2016 August | Hoops Rumors

Bucks Notes: Novak, R. James, Sanders

August 30th, 2016 at 3:06pm CST by Luke Adams

After signing Jason Terry last week, the Bucks have continued to fill out their roster with veterans, announcing a deal for Steve Novak on Monday and reportedly reaching an agreement with Xavier Henry today. We’ve got more details and notes related to those signings, plus a couple more Bucks-related items, so let’s dive right in and round them up…

Novak signed a one-year, minimum-salary contract with the Bucks, per Charles F. Gardner of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. For Novak, who has 10 years of NBA experience under his belt, that will mean a salary worth about $1.552MM, though it will count for just $980K against Milwaukee’s cap.
Within that same piece, Gardner notes that Novak is healthy and won’t face any restrictions as a result of the MCL injury he suffered back in February. The veteran sharpshooter told Gardner that he’s excited to continue playing for his hometown team. “We really believe the Bucks are the best fit for me right now,” Novak said. “It’s a perfect storm. It just comes down to … we’d move every single year. It’s our way of life and we love it. But it’s great (to stay in Milwaukee).”
The Bucks had interest in signing guard Ra’Shad James, who played for the team in Summer League, according to Gery Woelfel of The Racine Journal-Times (via Twitter). However, James opted to play in Croatia this season instead, presumably recognizing that he’d face long odds to earn a roster spot with the Bucks.
Former Bucks forward Larry Sanders, who remains on the team’s cap through the 2021/22 season, has drawn NBA interest this summer and continues to contemplate a comeback, though some clubs have concerns about how much he really loves basketball, writes Mike Piellucci of Vice Sports. Piellucci’s piece goes into plenty of detail and provides greater context about Sanders’ life and his history with basketball, and is worth reading.

Shane Larkin: No Regrets Over Opt-Out Decision

August 30th, 2016 at 1:46pm CST by Luke Adams

Nearly every NBA player with a player option for the 2016/17 season turned down that option, electing free agency and seeking a better contract. Most of those players indeed found better deals — DeMar DeRozan, Bismack Biyombo, Chandler Parsons, and Pau Gasol were among the veterans who got huge raises and multiyear contracts after opting out of their deals.

One player who didn’t strike pay dirt after declining an option was point guard Shane Larkin, who turned down a $1.5MM salary from the Nets in order to look for a new contract. Larkin ultimately signed with Baskonia in Spain, and while he’s expected to earn more after taxes this season than he would have with Brooklyn, the pay increase is marginal and he won’t be an NBA player.

Larkin, who changed agents during his free agency, spoke to Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype, about his opt-out decision, his search for a new team, and his outlook going forward. Here a few highlights from the former first-round pick:

On whether he regretted his decision to turn down his player option with the Nets:

“Not really. The situation in Baskonia is a better situation than Brooklyn, knowing that they wanted to go in a different direction. I could have possibly been in a bad situation with the guards they drafted perhaps playing in front of me because the new management might want to see them play. That situation wasn’t ideal. I don’t feel any regret about my decision. Obviously, it’s not all about the money, but I’m playing for more money this year than I did last year and I’m playing in a good situation where I’m going to have a lot of people watching me play and seeing my improvement.”

On why he decided to seek new representation, and how it affected his free agency:

“It was a pretty anxious free agency for me. I had a few teams that were interested in me. I don’t really know where the conversations went with those teams, but I ended up switching agents halfway through free agency because I wasn’t really happy with the direction I was going in with my other agent. So I made that switch and by the time it happened it was really late in free agency and all the teams pretty much had their spots taken up.”

On his choice to sign in Spain rather than with an NBA team:

“A few teams called with invitations to training camp with partial guarantees and options like that, but I just thought the opportunity to play in Spain and in the Euroleague with the option to get big minutes, work on my game and become a better basketball player was the better opportunity at the time compared to the other options on the table. If you go to a team on a partial guarantee, the opportunity might be there, but obviously you’re not going to be one of their first options. Baskonia really wanted me and wanted me to be a big piece of the team.”

On what he’s expecting as he heads overseas for the 2016/17 season:

“In a lot of ways, me playing overseas and getting this experience being one of the most important players on the team will help me, whether I stay playing in Europe multiple years or go back to the NBA. Obviously, everybody wants to play at the highest level of basketball and, although the Euroleague is a very high level, everybody’s goal is to win an NBA championship. The mindset is you have to be aggressive and be a bulldog as a small guard and I think Baskonia can help me develop that mentality and make me a better [player].”

Nuggets Trade Joffrey Lauvergne To Thunder

August 30th, 2016 at 12:48pm CST by Luke Adams

12:48pm: The Thunder and Nuggets have each issued press releases confirming the deal.

12:25pm: The two draft picks heading to the Nuggets are 2017 second-rounders, according to Royce Young of ESPN.com (via Twitter). That means Denver will be receiving the Grizzlies’ pick and the Thunder’s pick.

12:01pm: The Nuggets and Thunder have agreed to terms on a trade, according to reports from Chris Dempsey of The Denver Post and Adrian Wojnarwoski of The Vertical. Per Dempsey and Wojnarowski, Denver has agreed to send Joffrey Lauvergne to Oklahoma City in exchange for two future second-round picks.

Lauvergne, who will turn 25 in a month, was a role player for the Nuggets last year, appearing in 59 contests and starting 15 of them. For the season, he averaged 17.6 MPG, chipping in 7.9 PPG, 4.9 RPG, and 0.9 APG for Denver, while shooting 51.3% from the floor and 89.9% from the free-throw line. Lauvergne also played for France in the Olympics this summer.

The Thunder figure to work Lauvergne into their frontcourt rotation off the bench, with Serge Ibaka and Nazr Mohammed no longer on the roster. Steven Adams, Enes Kanter, Domantas Sabonis, Nick Collison, Andre Roberson, and Ersan Ilyasova are among the other players who will look to earn minutes at the four or five this season in OKC, while Mitch McGary may not end up on the regular-season roster, as ESPN’s Royce Young tweets. The Thunder already had 15 guaranteed salaries on their cap for 2016/17 prior to Lauvergne’s arrival.

Meanwhile, with Lauvergne no longer in the mix in Denver, the Nuggets now have 14 guaranteed salaries on their books for ’16/17, plus JaKarr Sampson, D.J. Kennedy, and Axel Toupane on non-guaranteed contracts.

The Thunder have just enough room to fit Lauvergne’s salary in under their cap without waiving or trading any other players. Per Basketball Insiders’ data, Oklahoma City’s team salary for 2016/17 was at $92,403,967 before the trade. Lauvergne is on the books for $1,709,719 this season, while the league-wide salary cap is $94,143,000 — the Thunder should be able to complete the deal with about $30K in cap space to spare.

Lauvergne’s salary for this season is only half guaranteed so far, with $854,859 still non-guaranteed. However, the fact that the Thunder were willing to give up two draft picks for him suggests that the team doesn’t intend to waive him before guaranteeing the rest of that salary.

It’s not clear yet which picks the Nuggets will be receiving in the swap, but OKC had extra second-rounders in 2017 (from Memphis; protected from 31-35) and 2018 (from Boston; protected from 31-55).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Poll: Trail Blazers’ Future

August 30th, 2016 at 10:01am CST by Luke Adams

While most teams with significant cap room this summer pursued outside free agents, the Trail Blazers focused most of their efforts on securing their own players. Portland did bring in Evan Turner and Festus Ezeli on pricey, multiyear deals, but the team’s other major investments were players who were already Blazers. Here’s a breakdown of the in-house players who got lucrative, long-term contracts from the team:

C.J. McCollum: Four years, $106,633,450 (extension; goes into effect in 2017/18)
Allen Crabbe: Four years, $74,832,500 (matched offer sheet)
Meyers Leonard: Four years, $41,000,000
Maurice Harkless: Four years, $40,000,000

Throw in the fact that Damian Lillard‘s new five-year, maximum-salary contract extension goes into effect for the 2016/17 season, and it’s no surprise that Portland has more guaranteed money on its cap in future years than any other NBA team.

As Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders details, the Blazers were able to do what some other teams haven’t been able to, ensuring that their top players will remain under contract for the long haul. But the club may have also painted itself into a corner to some extent, since its flexibility to make future additions will be limited. The Blazers’ long-term outlook may come down to how far Lillard and McCollum are capable of taking the team, writes Kennedy.

The Blazers are coming off an excellent season, in which they finished fifth in the West and won a playoff series before being knocked off by the 73-win Warriors in the second round. With at least one of the teams ahead of them in the West – the Thunder – expected to take a significant step back this season, the Blazers will be gunning for a top-four seed with a roster packed with young players on the rise.

Still, a skeptic could point to the fact that the Clippers squad beaten by Portland in the first round was decimated by injuries. It’s also fair to question whether or not the Blazers have enough frontcourt talent to complement their star guards.

That brings us to this morning’s poll question: Is the Blazers’ roster strong enough for the team to improve upon last year’s results? Barring a major trade or two, Portland’s core appears to be locked in for at least the next two or three years. Will the team take another step forward and become a championship contender during that time?

Weigh in with your vote, and feel free to leave a comment below with your thoughts on the Blazers.

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.

Sixers Plan To Waive Tibor Pleiss

August 30th, 2016 at 8:49am CST by Luke Adams

After acquiring him in a trade with the Jazz last week, the Sixers intend to waive Tibor Pleiss, reports international basketball journalist David Pick (Twitter link). According to Pick, Pleiss’ agent has informed teams that Philadelphia will soon part ways with his client.

The Sixers sent Kendall Marshall and his non-guaranteed contract to Utah last week in a deal for Pleiss, whose $3MM salary is fully guaranteed. Philadelphia picked up a pair of 2017 second-round picks for its troubles, and is still well below the minimum salary floor, so paying Pleiss not to play for the team won’t affect the Sixers’ cap outlook.

Pleiss, a former second-round pick who signed with the Jazz last summer, barely saw any action in his first NBA season, playing just 82 total minutes for Utah. The German big man was assigned to the D-League for a good chunk of the season, and he played well there, averaging 12.3 PPG and 10.4 RPG in 28 contests. If and when he becomes a free agent, we’ll see whether he attempts to find another NBA job or heads back overseas.

As for the Sixers, they’ve been at the 20-man offseason roster limit for more than a month, but would create an opening by waiving Pleiss. The club reportedly reached an agreement with Cat Barber in July, but has yet to finalize that deal — perhaps once a roster spot opens up, Barber will officially sign with Philadelphia.

In the wake of last week’s trade, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reported (via Twitter) that the Sixers were still evaluating whether Pleiss would be a part of the team’s roster this season. Jessica Camerato of CSNPhilly.com indicated at the time (via Twitter) that Philadelphia would likely waive him.

Jason Thompson To Play In China

August 29th, 2016 at 10:15pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Unrestricted free agent big man Jason Thompson is headed overseas, having reached an agreement with Shandong of The Chinese Basketball Association, international journalist David Pick reports (on Twitter). The exact length and terms of the pact are unknown at this time.

With the majority of NBA teams having filled their preseason rosters, the odds were stacked against Thompson landing a spot to begin the NBA campaign. Heading over to China will allow him to earn a paycheck and still have the opportunity to catch on with an NBA team later in the season. The Chinese season concludes mid-February, but the playoffs can last until the beginning of March. Thompson would be free to pursue an NBA offer once his team’s playoff run ended, provided it qualifies for the postseason.

Thompson split time during the 2015/16 season between the Warriors and Raptors. In a combined 47 games the forward notched averages of 3.1 points, 2.9 rebounds and 0.6 assists in 10.0 minutes per outing. His shooting line on the year was .481/.333/.704.

Poll: 2008 NBA Draft Take Two (Pick No. 10)

August 29th, 2016 at 8:45pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Scouting players and predicting how their skills will translate to the NBA is one of the more difficult tasks front offices have on their plates. Looking back over past drafts and how many lottery picks never evolved into stars, or even made a significant impact in the league, illustrates just how often stats, combine numbers and pure gut instinct often come up short.

Of course, we get the opportunity to critique these moves with the benefit of hindsight — a luxury that GMs don’t have on draft night. Having said that, it’s still fun to go back in time and take a theoretical look at how these drafts should have/could have gone.

We’ve been revisiting 2008 draft, which had a number of players who have gone on to post big numbers in the league. This was the year of Derrick Rose (No. 1 overall), Russell Westbrook (No. 4), Kevin Love (No. 5), Brook Lopez (No. 10) and Nicolas Batum (No. 25). Over the next few weeks, we’ll be posting a series of polls asking readers to vote on whom teams should have selected in each spot.

We’ll continue on with the Nets, who still resided in New Jersey and who held the No. 10 overall pick that year. In the “real world” draft, the Nets selected Lopez, but will have to go in a different direction in this draft since the Grizzlies nabbed the center with pick number five.

So cast your vote for who the Nets should have selected and check back on Tuesday to see the results, as well as to vote on who the Pacers should have taken with the No. 11 pick. Also, don’t limit yourself to a simple button click. Take to the comments section below and share your thoughts on the pick and why you voted the way that you did. If we fail to list a player who you think should be selected, feel free to post that in the comments section and we’ll be certain to tally those votes as well.

Bulls — Russell Westbrook [Actual Pick — Derrick Rose]
Heat — Kevin Love [Actual Pick — Michael Beasley]
Wolves — Derrick Rose [Actual Pick — O.J. Mayo]
Sonics/Thunder — DeAndre Jordan [Actual Pick — Russell Westbrook]
Grizzlies — Brook Lopez [Actual Pick — Kevin Love]
Knicks — Serge Ibaka [Actual Pick — Danilo Gallinari]
Clippers — Nicolas Batum [Actual Pick — Eric Gordon]
Bucks — Goran Dragic [Actual Pick — Joe Alexander]
Bobcats/Hornets — Danilo Gallinari [Actual Pick — D.J. Augustin]
Nets — ?? [Actual Pick — Brook Lopez]

If you’re a Trade Rumors app user, click here to vote.

Lakers To Sign Travis Wear

August 29th, 2016 at 6:08pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Lakers have reached an agreement with unrestricted free agent Travis Wear, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports (via Twitter). The scribe refers to it as a training camp deal, so it’s likely a minimum salary pact that includes little or no guaranteed money.

Wear, a small forward, was out of the NBA last season after playing 61 games for the Knicks in 2014/15. He instead played overseas for the Spanish club RETAbet.es GBC, appearing in 26 games and averaging 7.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 0.7 steals in 20.5 minutes per outing. His shooting line was .448/.353/.737.

The 25-year-old has a total of 51 NBA contests under his belt, all with New York, and has career averages of 3.9 points, 2.1 rebounds and 0.8 assists in 13.2 minutes per night. His career NBA slash line is .402/.367/.769.

Lakers Sign Zach Auguste

August 29th, 2016 at 5:30pm CST by Arthur Hill

AUGUST 29th: The signing is official, the team announced.

AUGUST 21st: The Lakers have reached an agreement with former Notre Dame power forward Zach Auguste, tweets Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders. Auguste played for the Lakers’ summer league team in Las Vegas, averaging 5.0 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. Terms of the deal were not available.

When Auguste signs, he will be the 16th player on the roster, and Pincus speculates that he could either be ticketed for the D-League or L.A. is planning to open a roster spot by getting rid of Nick Young (Twitter link).

The 6’10”, 240-pound Auguste was a double-double machine with the Irish, averaging 14.0 points and 10.8 rebounds during his senior season. He was rated as the 76th best prospect by DraftExpress and was not selected on draft night.

Bucks Re-Sign Steve Novak

August 29th, 2016 at 4:05pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Bucks have re-signed unrestricted free agent Steve Novak, the team announced (via Twitter). The length and terms of the arrangement were not relayed, but with Milwaukee over the cap, it is likely for the veteran’s minimum. The team does still possess its Room Exception worth $2,898,000, but it would be surprising if it was used in this case. The team now has 15 players on its roster, which is the regular season maximum.

Novak had garnered some interest around the league from other teams, per his agent Mark Bartelstein, but the veteran had been holding off on making a decision because his clear preference was to remain in Milwaukee. “There have been a few teams that we’ve talked to; you always got to keep your doors open,’’ Bartelstein had said earlier this month. “But we’re still talking with the Bucks and, hopefully, we’ll make a deal with them. Steve would love to stay in Milwaukee. It’s a very special place for him.’’

The forward was the No. 32 overall pick in 2006. He has appeared in 459 career regular season games, averaging 4.7 points and 1.3 rebounds in 12.3 minutes per outing. He owns a career shooting line of .438/.431/.877. Novak will provide the team with veteran leadership and some outside shooting off the bench.

Month: April 2024

If you’re a Trade Rumors app user, click here to vote.