pm: Josh Smith has committed to signing with the Rockets once he clears waivers at 4pm Central today, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). The move is no surprise, since Houston became the favorite Monday after the Pistons waived him, and the Rockets only strengthened that position Tuesday. Houston had promised a starting job, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported overnight (Twitter link), and close friend Dwight Howard was recruiting him. Smith will receive a two-year deal for the biannual exception with a player option for next season, Wojnarowski reports in a full story.
That exception, which gives him $2.077MM this year and a 4.5% raise on that salary for next season, assuming Houston is giving him the full amount, is an advantage the Rockets had over many other suitors limited to the minimum. The Sixers have the cap space necessary to claim Smith off waivers and forestall Houston from signing him, but they reportedly have no intention of doing so. Still, perhaps the most important edge the Rockets had was the willingness to offer a starting role, as Smith had narrowed his choices to only teams that would give him that, Stein tweets. The Heat were one of those teams, but they evidently came up empty, as did other contenders reported to have varying levels of interest in signing the 29-year-old forward, including the Mavericks, Cavaliers, Grizzlies, Lakers, Clippers and Kings. Memphis made a strong push for him late, as Wojnarowski reported earlier today (on Twitter), but the Grizzlies fell short.
The client of agents Brian Dyke and Wallace Prather saw his stock surge as his price point dropped. Detroit, at 5-23, saw fit to eat the remaining guaranteed money on the four-year, $54MM contract he signed in the summer of 2013, using the stretch provision to spread the money so that the Pistons will pay just $5.4MM each season from 2015/16 through 2019/20. That number figures to go down further thanks to set-off rights, depending on the value of the contracts that Smith signs for the seasons ahead. His deal with the Rockets will save the Pistons $630,259 this season, presuming Smith is receiving the full value of the biannual.
The Rockets have a full 15-man roster, as our roster counts show, so a corresponding move will be necessary. They have two players without fully guaranteed contracts, but one of them is starting point guard Patrick Beverley. The other is backup center Tarik Black, but he’s played a key role and started 12 games in place of an injured Howard. Black had a partial guarantee of $50K on his minimum-salary contract to begin the season, but he’s already earned more than that amount.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Rockets Waive Tarik Black, Sign Smith
11:22pm: The Rockets have formally announced the signing of Smith and the waiving of Black.
10:49am: Unable to find an acceptable deal to open a roster spot for Josh Smith, the Rockets waived center Tarik Black today, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports writes in a full story. Citing an unidentified league source, Wojnarowski says the Rockets have decided to part ways with the rookie center out of Kansas. He adds that the team hopes Smith can complete a physical and sign a contract in time to play tonight against the Grizzlies, but that remains uncertain at this point.
Smith, who was waived Monday by the Pistons, announced his intention to join the Rockets even before clearing waivers on Wednesday. With Houston already having 15 players on its roster, an opening had to be created. The Rockets spent the past two days trying to work out a deal involving Black, Nick Johnson, Isaiah Canaan, Joey Dorsey or Clint Capela. Of the five, Black was the only one without a fully guaranteed contract. He signed a two-year, partially guaranteed deal in August.
Wojnarowski says several teams are interested in claiming Black. He has already earned more than the partial guarantee amount on his non-guaranteed contract. The money that Black has already earned will stick on Houston’s cap figure if he clears waivers, but another team will assume that amount on its cap if it claims him.
Black averaged 4.2 points and 5.1 rebounds in 25 games with the Rockets, and started 12 games when Dwight Howard was out of the lineup with knee pain. He earned a roster spot with the Rockets after an impressive performance in the summer leagues.
Central Notes: James, Boozer, Jerebko
The Cavaliers felt the absence of Anderson Varejao in Thursday’s loss to the Heat, writes Joe Vardon of the Northeast Ohio Media Group. In its first game since the announcement that Varejao would miss the rest of the season with a torn Achilles tendon, Cleveland suffered a 10-point loss. Vardon noted the Cavs were late on defensive rotations and were slow getting to the kind of loose balls that Varejao typically chases down. “Guys just have to step up and do a little bit more than what they’ve been doing before,” said LeBron James, “but you can’t replace him.”
There’s more from the Central Division:
- The Heat’s Dwyane Wade continues to defend James’ decision to leave Miami, telling Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports that a different standard exists for players and teams. “It’s tough in this league,” Wade said. “When a player makes a decision, and however you make it, there is always backlash. But when an organization makes it, it’s the right thing for an organization to do. And it’s fine. Josh Smith just got cut. It was the right thing for the Pistons to do. It’s fine. LeBron James or players make decisions in free agency, then it becomes a different situation.”
- Another player who didn’t have a happy homecoming Thursday was Carlos Boozer, reports Jon Greenberg of ESPNChicago.com. The Lakers’ forward returned to Chicago for the first time since being amnestied by the Bulls over the summer. Despite an unfriendly reception — Boozer was booed repeatedly by the Chicago crowd — Boozer still has a fondness for the Windy City. “This is like a second home for me,” he said. “I know everybody here. We became like a family over the years.”
- Jonas Jerebko could benefit from all the turmoil in Detroit this week, according to Brendan Savage of MLive. The veteran Pistons’ forward, whose contract expires at season’s end, sees an opportunity to pick up more playing time after the release of Smith. “Obviously, with a 4 man gone — I see myself as a 4 man — a lot more minutes open up in practice and in games,” Jerebko said. “I feel like I’m ready to take that step and I’m ready to go in there and battle for them.
And-Ones: Selby, Cavs, Knicks, Rockets
Josh Selby, a 2011 second round draft pick of the Grizzlies, nearly quit the game as he bounced between playing overseas and the NBA D-League, David Pick of Basketball Insiders writes. Selby is currently trying to catch the eyes of NBA scouts while playing over in Israel, though Selby said that no NBA teams have been in contact with him this season, Pick notes. “I want to help my team reach the playoffs and take them as far as possible,” Selby said. “As long as I take care of business and win here, the NBA will come find me.”
Here’s more from around the league and abroad:
- Joe Alexander has officially inked a deal with Maccabi Tel Aviv, the team announced (translation by Emiliano Carchia of Sportando). Alexander had a $45K buyout amount on his D-League contract with the Santa Cruz Warriors, Gino Pilato of D-League Digest reports (Twitter link).
- The Cavs are performing their due diligence on available options, but are in no rush to replace the injured Anderson Varejao, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link). Cleveland is intrigued by the possibilities of playing “small ball,” Spears adds.
- Knicks president Phil Jackson took to Twitter yesterday to promise fans that 2015 would hold better things for New York than 2014 has. But the Knicks’ star player, Carmelo Anthony, noted that Jackson doesn’t have much time to make the necessary changes before the year ends to ensure that statement comes true, Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com writes. Anthony is also growing increasingly frustrated with the team’s lack of consistency and progress, Begley adds. “We have spurts throughout the course of the game where we are showing something, showing that we’re getting it and we’re focused and we have the energy to go out and do it,” Anthony said. “But there are times where we show that we’re not even out there on the basketball court. We gotta start trying to put a whole game together.”
- The Rockets hope to open up a roster spot for Josh Smith by completing a trade by Friday rather than waiving a player, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). Houston is currently pursuing various deals to try to make this happen, Stein notes. The Rockets are reportedly willing to trade Isaiah Canaan, Joey Dorsey, Tarik Black, Nick Johnson and Clint Capela.
Western Notes: Suns, Mekel, Curry
The Suns have assigned Tyler Ennis, Archie Goodwin, and T.J. Warren to the Bakersfield Jam, their D-League affiliate, the Associated Press reports. Ennis and Warren each appeared in two games during their one previous assignment to Bakersfield this season. Warren is averaging 36 points and 6.0 rebounds for the Jam, and Ennis has averaged 22 points and 7.5 assists per contest. This will be Goodwin’s first trip of the season to the D-League.
Here’s the latest from the Western Conference:
- With the Warriors‘ fast start to the season, Stephen Curry‘s stature around the league and his value is rising right along with the franchise’s, Antonio Gonzalez of The Associated Press writes.
- Gal Mekel said that he has passed on numerous overseas offers, and that he “wouldn’t have been able to live with himself” if he had missed out on any NBA offers because of accepting an overseas deal, David Pick of Eurobasket reports (Twitter links). Mekel was recently waived by the Pelicans, though New Orleans coach Monty Williams has indicated that the team will consider re-signing the player.
- Kevin Durant‘s recent ankle injury has shown just how fragile the Thunder‘s playoff hopes are, Royce Young of ESPN.com writes. “You can’t take winning for granted,” Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks said. “Winning a game is hard. My first-year coach, Jimmy Lynam, used to always say that. Winning a game in this league is tough. And number one is health. Having your full roster to work with gives you the best chance to win.”
Following Specific Players On Hoops Rumors
The majority of players who were signed this past offseason became eligible to be traded on December 15th. This will pave the way for numerous potential deals between now and the February trade deadline. In addition to methods of keeping track of your favorite teams as they continue to mold their rosters, Hoops Rumors also provides ways to easily follow the latest on all of your favorite players. If you want to stay up to date on Ray Allen‘s or Jermaine O’Neal‘s continued free agency, you can find Allen’s page right here and O’Neal’s here. For intel on where a potential trade candidate like Deron Williams might end up, go here.
Every player we’ve written about has his own rumors page. You can find any player by using our search box (located in the right sidebar); by clicking his tag at the bottom of a post in which he’s discussed; or, by simply typing his name in your address bar after hoopsrumors.com, substituting dashes for spaces. For example, Allen’s page is hoopsrumors.com/ray-allen.
You can also set up an RSS feed for any of our player pages by adding /feed to the end of the page URL, like this: hoopsrumors.com/ray-allen/feed. Entering that URL into the reader of your choice should enable you to get updates whenever we write about Allen. It works for teams, too. If you’re a Mavericks fan, you can enter hoopsrumors.com/dallas-mavericks/feed into your reader and stay on top of all the latest from Dallas.
In addition to players and teams, there are a number of other subjects you can track by clicking on the tags that we use at the bottom of posts. You can keep tabs on news related to next year’s draft right here. Items related to the NBA D-League, including assignments and recalls, can be found on this rumors page or in our tracker as well. Any news that has to do with potential rises in the salary cap for next year and beyond can be found here. Again, you can set up a feed with any of these pages by adding /feed to the end of the URL.
You can also follow any specific player or team by using the free Trade Rumors app for iOS and Android devices. The Trade Rumors app brings together content from our three sites: MLB Trade Rumors, Hoops Rumors, and Pro Football Rumors. You can easily scroll left to right and click on the image of the article you want to read. The Trade Rumors app is highly customizable. You can add feeds for any of the 92 MLB, NBA, and NFL teams, as well as for any of the thousands of players in our archives, by using the settings icon up top for iOS and the pencil icon up top for Android. You can create a multi-sport experience tailored to your specific interests, or you can limit your app entirely to one sport by removing the others.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
2015/16 Salary Rankings: Point Guards
Hoops Rumors is in the process of ranking the cap hit for each NBA player by position. I previously ran down the point guard, shooting guard, small forward, power forward, and center salaries for the 2014/15 season. Next on the agenda will be a look forward at the salaries for point guards for the 2015/16 campaign.
All told, NBA teams have committed a total of $364,309,784 in cap hits so far for next season to the men who facilitate the offenses around the league. The average hit for the one spot so far for next season is a respectable $6,281,203, with Chris Paul of the Clippers topping the list for the second straight year with an impressive $21,468,696 coming his way. Though it should be noted that the list and rankings will change greatly depending on how the free agent market develops next summer.
It should also be noted that teams won’t necessarily pay out every dollar listed here. There are quite a few players who have non-guaranteed or partially guaranteed contracts. Some of those players will be sweating it out until the January 2015 deadline. That’s when teams must waive players with no specific guarantee date written into their contracts to avoid having to guarantee their salaries for the rest of that season.
Most salaries align with cap hits, but that’s not the case for players like Jeremy Lin , who’s receiving close to $15MM from the Lakers during the 2014/15 season even though his cap hit was little more than half that amount, because of the contract he signed through the Gilbert Arenas Provision. In addition, incentive clauses that a player either triggers or fails to meet can leave a player with more or less money than his cap hit reflects. Still, the purpose of this list is to show the relative pay scale by position, which is why all contracts are included in this post.
The league’s point guards are listed below, in descending order of cap hit for next season:
- Chris Paul (Clippers) $21,468,696
- Deron Williams (Nets) $21,042,800
- Derrick Rose (Bulls) $20,093,064
- Russell Westbrook (Thunder) $16,744,218
- Kyrie Irving (Cavs) $15,856,500
- John Wall (Wizards) $15,851,950
- Eric Bledsoe (Suns) $13,500,000
- Tony Parker (Spurs) $13,437,500
- Ricky Rubio (Wolves) $12.7MM
- Ty Lawson (Nuggets) $12,404,595
- Kyle Lowry (Raptors) $12MM
- Kemba Walker (Hornets) $12MM
- Stephen Curry (Warriors) $11,370,786
- Jrue Holiday (Pelicans) $10,595,507
- Mike Conley (Grizzlies) $9,388,426
- Brandon Jennings (Pistons) $8,344,479
- George Hill (Pacers) $8MM
- Jeff Teague (Hawks) $8MM
- Goran Dragic (Suns) $7,500,000 [Player Option]
- Jose Calderon (Knicks) $7,402,812
- Isaiah Thomas (Suns) $6,912,869
- Greivis Vasquez (Raptors) $6.6MM
- Jarrett Jack (Nets) $6.3MM
- Shaun Livingston (Warriors) $5,543,725
- Darren Collison (Kings) $5,013,559
- Mario Chalmers (Heat) $4.3MM
- Damian Lillard (Blazers) $4,236,287
- Devin Harris (Mavs) $4,053,446
- Raymond Felton (Mavs) $3,950,313 [Player Option]
- Dante Exum (Jazz) $3,777,720
- Patrick Mills (Spurs) $3,578,947
- Marcus Smart (Celtics) $3,431,040
- D.J. Augustin (Pistons) $3MM
- Jerryd Bayless (Bucks) $3MM
- Kirk Hinrich (Bulls) $2,854,940 [Player Option]
- Brian Roberts (Hornets) $2,854,940
- Luke Ridnour (Magic) $2,750,000
- Trey Burke (Jazz) $2,658,240
- Elfrid Payton (Magic) $2,505,720
- Shelvin Mack (Hawks) $2,433,333
- Michael Carter-Williams (Sixers) $2,399,040
- Steve Blake (Blazers) $2,170,465 [Player Option]
- Jordan Farmar (Clippers) $2,170,465 [Player Option]
- Ramon Sessions (Kings) $2,170,465
- Beno Udrih (Grizzlies) $2,170,465
- Zach LaVine (Wolves) $2,148,360
- Dennis Schröder (Hawks) $1,763,400
- Pablo Prigioni (Knicks) $1,734,572
- Tyler Ennis (Suns) $1,662,360
- Shabazz Napier (Heat) $1,294,440
- Isaiah Canaan (Rockets) $947,276
- Ray McCallum (Kings) $947,276
- Phil Pressey (Celtics) $947,276
- Nate Wolters (Bucks) $947,276
- Jordan Clarkson (Lakers) $845,059
- Spencer Dinwiddie (Pistons) $845,059
- Erick Green (Nuggets) $845,059
- Russ Smith (Pelicans) $845,059
The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.