Pistons Sign John Lucas III To Second 10-Day
FEBRUARY 12TH: The team has indeed inked Lucas to another 10-day deal, the Pistons announced via press release. His first expired Wednesday night. All 10-day deals must cover at least three games, and since the Pistons have already played for the last time before the All-Star break, the deal will extend longer than 10 days. It’ll run through February 24th, when Detroit plays its third game after the All-Star break, so it’s essentially a 13-day contract. The Pistons could always terminate the contract early if they wish, but they’ll be on the hook for a prorated minimum salary for each of the 13 days regardless. The deal will cost Detroit $69,989 instead of the $53,838 that a standard 10-day for Lucas would.
FEBRUARY 6TH: The Pistons will sign John Lucas III to a second 10-day contract, barring an unforeseen change of plans, coach and president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy said today, according to Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press (Twitter link). Lucas is on day No. 5 of his first 10-day deal. Van Gundy and company would have to decide whether to keep Lucas for the season once his second 10-day contract expires.
Detroit signed Lucas after GM Jeff Bower couldn’t find a point guard via trade who could offset the loss of the injured Brandon Jennings for the rest of the season. The 32-year-old Lucas, in his eighth NBA season, has performed well in limited minutes so far, scoring 13 points and dishing out seven assists without a single turnover in 22 total minutes of play over two games. Still, Van Gundy remains concerned about the workload of D.J. Augustin, who’s been starting in place of Jennings, as Brendan Savage of MLive notes.
Lucas holds down the 15th spot on the roster for the Pistons, who have 14 others signed through season’s end, as our roster counts show. The Bernie Lee client spent most of the season playing in China after canceling a workout he had planned with the Lakers.
And-Ones: Sanders, Johnson, Suns
Larry Sanders‘ league-imposed suspension for marijuana use has ended, Charles F. Gardner of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports (Twitter link). The big man had been suspended without pay for a minimum of 10 games for a violation of the anti-drug policy, the NBA had announced back on January 16th. The league had stipulated that the suspension would remain in effect until Sanders fully complied with his treatment program. There has been no official announcement from the league or the Bucks regarding Sanders’ reinstatement as of yet. Sanders has missed a total of 12 games while on suspension, totaling $1.2MM in lost wages.
The end of the suspension makes it certain that the team will be unable to re-sign Jorge Gutierrez, whose 10-day contract will expire during the All-Star break, unless the Bucks unload one of their 15 players who are signed through the end of the season. Gutierrez has occupied the extra roster spot that Milwaukee’s has had thanks to the presence of Sanders on the suspended list.
Here’s more from around the league:
- If Tyler Johnson remains on the Heat‘s roster past August 1st, half of his $845,059 salary for the 2015/16 season will become guaranteed, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders notes (Twitter link). Johnson was signed to a two-year deal by Miami after completing a pair of 10-day contracts with the team.
- The Suns have recalled Archie Goodwin and Reggie Bullock from the Bakersfield Jam, their D-League affiliate, the team has announced. This was the the fourth trek of the season for Goodwin to Bakersfield, and the second for Bullock.
- Pistons president of basketball operations and coach Stan Van Gundy blasted the Kings for how they have treated interim coach Tyrone Corbin, David Mayo of MLive.com writes. Van Gundy took issue with the organization’s public courting of George Karl, who is reportedly finalizing an agreement to coach Sacramento, Mayo notes. “I think it’s an unfortunate situation, the way it’s been handled,” Van Gundy said. “I think Tyrone Corbin has been treated very, very poorly by their organization. I think the way they have treated him is unfortunate and inexcusable for one of the real class acts in our business.“
- While Jahlil Okafor remains the consensus No. 1 overall pick in June’s NBA draft, the player likely to be selected No. 2 remains a tight race between Emmanuel Mudiay, Karl-Anthony Towns, and D’Angelo Russell, Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required) notes.
Western Notes: Wolves, Murphy, Brown
Despite having desirable veteran trade assets in Thaddeus Young and Kevin Martin, Timberwolves president of basketball operations Flip Saunders isn’t actively looking to make more deals before the February 19th trade deadline, Jerry Zgoda of The Star Tribune writes. Saunders is willing to listen to offers, but he said that the team now has plenty of competition for playing time at every position, and the Wolves are focused on trying to get their current roster settled, Zgoda adds.
Here’s more from the Western Conference:
- Kevin Murphy, who was in training camp with the Jazz this season, is considering returning to the Idaho Stampede, Utah’s D-League affiliate, David Pick of Eurobasket.com reports (Twitter link). Murphy had been playing in China for Zhejiang Guangsha, whose regular season has just concluded.
- The Suns are expected to discuss a deal with Alec Brown, their 2014 second round draft pick, to join the team for the 2015/16 campaign, Shams Charania of RealGM.com reports. Brown has been rehabilitating a dislocated shoulder that he suffered during summer league play in Las Vegas. The big man is set to join the Bakersfield Jam, Phoenix’s D-League affiliate, next week, Charania notes.
- Bernard James, who was recently inked to a 10-day deal with the Mavericks, believes that his time spent with the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association made him a better player, Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News writes. “It was huge,” James said of playing overseas. “It kind of got me back to feeling like myself again. I’m not hesitating. I’m believing in my game. It was good to play major minutes and having a team really rely on me.“
- Some NBA executives aren’t dismissing the idea of George Karl retaining Tyrone Corbin as an assistant on his coaching staff with the Kings, Gery Woelfel of The Racine Journal Times reports (Twitter link).
Central Notes: Pistons, Gutierrez, Cavs
The only way the Pistons would part with one of their players on a rookie contract at the deadline is if they receive a star or another such deal in return, coach/executive Stan Van Gundy says, adding that the team is open to becoming a deadline buyer, as MLive’s David Mayo notes. “Yeah. But again, depending on what you have to give up,” Van Gundy said of upgrading at the deadline. “We don’t want to be making sacrifices down the road. If it was a matter of just spending more money, yes, we definitely would. But if it’s a matter of us giving up what we think are valuable assets, and it was just for a rental for the rest of the year, probably not.”
Here’s more from the Central Division:
- Bucks GM John Hammond struck a similar tone about his team Tuesday, as Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel relays. “Look, the big picture for us is becoming a championship-caliber organization,” Hammond said. “For us to get short-sighted and say, ‘Let’s try to win today’ and replacing any thought of moving forward into the future, I think we’re all aware that’s not who we want to be. Anything we’re looking at today is still hopefully going to be focused on acquiring a piece or talking about adding pieces that can be long-term players for this organization.”
- The early season trades that the Cavaliers had made are paying dividends for the franchise, John Zitzler of Basketball Insiders writes. Cleveland has shown significant improvement as a team since acquiring Timofey Mozgov, who has been the most vital addition, but the play of both J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert have also been a boon, Zitzler adds. GM David Griffin deserves praise for identifying the Cavs’ biggest weaknesses and promptly addressing them, the Basketball Insiders scribe adds.
- The Bucks won’t sign Jorge Gutierrez to a deal for the rest of the season unless they make a move to free up a roster spot, Hammond told reporters, including Andrew Gruman of Fox Sports Wisconsin (Twitter link). That indicates the team expects Larry Sanders back from his suspension at some point this season, since Gutierrez, on day No. 5 of his second 10-day contract with the team, is in the extra roster spot that the suspension allows for.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Rockets Likely To Pursue Jeremy Lin
With Jeremy Lin set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, the 26-year-old could potentially return to Houston, the franchise with which he inked his last free agent contract, Howard Beck of Bleacher Report writes. Despite having essentially given Lin away to the Lakers this past summer in a trade, the Rockets remain high on Lin and are expected to be among his chief suitors this offseason, Beck notes. The Rockets would be unable to reacquire Lin via a trade this season since he was dealt away less than a year ago by the team.
Houston traded Lin along with its 2015 first and second round draft picks for the rights to Sergei Lishchuk last July. Lin was dealt due to Rockets GM Daryl Morey desperately trying to clear enough cap space to ink Chris Bosh, who was reportedly close to signing a free agent deal with the team. The franchise had also dealt away Omer Asik to the Pelicans for the same reason, but it did manage to net Trevor Ariza in that particular transaction. But Bosh ended up spurning the Rockets to return to Miami, signing a five-year, $118,705,300 contract with the Heat.
The point guard has had a difficult time living up to the hype of “Linsanity,” a brief but notable stretch of games with the Knicks during the 2011/12 campaign that had made him a national sensation. Lin’s time in New York came to an end when the Knicks declined to match the three-year, $25MM offer sheet that Houston signed him to back in 2012, a contract that Knicks star Carmelo Anthony referred to at the time as “ridiculous,” Beck notes.
Lin’s production during his two seasons in Houston was solid, but unspectacular. He averaged 13.4 points during the 2012/13 season, and then notched 12.5 points per game last season. The dip in his numbers was also due to the Rockets’ acquisition of James Harden from the Thunder, and Lin soon found himself coming off of the bench for the bulk of the season, a role that Lin wasn’t necessarily suited to.
“It’s just been a growing experience, more than anything,” Lin told Beck. “Never would I have thought that my career has gone in the trajectory that it’s gone in. When I was younger, it seemed like every year I would get better. It seemed like I would put the work in and then I would see those improvements. And for whatever reason, I felt like, well, I know I put the work in, and I felt like I was getting better. But it didn’t always amount to the results I wanted to see. So that’s definitely frustrating, to see that happen three straight years.”
Things may have turned out differently for Lin had the Lakers retained coach Mike D’Antoni, who resigned before Lin was acquired. Lin had thrived under D’Antoni in New York, but hasn’t had an easy time adapting to coach Byron Scott‘s system in Los Angeles, Beck notes. The Bleacher Report scribe also believes that Lin could still flourish in the league if he were able to play for a more supportive coach and perhaps a system more attuned to his skills.
Lin is averaging 10.5 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 4.6 assists in 25.5 minutes per game in 51 appearances this season. His career averages are 11.6 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 4.8 assists. Lin’s career slash line is .440/.348/.796.
Atlantic Notes: Nets, ‘Melo, Kirilenko
The Raptors appear to be in buying mode if they’re to make a deadline move, while the Sixers and Knicks are probably sellers, and the Celtics have already demonstrated their willingness to part with immediate assets with their flurry of trades so far this season. That leaves the Nets, amid persistent rumors surrounding Deron Williams, Brook Lopez and Joe Johnson for the past two months. Still, coach Lionel Hollins doesn’t expect that the Nets will make any deadline moves, as Tim Bontemps of the New York Post observes. Here’s more from around the Atlantic while we wait to see if Hollins is correct about what GM Billy King and company do:
- Heat team president Pat Riley said he called agent Leon Rose about Carmelo Anthony this past summer when Anthony was already deep into his free agent decision-making, but the Knicks star insists he never personally heard from the Heat, notes Marc Berman of the New York Post.
- Andrei Kirilenko‘s wife gave birth to a healthy baby son this week, according to Robert Windrem of NetsDaily (Twitter link), and that’s a signal that movement might be afoot for Kirilenko’s NBA career. Kirilenko, without specifying the issue that’s kept him from playing since November 13th, told reporters in December that it would be resolved by February. The veteran forward has been on suspension while taking leave to tend to his wife for the past few months, and the Sixers have reportedly viewed him as a trade chip.
- Xavier Thames, the No. 59 pick in the 2014 draft whose rights belong to the Nets, is joining the D-League’s Fort Wayne Mad Ants, reports Reggie Hayes of The (Fort Wayne) News-Sentinel. Thames had been playing with Baloncesto Sevilla of Spain.
And-Ones: Kings, Allen, Lopez, Wolves
DeMarcus Cousins and Tyrone Corbin both called the latest round of Kings coaching upheaval a “distraction,” as Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee relays (Twitter link). Cousins released a statement through his agency saying that he hadn’t been consulted when the team fired Michael Malone and isn’t being consulted now, expressing hope for a quick resolution and support for George Karl should the team choose to hire him. Still, Cousins decried the public chatter of a coaching move while Corbin remains in place. Rudy Gay, who’s hinted at dissatisfaction with Corbin in the past, instead expressed admiration Tuesday for the job Corbin’s done under trying circumstances, as Jones also notes in his story.
While we wait to see how it all plays out in Sacramento, here’s more from around the league:
- A Nets source tells Windrem that no deal with the Hornets involving Lopez, Stephenson and Zeller was ever that close (Twitter link).
Earlier updates:
- There’s no guarantee that Ray Allen makes his decision on whether or not he’ll return to the NBA this season within 10 days of All-Star Weekend, as Jim Tanner, Allen’s agent, tells Chris Broussard of ESPN (Twitter link). It was rumored that the 39-year-old sharpshooter was going to make a choice regarding his future shortly after the All-Star break.
- The Hornets offered Lance Stephenson and Cody Zeller to the Nets last month and were ready to call the league office to finalize the trade, reports Robert Windrem of NetsDaily (All Twitter links). The sides were quite close to agreement, Windrem adds, and so close that people at the D-League Showcase, which was taking place at the time, thought it was a fait accompli, Grantland’s Zach Lowe tweets. It was the closest Brooklyn has come to trading Lopez, Joe Johnson or Deron Williams this year, according to the NetsDaily scribe.
- The Wolves sent the Hornets $344,462 in cash Tuesday in the Mo Williams trade, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders shows on his Wolves salary page (Twitter link). Minnesota created two trade exceptions in that deal, one worth Troy Daniels‘ $816,482 salary and another worth the $500K difference between the salaries for Williams and Gary Neal, Pincus tweets.
- That means the Wolves had to take Adreian Payne into one of their existing trade exceptions to make their trade with the Hawks work, and that’s just what Minnesota did. The Wolves absorbed Payne’s $1,855,320 salary into their $4,702,500 Corey Brewer exception, leaving the $6,308,193 Kevin Love exception untouched and reducing the Brewer exception to $2,847,180, as Pincus shows on the Basketball Insiders Wolves salary page.
- The Hawks would wind up with Minnesota’s second-round picks for both 2020 and 2021 if the lottery-protected 2017 first-rounder the Wolves gave up in the Payne trade doesn’t convey to Atlanta by 2019 at the latest, Pincus also reports on that page.
Charlie Adams contributed to this post.
Mavs Sign Bernard James To 10-Day Contract
WEDNESDAY, 10:20am: The deal is official, as Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com tweets. It’ll run just the standard 10 days, since the Mavs have a game tonight and return from the All-Star break with a back-to-back on December 19th and 20th, fulfilling the three-game requirement.
TUESDAY, 8:09am: The Mavericks will sign Bernard James to a 10-day contract once he receives his FIBA letter of clearance to make the jump back from China, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com. James had been playing with the Yao Ming-owned Shanghai Sharks since shortly after the Mavs waived him at the end of the preseason, but the Sharks failed to make the Chinese Basketball Association playoffs, allowing the 30-year-old big man to become a free agent last week. The FIBA letter of clearance is a standard procedural step that players go through when they move between countries, and it’s unlikely that it serves as a stumbling block.
Stein and ESPN colleague Tim MacMahon reported this past weekend that Mavs GM Donnie Nelson and company would seek to add a big man on a 10-day contract while they waited for Jermaine O’Neal, for whom Dallas is by all accounts the front-runner, to ready himself to play. The Mavs have an open roster spot, as our roster counts show, though the team is prepared to clear a second spot to add Amar’e Stoudemire if he works a buyout with the Knicks, as Stein and MacMahon wrote.
James, who turned 30 this past weekend, played the previous two seasons with Dallas, which first acquired the rights to the former Air Force staff sergeant the same night that Cleveland drafted him 33rd overall in 2012. James averaged just 4.9 minutes per game across 30 appearances last season after he started 11 games as a rookie, but Dallas saw fit to re-sign him to a fully guaranteed contract for the minimum salary this past summer. That commitment bit the team in October, when non-guaranteed camp invitee Charlie Villanueva beat James out for a spot on the opening-night roster. James proceeded to put up 19.1 points and 11.2 rebounds in 30.0 minutes per game for Shanghai.
The 10-day contract that James signs with the Mavs might last longer than 10 days depending on when he signs it. All 10-day deals must cover at least three games, a rule that normally doesn’t come into play. However, with the expanded All-Star break this year, it would last 11 days if James signed either today or on Thursday.
Kings, George Karl Near Four-Year Deal
WEDNESDAY. 8:39am: All involved believe that the deal will get done and that Karl will take over as coach in time for the team’s first game after the All-Star break, as Amick writes in an updated version of his story. That indicates Karl shares the impression that Kings management has that an agreement is forthcoming.
10:42pm: The two sides are still in the midst of negotiations, according to TNT’s David Aldridge, who hears the proposed fourth year of Karl’s contract will likely contain buyout language worth a fixed amount that the Kings will owe Karl if they decide not to retain him past the third season of the deal.
TUESDAY, 5:30pm: Only a dramatic and unexpected collapse in the final stage of negotiations can prevent Karl from becoming the next coach of the Kings, Marc Stein and Chris Broussard of ESPN.com report. Though the deal hasn’t been finalized, the organization is already operating under the premise that Karl will take over the team after the All-Star break, the ESPN scribes add.
MONDAY, 5:30pm: Karl is seeking $5MM a year and would prefer the deal not include a team option as the sides continue to negotiate, USA Today’s Sam Amick hears.
4:47pm: George Karl will take over as coach of the Kings after the team plays its final game before the All-Star break Wednesday, absent an unforeseen turn of events, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The sides are progressing toward a four-year deal worth between $4MM and $5MM per season, league sources told Wojnarowski, with a team option on that fourth season. The sides are ironing out other details, Wojnarowski adds.
Dan Fegan and Jarinn Akana have no issues with the potential hiring of Karl, Wojnarowski hears, explaining that their seeming opposition was only a desire for clarity on the team’s swift departure from its plans to keep Tyrone Corbin for the rest of the season. D’Alessandro told Corbin on Friday, one day after the Magic fired Jacque Vaughn, that the team planned to search for a new head coach immediately.
It’s been a twisting path since then, with Karl, who worked under D’Alessandro when they were both in Denver, the central figure of the team’s search. Multiple Kings players reportedly oppose the would-be hiring, and members of the front office as well as minority owners have reportedly held reservations about Karl. Majority owner Vivek Ranadive apparently gave D’Alessandro the green light to hire Karl if he wishes, but Ranadive and D’Alessandro have sought assurances that Karl, who’s 63 and is twice a cancer survivor, is healthy enough for the job. There were conflicting reports about whether the team has made an offer to the 2012/13 Coach of the Year, but regardless, the sides appear on the verge of a deal.
Heat Rumors: Trades, Cole, Williams, Jerebko
The Heat are fighting to hold on to the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference, sitting just one and a half games up from falling out of a playoff position entirely. Injuries have been an issue for Miami this season, but the club’s lack of assets has prevented much roster movement, and one rival GM tells Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald that the same problem will stifle Pat Riley and company from making any moves before the trade deadline rolls around. We’ll provide Jackson’s latest on the Heat below:
- The rival GM with whom Jackson spoke said Norris Cole‘s name has come up in trade discussions but downplayed the return Miami could reap for him. “What are you going to get for [Cole]?” the GM implored. “He’s a backup. They don’t have much to give up. Josh McRoberts would have value for a team out of the playoffs. Birdman [Chris Andersen] would have value for a playoff team but a playoff team is not trading you a quality [wing] for him.”
- The Heat have arguably the worst point guard situation in the NBA right now and would surely like to swing a deal to land a reliable floor general, but the same GM told Jackson that Mo Williams was the only starting-caliber point guard who’s name was being shopped around. Williams, of course, was shipped from the Timberwolves to Miami’s division rival Hornets this afternoon.
- Detroit offered Miami Jonas Jerebko in exchange for Cole, according to Jackson, who adds that the Heat’s insistence that the Pistons also take Danny Granger in any potential deal prevented the trade from taking place.