Jazz Sign Bryce Cotton To Multiyear Deal
The Jazz have signed Bryce Cotton to a multiyear deal, the team announced. Shams Charania of RealGM reported earlier that the sides were making progress as they spoke about a deal that covered the rest of the season. I speculated then that Utah and the Passing Lane Sports Management client were probably haggling over the existence of additional seasons on such a contract and the details thereof. It’s unclear just how long the deal stretches and whether there’s any guaranteed salary beyond this year.
Jazz coaches have liked what they’ve seen from Cotton in practice and the limited time he’s seen in games, tweets Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune. The 22-year-old point guard saw only 12 total minutes of action on a pair of 10-day contracts with the Jazz, but Utah has nonetheless committed to him for at least the balance of the season. He saw a ton of playing time in 34 games with San Antonio’s D-League affiliate earlier this season, averaging 40.3 minutes per game. Cotton was also on San Antonio’s NBA roster for the preseason and joined the Spurs for summer league this past offseason after going undrafted out of Providence.
Utah filled its open roster spots in quick succession with announcements separated by a few minutes of Cotton’s deal and a new 10-day contract with Jack Cooley. The Jazz have signed a half dozen players to at least one 10-day deal this season, as our 10-Day Contract Tracker shows, but Cotton and Elijah Millsap, who received a three-year deal, are the only ones to have been re-signed for the balance of the season.
Northwest Notes: Hunt, Neal, Gasol, Tomic
The Trail Blazers have never won a Northwest Division title, but they’re seemingly destined to do so this year, since they’re up nine games in the loss column on the Thunder with less than a month to go in the regular season. The last time Portland won a division title, in 1999, the team was in the Pacific Division. Here’s the latest on the teams looking up at the Blazers in the standings:
- Nuggets players, and Kenneth Faried in particular, are ecstatic about interim coach Melvin Hunt and would unanimously vote to remove the interim tag from his title, observes Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. However, owner Stan Kroenke is still dissatisfied with a team far from playoff contention, Dempsey also notes.
- Timberwolves guard Gary Neal doesn’t regret chasing the money and leaving the Spurs to sign a two-year, $6.5MM deal in 2013 in part because he saw DeJuan Blair go from a starter to signing a minimum-salary contract in short order, as Neal tells Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune. Neal will be a free agent again at season’s end.
- Kevin Durant has posited that Oklahoma City’s lack of “orchestras and plays” dissuaded Pau Gasol from signing with the Thunder this past summer, but Gasol said this weekend that such cultural attractions weren’t a factor, according to The Oklahoman’s Darnell Mayberry. The Bulls big man instead said it was a matter of on-court fit that led him to choose Chicago, as Mayberry relays.
- Jazz draft-and-stash prospect Ante Tomic believes the offseason ahead is his last legitimate opportunity to join the NBA, and while he acknowledged that he’s in talks about a new deal with his Spanish team, he won’t rule out a jump to Utah. The 7’2″ center made his remarks to Jesús Pérez Ramos of Mundo Deportivo (translation via HoopsHype). FC Barcelona has a team option on the 28-year-old for next season, but the Jazz are reportedly willing to pay to buy Tomic out of his contract.
Atlantic Notes: Young, Jackson, Sixers
Thaddeus Young said Saturday that he wants to remain with the Nets even though he hasn’t decided on his early termination option for next season, worth as much as nearly $10.222MM, observes Andy Vasquez of The Record. Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities can’t envision Young turning down that option and pointed to his earlier report that the forward had requested a trade from the Timberwolves through his agent (Twitter links). Young spoke of a mutual feeling of interest in a continued relationship with Brooklyn, and indeed Nets GM Billy King has said the team will do what it can to retain him, as King apparently sees him as a building block for the team’s future. While we wait to see exactly how Young and the Nets proceed, here’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- Marc Berman of the New York Post sees signs that Knicks president Phil Jackson will choose to leave the team before his five-year contract is through. The Knicks have fallen flat in Jackson’s first year at the helm, and he hinted to Harvey Araton of The New York Times earlier this season that he isn’t planning a long-term stay in New York.
- Veterans Luc Mbah a Moute and Jason Richardson are favorites of Sixers coach Brett Brown, notes Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News, who takes a shot at sizing up the chances that many of the Sixers have of returning to the team next season. Richardson and Mbah a Moute are both set for unrestricted free agency this summer.
- Celtics assistant coach Jay Larranaga has drawn the eye of George Mason University, which plans to make him a focus of its search for a new head coach, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Larranaga has surfaced as an NBA head coaching candidate in the past and interviewed for the C’s and Sixers head coaching jobs, Wojnarowski notes.
Jazz, Bryce Cotton Talk Rest-Of-Season Deal
The Jazz and point guard Bryce Cotton are making progress as they discuss a deal that would cover the rest of the season, reports Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). Cotton’s second 10-day contract with Utah expired overnight, so any new deal between the sides would have to cover at least the balance of 2014/15.
Cotton saw only 12 total minutes of playing time for an improved Jazz team during his pair of 10-day stints, and he didn’t go on D-League assignment for any additional burn. Still, the first-year pro saw no shortage of playing time for the better part of the season when he was on a D-League contract with the affiliate of the Spurs. The undrafted 22-year-old out of Providence averaged 22.4 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists against 2.5 turnovers in 40.3 minutes per game for the Austin Spurs. Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey came from the San Antonio organization, so it was no surprise to see him pick up a player who’d spent time not only with the Austin Spurs but with San Antonio’s NBA club during the preseason and the summer league.
The Jazz have the luxury of two open roster spots after their 10-day deals with Cotton and Jerrelle Benimon expired Sunday night, though the team is reportedly set to sign Jack Cooley, a one-time 10-day signee from earlier this season, to another 10-day contract. It would make sense if the primary subject that Utah and Cotton are haggling about is the existence of another year or two on his deal and whether the extra seasons would involve any guaranteed salary, though that’s just my speculation.
Pistons Sign Quincy Miller To Two-Year Deal
SUNDAY, 11:02pm: The Pistons still haven’t made a formal public announcement of the move, but the RealGM transactions log shows the signing as having taken place Friday.
10:34am: There’s been no formal announcement from the team, but Miller took to Twitter to declare that he is “officially a Piston,” and Keith Langlois of Pistons.com retweeted Miller’s dispatch. Charania indicates in a follow-up story that the figure approaching $1MM represents Miller’s full salary and not the amount of his partial guarantee, and he’s followed up with a tweet that confirms that’s the case. Miller is receiving a minimum-salary deal, as Charania clarifies, rather than one via the room exception.
THURSDAY, 7:45am: The deal is for two years and is partially guaranteed for nearly $1MM next season, a source tells Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). Since Miller would make $981,348 next season on a minimum-salary deal, it sounds like the Pistons are using a portion of their room exception to accommodate the signing, though that’s not entirely clear.
WEDNESDAY, 8:37pm: The Pistons intend to sign Quincy Miller for the remainder of the season, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link). The deal also includes a training camp invite for next season, but there doesn’t appear to be any guaranteed money for 2015/16 included, though that is just my speculation since training camp deals usually carry little or no guaranteed cash.
Miller, 22, has not appeared in a game for Detroit thus far, despite being on his second 10-deal with the club. The forward did notch six appearances for the Kings while on two 10-day contracts earlier this season. Miller averaged 2.8 points and 2.0 rebounds in 10.2 minutes per game for Sacramento, who had reportedly discussed inking him for the rest of the season, but no deal came to fruition.
The forward put up strong numbers in the D-League with Sacramento’s affiliate in Reno earlier this season, averaging 25.3 PPG and 7.6 RPG in 28.9 MPG across 15 appearances. Those stats served to rebuild Miller’s value after the Nuggets cut him at the end of the preseason after failing to find a taker for him in the trade market.
And-Ones: Rondo, Mavs, Dragic
Years ago, in a fit of rage, Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki put a hole in a wall at the Warriors‘ Oracle Arena. Now, Golden State wants to bring that wall with them when they move to a privately financed arena in San Francisco for the 2018/19 season, Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com writes. The Warriors want to bring it along because it has been made into a large display that many people inquire about viewing, Howard-Cooper added.
“It’s amazing how many people ask to see it,” said Steve Martin, the production manager for Oracle. “It’s right outside my door, so I hear it all the time. At first, I thought it was just kind of a goof. But as time went on, it’s become a bigger deal.”
Besides not knowing where it would go, Howard-Cooper writes, there is another problem with the idea: since Oracle is owned by the city of Oakland, local government can tell the Warriors no. Here’s more from around the NBA..
- Rajon Rondo is finally starting to mesh with his teammates in Dallas, writes Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. After struggling during most of his time with the Mavericks, Rondo seems to be figuring out how to play the style of basketball that the team is accustomed to. “He was tremendously active, I know that,” Nowitzki said after Friday’s win over the Clippers. “He was out there talking, directing everybody. This was as animated as I’ve seen him. Maybe he’s getting more comfortable.”
- The Mavericks announced via press release that they have recalled center/forward Dwight Powell from the Texas Legends of the D-League. Powell has appeared in 19 games for the Mavericks this season and is averaging 3.5 points and 2.2 rebounds in 10.0 minutes per game. The 6’11” big man scored 28 points in 35 minutes for the Legends on Saturday.
- The Heat have recalled Zoran Dragic from their D-League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, according the team’s twitter feed. The guard appeared in four games for the Skyforce, averaging 16.5 points, 3.3 assists and 1.5 steals per game.
Chris Crouse and Will Joseph contributed to this post.
Pacific Notes: Lakers, Scott, Lin
Lakers coach Byron Scott feels for Knicks coach Derek Fisher. While Scott isn’t a coaching neophyte like his New York counterpart, both men have to deal with rabid fans in a major media market. “I think the New York fans are just like our fans. They say they’re going to be patient but they’re really not,” Scott said, according to Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times. “They have to be patient. Phil’s going to be very patient with Derek. He knows the type of person that Derek is. It just doesn’t happen overnight.” Here’s more from the Pacific Division..
- With the season winding down, Scott plans put pending free agent Jeremy Lin in the Lakers starting lineup, Medina writes. Lin started the first 19 games of the season only to lose his starting spot in favor of veteran guard Ronnie Price because of Scott’s preference for his defense and floor leadership Now, it sounds like he’ll get more of an opportunity to showcase himself before the end of the year.
- Scott is heaping tons of praise on 10-day signee Jabari Brown, as Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News writes. “He played extremely well for a guy who is on a 10-day contract,” the Lakers coach said. “He earned the right to play some more.” Brown inked his 10-day deal with Los Angeles on March 10th, so he still has some time left on this current pact.
- Phil Jackson losing out on coach Steve Kerr to the Warriors is well documented, but he’s happy for his success, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes. “The perfect job for him and perfect situation where he stepped into the right opportunity and made the most out of it,” Jackson said of Kerr. “I don’t give him advice. I’m there to congratulate him.’’
Hoops Links: Raptors, Expansion, Oladipo
On this date in 1992, Cavs coach Lenny Wilkens became only the fifth coach in NBA history (joining Red Auerbach, Jack Ramsay, Dick Motta, and Bill Fitch) to record 800 career victories after the Cavs beat the Nuggets 100-91. The current leaderboard has Wilkens at No. 2 with 1,332 wins, just behind Don Nelson’s 1,335 career victories as a head coach.
Got a great basketball blog post that you want to see featured on Hoops Rumors? Send it to Zach at HoopsLinks@gmail.com. Here’s this week’s look around the basketball blogosphere…
- Posterized Basketball looked at the slumping Raptors.
- Kingdome Of Seattle Sports says the NBA can sustain expansion in terms of talent.
- Slam Dunk Zone looked at the league’s under-the-radar players, including Victor Oladipo.
- Posting And Toasting looked at Phil Jackson‘s first year in New York.
- Denver Stiffs spoke with Nuggets strength and conditioning coach Steve Hess.
- A Wolf Among Wolves talked about the Ricky Rubio effect.
- Hot Hot Hoops wonders if it’s time for Miami to shut it down.
Please send submissions for Hoops Links to Zach at HoopsLinks@gmail.com.
Hoops Rumors Originals
Here’s a look at the original analysis generated by the Hoops Rumors staff this week..
- Eddie Scarito looked at the Hornets’ salary commitments for the 2015/16 season. Eddie also ran down the Nets, Celtics, Hawks, and Bulls.
- Chuck Myron ran down the players eligible for restricted free agency.
- In the latest edition of the NBA Draft Prospect Power Rankings, Eddie bumped D’Angelo Russell up from No. 3 to No. 2.
- I looked back on the deal that brought Gerald Wallace to the Nets and, eventually, Damian Lillard to the Blazers.
- Chuck asked readers to pick their winner for the 2014/15 Executive of the Year award.
- There are 23 players who were cut in training camp that are currently on an NBA roster, Chuck found.
- In the latest edition of the Free Agent Power Rankings, LaMarcus Aldridge climbed up a spot to No. 4, thanks to Jimmy Butler‘s elbow injury .
- Chuck gave us a team-by-team update on each club’s roster flexibility.
- The NBA granted disabled player exceptions to the Pacers, Lakers, Heat and Cavaliers this season, but only the Cavs put their disabled player exception to use. Several DPEs expired on Tuesday after going unused, and Chuck broke it all down.
- Eddie fielded your questions in this week’s edition of the mailbag.
- The NBA’s hardship rule was little-known and little used when the season began, but the ability for teams to exceed the 15-man roster limit during the regular season has come into play more frequently in 2014/15. Here are the teams that took advantage of it, courtesy of Chuck.
- The Sixers and Celtics made the most trades in 2014/15.
- Chuck gave us an update on traded 2015 first-round picks.
- Eddie asked Hoops Rumors readers if the Raptors should be targeting Canadian players. More than 60% of you said that they should focus on getting players who can win, regardless of where they’re from.
- Seven players have been claimed off waivers since opening night.
- Chuck looked at the midseason signees on multiyear deals.
- Chuck ran down the rookie scale contracts that were traded this season.
- The Sixers and Blazers have $0 of cap commitments on the books in 2016/17, Chuck writes.
- If you missed out on last week’s chat, check out the transcript here.
- Here’s how you can follow Hoops Rumors on Facebook, Twitter, and your RSS feed.
This Date In Transactions History: Gerald Wallace
On this date three years ago, the Nets paid a hefty price to give star guard Deron Williams some additional help. New Jersey, gearing up for their long-anticipated move to Brooklyn, acquired Gerald Wallace in exchange for Mehmet Okur, Shawne Williams, and a top-three protected 2012 pick. Of course, the trade deadline is typically weeks earlier than March 15th, but the cutoff was pushed up in the 2011/12 season thanks to the NBA lockout, which resulted in an abbreviated 66-game season.
While Crash still had a great deal to offer talent-wise, the deal raised some eyebrows for a lot of people from the Nets’ perspective. For starters, Wallace held a $9.5MM player option for the following season and, theoretically, this trade could have amounted to a ~20 game rental for the Nets, who were certainly not headed to the postseason. Not only were the Nets not playoff bound, but they had the sixth-worst record in the league at 15-29, so they were giving away a highly valuable asset in their first-round pick, even though it was top-three protected. On the plus side, GM Billy King managed to shed Okur’s expiring $10.89MM contract and avoid Williams exercising his $3.1MM option for the following year.
In the offseason, Wallace would decline his player option and the two sides instead inked a brand new four-year, $40MM pact. While Wallace became a fan favorite with his hard-nosed style of play, it was clear that his approach to the game wasn’t the best thing when it came to his longevity. In the following season, Wallace averaged 7.7 PPG (his lowest posting since 2003/04) with an 11.6 PER that put him well below the league average. The Nets finished the 2012/13 season with 49 wins, but they were sent packing early when the Bulls knocked them off in the opening round of the playoffs. Months after that, just one year after the small forward signed that lucrative new deal with the Nets, Wallace was shipped to the Celtics in the blockbuster deal that would bring Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce to the Barclays Center. Later on, as a member of the C’s, Wallace would comment on how that deal was also ill-fated.
“It was one of those stories of a get-rich-quick scheme. You either hit it big or you don’t,” Wallace said, according to Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News. “They took a gamble. It backfired.”
The Blazers, in essence, took advantage of the Nets’ desperation to fast forward their timetable for contention while taking on very little ($3.5MM thanks to Williams’ option) in future salary. That first round pick from the Nets gave Portland the No. 6 overall choice in the 2012 draft, which they used to select guard Damian Lillard. The pride of Weber State shot up draft boards in the weeks leading up to the draft and he has obviously proven to be worth the hype. Lillard has blossomed into a two-time All-Star and one of the very best point guards in the NBA today. Meanwhile, the Nets have watched Deron Williams decline sharply just three years after signing him to a five-year, ~$100MM deal.