Southwest Notes: Stephenson, Green, Cousins
The Pelicans have 16 players under contract and it appears the final roster spot is between Lance Stephenson, whose contract is non-guaranteed, and Alonzo Gee, John Reid of The Times-Picayune notes on Twitter. New Orleans has until 5:00pm eastern time on Monday to make a decision.
Here’s more from the Southwest division:
- Danny Green will miss three weeks with a quad injury, according to the team’s website. Green missed the Spurs‘ final preseason game on Friday and Kyle Anderson started in his place.
- C.J. Williams and Jaleel Cousins are expected to play for the Texas Legends, the D-League affiliate of the Mavericks, according to D-League Digest (Twitter link). Both players were waived by Dallas earlier today.
- DeMarcus Cousins will be an unrestricted free agent after the 2017/18 season and the Mavericks are expected make a hard push to sign the big man, Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com tweets.
Rockets To Sign Le’Bryan Nash
The Rockets have signed Le’Bryan Nash, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). Nash is expected to play for the team’s D-League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.
Nash was a top-10 recruit coming out of high school and while he did win the Big-12 Freshman of the Year award, he never looked the part of a future NBA star during his four seasons at the Oklahoma State University. The small forward averaged 14.6 points and 5.1 rebounds per game as a Cowboy.
He was not selected in the 2015 draft and opted to play overseas in the Basketball Japan League, averaging 26.6 points, 8.1 rebounds and 3.1 assist per game. During the offseason, he played for the Bucks’ summer league team.
Pelicans Waive Quinn Cook, Quincy Ford
The Pelicans have waived Quinn Cook and Quincy Ford, according to a team press release. New Orleans’ roster count sits at 16, meaning it has one more cut to make before opening night. Lance Stephenson is the team’s only remaining player with a non-guaranteed deal.
Cook, who signed with the team last month. played in three preseason games for the Pelicans. He averaged 8.3 points and 2.7 assists per game.
Ford joined the team earlier this week. During the offseason, he played for Utah’s summer league team, averaging 5.1 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game.
Hornets Waive Sulaimon, Tobey, Ellis
5:42pm: The moves are official, according to a team press release.
SATURDAY 3:49pm: The Hornets will waive Rasheed Sulaimon, Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders reports (Twitter link). The player will join the team’s D-League affiliate in Greensboro, the scribe adds. Also being let go are Mike Tobey and Perry Ellis, Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com relays (via Twitter). Tobey’s deal included a partial guarantee of $75K, which Charlotte will be responsible for unless he is claimed off waivers by another team.
Sulaimon, who wasn’t selected in this year’s draft, averaged 11.1 points, 3.5 assists and 3.5 rebounds as a senior with the Terrapins last season. The shooting guard played for the Bulls’ summer league team in Las Vegas, but shot just 3-of-13 from 3-point range and reportedly had trouble defending smaller guards.
Ellis averaged 16.9 PPG and 5.8 RPG to go along with a shooting line of .531/.438/.785 during his final year at Kansas. After going undrafted, the 22-year-old joined the Mavericks for Summer League action in Las Vegas.
Tobey, a 7’1″ center out of Virginia, averaged 7.3 PPG and 4.4 RPG in 15.7 minutes per contest during his senior year. The 21-year-old joined the Hornets for Summer League action in Orlando, and recorded 10.0 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 1.6 BPG, and 1.0 SPG in his five appearances with the squad.
Mavericks Waive Five Players, Keep Dorian Finney-Smith
5:35pm: The team has indeed waived the five players, Marc J. Spears of ESPN.com confirms (Twitter link).
SATURDAY 5:25pm: The Mavs will waive Jonathan Gibson, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com (ESPN Now link). MacMahon adds that Dallas will opt to give Dorian Finney-Smith its 15th and final roster spot, meaning the team will also waive Kyle Collinsworth, Keith Hornsby, Jaleel Cousins and C.J. Williams.
Gibson’s release is particularly surprising because his minimum salary deal is fully guaranteed for the upcoming year. Dallas also chose to keep Nicolas Brussino, whose contract became guaranteed on Thursday.
Brussino and Finney Smith are both forwards and the Mavericks appear to be looking for upside and versatility in the players they keep at the end of their bench. Gibson, who turns 29 next month, doesn’t fit that profile. He can score the ball, but he has limitations on the defensive end.
Grizzlies Waive Three, Will Also Cut Jordan Adams
5:32pm: The Grizzlies have waived Stephens, according to a team press release. The team has also waived Wayne Selden Jr. and JaKarr Sampson.
SATURDAY, 2:53pm: The Grizzlies have pared down their roster in advance of the regular season, waiving Jordan Adams and D.J. Stephens, Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune reports (on Twitter). Memphis will be on the hook for Adams’ fully guaranteed salary of $1,465,080 and Stephens’ partial guarantee of $35K, provided they are not claimed off waivers by another club.
Adams, 22, appeared in 32 NBA games since being selected with the No. 22 overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft. His numbers during that stretch are 3.2 points, 0.9 rebounds and 0.6 assists in 8.2 minutes per contest. His career slash line is .402/.385/.607.
The 25-year-old Stephens has three games of NBA experience with Milwaukee in 2014. The Cavs signed Stephens to a training camp deal last September, but then waived him shortly before the season started. The previous fall, Stephens had inked minimum-salary camp deal with the Pelicans and was among the team’s final cuts about a week before Halloween in 2014.
Several Teams Interested In Tyus Jones
4:52pm: Philly and Minnesota are getting closer on a Jones deal, Keith Smith of Real GM tweets. Smith hears that the Wolves are looking for a big man in return.
SATURDAY, 3:08pm: The Sixers and Wolves are still involved in discussions regarding Jones, Wojnarowski tweets.
WEDNESDAY, 7:59pm: Several teams, including the Sixers and Pelicans, have expressed interest in Tyus Jones, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports. Wojnarowski notes that the 20-year-old’s performance in summer league improved his stock with teams interested in him as a point guard off the bench.
The Wolves are more open to moving Jones than they are to moving Ricky Rubio in the short-term, sources tell Wojnarowski. The team is reluctant to move Rubio until rookie Kris Dunn is ready to take over the starting point guard spot.
Coach/executive Tom Thibodeau wants to immediately win games and contend for a playoff berth, as evidenced by his rotation choices during the preseason. Thibs has used 33-year-old veteran John Lucas in the guard rotation rather than relying solely on the team’s young talent. Lucas is on a non-guaranteed deal and his chances of making the team likely hinge on another point guard being traded.
Jones had a ho-hum rookie season for the Wolves, averaging 4.2 points and 2.9 assists in 15.5 minutes per game. He shot 30.2% from behind the arc and sported a 11.2 player efficiency rating.
Cavs Waive John Holland
The Cavs have waived John Holland, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The move will bring their roster count to 16 and Cleveland has until Monday to waive one more player.
Cleveland signed Holland last month, though he was never expected to make the team. The small forward’s only NBA experience came during last season’s playoffs with the Celtics, where he saw only one minute of action. During that game, he took one shot–a 3-pointer–which he missed.
Holland spent four years at Boston University and he wasn’t selected in the 2011 draft. He went overseas following college, playing for four teams in three different countries from 2011 until 2015 .
Warriors Pick Up Kevon Looney’s 2017/18 Option
The Warriors will exercise the third-year team option on Kevon Looney‘s contract, sources tell Chris Haynes of ESPN.com. Looney will make slightly over $1.23MM next season.
Looney was the 30th pick in the 2015 NBA draft. He was recovering from two hip procedures during his rookie season, which only allowed him to play in a total of five games.
The third-year option on rookie contracts usually get picked up regardless of how the player performed during his first season in the league. If the team hadn’t picked up Looney’s option, he would have been an unrestricted free agent next summer.
Mavericks Notes: Barnes, Parsons, Curry
Mavs owner Mark Cuban recently joined “Jacques & Will” on 103.3 FM ESPN Radio to discuss a number of topics related to the team (h/t Dallas Morning News). Dallas essentially chose Harrison Barnes over Chandler Parsons, who signed with Memphis this summer, and Cuban noted that Barnes wasn’t viewed merely as a fallback option. “No knock on Chandler. Chandler’s skill is skill but we had the uncertainties I’ve talked about,” Cuban said. “There were questions about his knee and I hope he fights through them and there’s never a question again about his knee but we had those questions. If Harrison Barnes would’ve been an unrestricted free agent, he would’ve been first on our list and that’s who we would have gone after right off the bat. We think defensively he gives us a new look, he can guard 1-4 and in some cases with small-ball 1-5, so when you have Deron Williams and Wesley Matthews and Justin Anderson in particular, and him and Andrew Bogut, that gives us a dimension we otherwise haven’t had in a long time. On the other side of the ball, Harrison isn’t as crafty as Chandler but he’s a lot more physical and he can post up and he shoots about the same from three-point [range]; mid-range isn’t as good yet but his post-up game is better. So I think it’s a different dimension but it’s a lot more athletic.”
The owner also weighed in on the perception that Dallas keeps missing out on its top targets. “We got the guy [Harrison Barnes] we wanted this year. Like I said, we couldn’t go after him and make him our first call on July 1st because he was restricted, so certain things had to happen,” Cuban said. “Had he been unrestricted, that would’ve been our first choice and then it would’ve been a different conversation. The whole thing that we don’t get the big name free agents, I think is just nonsense. We think we have a great organization, we have a top three coach and we’ve got a culture you’d like to play in. My job is to put the players in a position to succeed. We give you every resource you need. I spare no expense trying to win and trying to make sure you’re healthy and we can extend your career.”
Here’s more out of Dallas:
- Coach Rick Carlisle indicated that the Mavs will carry the regular season maximum of 15 players, which means that four or five players will be fighting over the final slot, Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com tweets.
- Seth Curry has struggled to find a home in the NBA during his brief career and believes that he has finally found his ideal situation with the Mavericks, Leo Sepkowitz of Slamonline.com relays. “The past few years I’ve been in the League, I’ve really noticed how important that structure and direction is for a team,” Curry says. “Going to a place that’s already established, where I can just come in and get better and keep doing things the right way, it’s gonna make it a lot easier to win. I don’t want to take what I did last year and then take a step back. I want to move forward, grow from it and be a consistent NBA player.”