Perry Jones, Jeff Ayres Signing In D-League
Free agents Perry Jones III and Jeff Ayres are signing D-League contracts and will be eligible for Saturday’s D-League draft, reports Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor (Twitter link). The D-League hasn’t made an announcement, but Reichert indicates that Jones and Ayres have already put pen to paper. Jones cleared NBA waivers after the Celtics cut him loose this weekend, while Ayres, coming off two seasons with the Spurs, was briefly on a deal this fall with Shanxi of the Chinese Basketball Association, which released him about a month ago. Jones and Ayres will still be able to sign NBA contracts should offers emerge.
Jones, 24, finds himself out of an NBA job in large measure because of a numbers crunch in Boston, where Jones had one of the 16 fully guaranteed salaries the Celtics carried into training camp, one more than the regular season roster limit. The C’s still owe him the $2.038MM that his rookie scale contract called for him to make this season. The Thunder offloaded his contract to the Celtics earlier this summer in the trade that sent the former 28th overall pick to Boston.
The 28-year-old Ayres, once known as Jeff Pendergraph, averaged fewer than 10 minutes per game for the second time in his five-year career last season. Rumors of NBA interest in the big man were scarce over the summer. The Spurs renounced their Early Bird rights to him to clear cap room for their free agent haul, according to RealGM.
Which NBA teams would be the best fits for Jones and Ayres? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.
Atlantic Notes: Celtics, Carroll, Nets, Railey
Draft picks, cap space, and “Trader Danny” Ainge, the team’s president of basketball operations, leave the Celtics in fine shape as they seek to add marquee players, co-owner Wyc Grousbeck believes, as he explained Wednesday in a radio appearance on the Felger & Mazz show on 98.5 The Sports Hub in Boston. Jimmy Toscano of CSNNE.com has the details and transcription that shows Grousbeck defending the team’s approach to rebuilding and indicating that a major free agent run isn’t the team’s preferred path.
“Free agency is the last choice and it’s when you haven’t made a trade that locks up your cap, or you haven’t developed guys enough who then are max guys to re-sign them,” Grousbeck said. “We’re not saving for free agents. It’s not like we’re saying no to expensive people. We brought in [David] Lee and [Amir] Johnson but on one year. We’re going to take a look at those guys. Two good players. We have the option to probably re-sign them next summer. We can extend some of the guys on the roster or we can make a trade in February and take on a bunch of money. So all those things. At the end of it all if there’s free agency dollars left then you can go the free agency route.”
See more from the Atlantic Division:
- DeMarre Carroll took a hard fall in Toronto’s opener Wednesday, but it turned out just to be a bruised elbow, and his ability to shrug off that and play his usual hard-nosed defense underscored why the Raptors signed him to a four-year, $58MM deal, DeMar DeRozan said, notes Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca.
- The playoffs are still the goal for the Nets, GM Billy King told reporters this week, but he acknowledged that the team still must develop its young players, as The Record’s Andy Vasquez relays. Brooklyn owes its unprotected first-round pick to the Celtics this year.
- The contract that Jordan Railey was briefly on with the Sixers was a non-guaranteed deal for one year at the minimum, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders. Philadelphia announced Monday that it had signed and quickly waived the former Washington State center for the purpose of securing his D-League rights. The Sixers incurred a small cap hit for doing so, since the deal came after Saturday’s deadline for teams to remove non-guaranteed salary without it counting against the cap.
Michael Friisdahl To Run Raptors Parent Company
9:30am: The hiring is official, the organization announced.
9:11am: Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, the company that owns the Raptors, is hiring Air Canada executive Michael Friisdahl as the new president and CEO, a source told Rick Westhead of TSN. He’ll take over for current MLSE chief Tim Leiweke in December, tweets Michael Grange of SportsNet. Leiweke announced more than a year ago that he was stepping down in June, but he’s stayed on as MLSE struggled to find a replacement.
Friisdahl’s background is chiefly in the travel industry, so his lack of sports industry experience is likely a sign that GM Masai Ujiri will be able to run the Raptors without much interference, posits Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun (Twitter link). Leiweke, by contrast, came to the organization having already served as president and CEO of Anschutz Entertainment Group, which owns the National Hockey League’s Kings and part of the Lakers.
John Cassaday, who is the top executive of Corus Entertainment in Toronto, was the front-runner for the MLSE job and the sides tentatively reached an agreement, but they got a late start on discussing financial terms and ultimately couldn’t close a deal, Westhead writes.
Jones, Motiejunas Nix Rockets Extension Talks
Terrence Jones and Donatas Motiejunas are taking a pass on signing rookie scale extensions with the Rockets and will instead set themselves up for restricted free agency this coming summer, reports Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports. Neither was able to gain traction in talks with the team, Charania adds. The deadline for rookie scale extensions is Monday.
That Houston was apparently not willing to bend too far in negotiations with either is no surprise, given GM Daryl Morey‘s longstanding desire to retain cap flexibility each year. The Rockets have about $44.3MM committed against a salary cap that some executives believe will rise to $95MM for next season, but that doesn’t include a team option worth $1.296MM the Rockets plan to exercise, nor does it include Ty Lawson‘s $13MM-plus non-guaranteed salary or Dwight Howard‘s $23MM-plus player option.
The Rockets will have the ability to match offers for both Jones and Motiejunas, and owner Leslie Alexander’s remark to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle this week that, “Nobody ever leaves here if we want to keep them,” underscores the level of control the team has. Still, the Rockets lost Chandler Parsons on a player-friendly offer sheet to the Mavs in 2014, and Jones and Motiejunas will be eligible to solicit similar deals from competing teams.
The pair of power forwards both experienced significant injuries last season, with Jones missing the first half of the season with a nerve injury that left him questioning whether he’d ever play again and Motiejunas missing the stretch run and the playoffs with an ailing back. Motiejunas has yet to return from his injury, though he’s questionable for Friday’s game.
Grantland’s Zach Lowe speculated in August that Jones might ask for $15MM salaries, and he’s shown his value as a floor-stretcher with 35.1% three-point shooting last year, an improvement over his first two seasons. Still, the 23-year-old struggles defensively, as Arthur Hill of Hoops Rumors points out in our extension candidate profile of the Thad Foucher client.
Motiejunas, 25, has had mixed results defensively, though he, too, displayed an improved outside shooting game in 2014/15, when he made 62 starts and nailed 36.8% of his three-pointers. However, for a 7-footer, his rebounding numbers were a disappointing 5.9 boards in 28.7 minutes per game, as I noted in our extension candidate piece for him. Foucher, a Wasserman Media Group agent, also represents Motiejunas, though both Jones and Motiejunas are former clients of Arn Tellem, who left the agency for an executive job with the Pistons organization, notes Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press (Twitter link).
Do you think Jones and/or Motiejunas will be back with the Rockets next season? Leave a comment to let us know.
Pelicans Talking With Toney Douglas
The Pelicans and Toney Douglas are discussing a possible deal, sources tell Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). New Orleans just waived Nate Robinson, opening up a roster spot and ostensibly some time at point guard. Douglas cleared waivers from the Pacers this week.
Douglas, 29, is familiar to GM Dell Demps and the Pelicans front office, having signed a pair of 10-day contracts and a multiyear deal with New Orleans last season. The Pelicans waived Douglas in July rather than guarantee his salary, which led the former 29th overall pick to turn to the Pacers. Now, with both Douglas and the Pelicans in a position of need, it appears a reunion is in the works.
New Orleans has made a madcap series of moves over the past several weeks as the team has dealt with more than its share of injuries, particularly at point guard and center. Backup Norris Cole and Tyreke Evans, an occasional point guard, stand fair chances to miss most if not all of November, while starter Jrue Holiday is on a minutes restriction. Robinson began the season as the starter Tuesday while Holiday sat out, but Robinson saw only four minutes in Wednesday’s game and the majority of the minutes at the position have gone to Ish Smith, whom New Orleans just claimed off waivers last week. New Orleans also signed and cut former University of New Orleans player Bo McCalebb over a 10-day span this month.
Douglas received a $600K partial guarantee from the Pacers, so he shouldn’t be hurting for cash. New Orleans has its $2.139MM biannual exception available, but it would be surprising if the Pelicans committed more than a partially guaranteed minimum-salary contract to him.
Do you think Douglas is a better option for the Pelicans than Robinson was? Leave a comment to let us know.
Northwest Notes: Wolves, Mudiay, Stone, Jazz
Flip Saunders built this year’s Timberwolves in an unusual way, with a seasoned veteran for every position group, notes Lee Jenkins of SI.com. Big man tutor Kevin Garnett, mentor wing player Tayshaun Prince and experienced point guard Andre Miller all signed contracts during the offseason before the late Saunders had to leave the job because of his ailing health. Now, they’re serving as guides through a difficult time as the team mourns Saunders’ death. Minnesota opened the season Wednesday with a one-point win over the Lakers.
“Coach brought us all here for a reason,” coach Sam Mitchell said, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports. “And he would expect nothing less than us coming out and being focused and doing the very best job.”
See more from around the Northwest Division:
- New coach Michael Malone wants to win, but he acknowledges that so much of this season for the Nuggets is about the education of No. 7 overall pick Emmanuel Mudiay, as Mark Kiszla of The Denver Post relays. “If we’re getting our butts kicked, I’m not going to just sit there and say: ‘Well, this is good for Emmanuel’s development,'” Malone said. “But, overall, I want to be able to say at the end of Year 1 that we gave Emmanuel every chance to succeed and learn going into Year 2, because that’s only going to accelerate the growth of this roster and this organization.”
- Thunder camp cut Julyan Stone has signed with Gaziantep of Turkey, the team announced (translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia).
- The Jazz named Linda Luchetti the team’s vice president of basketball operations this week, a position that will have her reporting directly to GM Dennis Lindsey, the team announced. The move makes her one of the most highly ranking female basketball executives in the league, though her responsibilities will be focused on the business side of the team, according to The Associated Press.
Hoops Rumors Community Shootaround 10/28/15
Winning the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award is one of the most prestigious individual achievements in all of sports. Snagging the award takes not only great individual numbers, it also requires the player to elevate his franchise, as well as his teammates, with his play and production throughout the grueling 82-game schedule. Stephen Curry earned the award for the 2014/15 campaign, securing 100 out of 130 possible first-place votes, with James Harden coming in second followed by LeBron James in the third slot.
While Curry, Harden, and James are all likely to be in the discussion for this year’s MVP award, there are a number of players who possess the skills and ability to thrust themselves into consideration for this season’s honor. This brings me to the question/topic for today: Who will win the 2015/16 NBA MVP Award?
Let’s get those predictions on record now. That way you’ll have documented proof to show your friends in the spring when the award is handed out. Take to the comments section below to share who you believe will win the award, as well as the stat line you think that player will put up to deserve such an honor. We look forward to what you have to say.
Pacific Notes: Kerr, Frazier, Eddie, Lakers
Warriors coach Steve Kerr, who is currently on a leave of absence while recovering from two offseason back surgeries, hopes to make his return to the bench prior to January, Janie McCauley of The Associated Press writes. “I am feeling better, so that’s the good news. The bad news is I’m not feeling well enough to coach yet,” Kerr said. “It’s hard because I don’t know when that will be. There’s no timetable. It’s not a sprained ankle, two-to-four weeks type thing. When I feel better, I’ll feel better. It’s very frustrating but I am improving. I’m able to physically work out now, which has helped quite a bit the last couple weeks. But I know I’m not healthy enough yet to do this. It’s a demanding job and it wouldn’t be fair to the team and it wouldn’t be smart for me. We’ll see.”
Here’s the latest from the Pacific Division:
- Shooting guard Michael Frazier, who was waived by the Lakers last week, has signed with the team’s D-League affiliate, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reports (via Twitter).
- Jarell Eddie will rejoin the Austin Spurs, San Antonio’s D-League affiliate, Adam Johnson of D-League Digest relays (Twitter link). Eddie was waived by the Warriors this past Friday.
- Lakers coach Byron Scott said that it was an agonizing decision to choose between Jabari Brown and Metta World Peace for the team’s final roster spot, which ultimately went to World Peace, Baxter Holmes of ESPN.com writes. Scott called it a “very, very, very … difficult decision” to waive Brown and added that “It was probably the most difficult cut that I’ve ever had to make,” Holmes notes. But Scott added that with such a young roster, it was important to add a veteran who could mentor the team’s plethora of younger players, the ESPN scribe relays.
2015/16 Salary Cap: Brooklyn Nets
The NBA’s salary cap for 2015/16 has been set at $70MM, which is an 11% increase from this past season, and the luxury tax line will be $84.74MM. The last cap projection from the league had been $67.1MM, and the projection for the tax line had been $81.6MM.
With the October 26th cutoff date to set regular season rosters now past, we at Hoops Rumors are in the process of running down the current salary cap commitments for each NBA franchise for the 2015/16 campaign. Here’s the cap breakdown for the Brooklyn Nets, whose regular season roster can be viewed here:
- 2015/16 Salary Cap= $70,000,000
- 2015/16 Luxury Tax Line= $84,740,000
- Fully Guaranteed Salary Commitments= $82,232,255*
- Partially Guaranteed Salary Commitments= $202,580**
- Non-Guaranteed Salary Commitments= $3,136,887
- Total Salary Cap Commitments= $83,332,111
- Remaining Cap Room= -$13,332,111
- Amount Below Luxury Tax Line= $1,407,889
*Note: This amount includes the $5,474,487 owed to Deron Williams, who was waived via the stretch provision.
**Note: This amount includes the $75K owed to Ryan Boatright and the $50K owed to Quincy Miller, who were waived, as well as the $17,638 paid to Dahntay Jones, and the $9,942 paid to Justin Harper, both of whom were waived after earning two days salary.
Cap Exceptions Available:
- Non-Taxpayer’s Mid-Level Exception= $2,464,000
Cash Available to Send Out In Trades= $3,400,000
Cash Available to Receive Via Trade= $3,400,000
Last update: 10/28/15 @9:35pm
The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.
Texas Notes: Alexander, Lalanne, Murry
With Dwight Howard eligible to opt out of his deal after the season, Ty Lawson‘s pending free agency next summer, and the team needing to make decisions on whether or not to offer contract extensions to Terrence Jones and Donatas Motiejunas prior to the November 2nd deadline, the Rockets appear to be at a crossroads, but team owner Leslie Alexander doesn’t consider 2015/16 a make-or-break-it-up season, writes Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. “I’m not thinking that far ahead,” Alexander said. “Nobody ever leaves here if we want to keep them. It’s not like I’m planning on losing people.” Hoops Rumors’ Chuck Myron had previously examined the extension candidacy of Motiejunas, and Arthur Hill did the same with Jones.
The owner also noted that he feels competitive regarding how the Rockets are run as an organization in comparison to the rest of the league, Feigen adds. “Everything is well set on the business side and the basketball side. This organization is nicely run,” Alexander said. “We have terrific people on both sides of the aisle. They really know what they’re doing. We have it running really well. I try to have it running like a really great corporation, even though we’re a sports team. I try to do it like if it was a big business: You would run it this way, but keeping it small enough that it is a family atmosphere. I think I’ve achieved that.”
Here’s more from the Lone Star State:
- Cady Lalanne, who was selected by the Spurs with the No. 55 overall pick in this year’s NBA Draft, has signed with San Antonio’s D-League affiliate, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reports (via Twitter).
- Toure’ Murry, who was recently waived by the Wizards, will sign with the Texas Legends, the Mavericks‘ D-League affiliate, Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post relays (Twitter link).
- The Mavs are looking forward to the regular season commencing so they can put a challenging offseason behind them, writes Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. “We’ve turned the pages months ago,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “And we’ve talked about everything that’s transpired. We’ve given respect where respect is due and we’ve adjusted where we’ve needed to adjust. The NBA is pretty much an ‘it is what it is’ league. The guys we have, we’re going to make the best of it with those guys. And we like our chances to have a hell of a year.“