Pelicans Waive Chris Copeland
3:39pm: The Pelicans have officially announced the move via press release.
3:29pm: Less than two weeks after announcing they signed him, the Pelicans have waived veteran forward Chris Copeland, according to Paul Garcia of Project Spurs (via Twitter). The move opens up a roster spot for New Orleans, as the team had been carrying the maximum 20 allowable players.
Copeland, 32, played for the Bucks last season after having also spent time with the Knicks and Pacers over the course of his NBA career. He played sparingly in Milwaukee, averaging just 2.1 PPG in 6.5 minutes per contest for the team, and shot a career-worst 33.3% from the floor, including 27.8% on three-pointers.
Copeland’s deal with the Pelicans hadn’t included any guaranteed money, so the club won’t be on the hook for any salary after releasing him. The club already has 15 players on guaranteed salaries, along with Lance Stephenson on a partially guaranteed deal, so Copeland would have been a long shot to make the regular-season roster.
Southwest Notes: Ginobili, Pelicans, Grizzlies
Calling it an “easy decision” to continue his career for at least one more year, Manu Ginobili admitted that the 76ers made a big push to sign him. As Fran Blinebury of NBA.com details, Ginobili praised Philadelphia head coach Brett Brown and called the Sixers’ interest “flattering,” but was happy to return to the Spurs.
“I wasn’t sure how important I was going to be for the Spurs,” Ginobili said. “Once the talks started to go one and the Spurs showed great interest and really wanted me back, of course I wanted back, too. Then I made the decision. At the beginning I was very flattered and honored because it was a coach I appreciated and respected a lot and it made me feel really well.”
Here’s more from around the Southwest division:
- Pelicans general manager Dell Demps admitted that his team will “have to make a hard decision in the coming weeks,” with 15 guaranteed salaries on the books already and Lance Stephenson also vying for a roster spot. “The key is not going to be who’s the best player,” Demps said, per Justin Verrier of ESPN.com (Twitter link), “but the key’s going to be who’s the best player for us to be a good team.”
- The decision on the Grizzlies‘ backup point guard will be one of the first real tests for new head coach David Fizdale, writes Ronald Tillery of The Memphis Commerical Appeal. Andrew Harrison and Wade Baldwin are battling for minutes behind Mike Conley.
- In a conversation with Oliver Maroney of Basketball Insiders, Justin Anderson weighed in on the Mavericks‘ offseason additions, noting that Harrison Barnes has already had an impact on him and helped him improve his game.
Where Things Stand For D-Mo, Unsigned Draftees
With the NBA’s preseason schedule underway and the regular season set to begin just over three weeks from now, it’s worth checking in on where things stand for a few players who remain unsigned but who aren’t unrestricted free agents. These three players are under team control, but their situations for the 2016/17 remain uncertain.
The first of the trio is power forward Donatas Motiejunas, 2016’s last restricted free agent. Although Motiejunas was tendered a qualifying offer by the Rockets back in June, he saw that offer expire when he declined to sign it by midnight on October 1. As Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com writes. Motiejunas and the Rockets discussed a contract on Saturday prior to that deadline, but the two sides couldn’t work something out.
“We understand where they are at and what they’d like to do,” agent B.J. Armstrong said of the Rockets, per Mark Berman of FOX 26 Houston. “I think they understand what we would like to do. At this time neither side is willing to accept what each is discussing. We will continue to negotiate with the Rockets and other teams. We’re going to continue to work this out and move forward.”
Although the Rockets could extend Motiejunas’ qualifying offer beyond October 1, they’re under no pressure to do so, since the forward continues to be a restricted free agent — Houston still has the right of first refusal, but now Motiejunas no longer has the safety net of signing that one-year QO, which would have let him become an unrestricted free agent in 2017.
It’s a tricky spot for Motiejunas, whose health history has likely scared away rival teams from making an aggressive long-term offer. Armstrong and his client would presumably love to sign a multiyear offer sheet to put pressure on the Rockets, but other teams probably don’t want to spend time putting together a proposal, only to have Houston match it. For now, the Rockets remain in the driver’s seat in contract negotiations, particularly now that they have the option of lowering their one-year offer from the initial $4.4MM QO price.
Meanwhile, the fates of two players selected in the second round of June’s draft remain unclear. Daniel Hamilton, picked 56th overall by the Thunder, and Tyrone Wallace, the 60th overall pick by the Jazz, haven’t yet signed with their respective teams and also haven’t committed to playing overseas.
[RELATED: 2016 Draft Pick Signings]
While we don’t know exactly what’s going on behind the scenes for Hamilton and Wallace, the most likely scenario for each player at this point is following in the footsteps of 58th overall pick Abdel Nader. A Celtics draftee, Nader agreed to play for Boston’s D-League affiliate this season. That allows the Celtics to retain Nader’s NBA rights and to keep an eye on him in Maine, while ensuring that he’ll have a job for the coming season, albeit one that pays very modestly.
Nader and his agent had considered pushing for an NBA deal, but if the Celtics had signed Nader, they likely would have subsequently waived him at the end of the preseason, assigning him to the Maine Red Claws while losing his NBA rights. In that scenario, Nader would have ended up in the same place, but the Celtics wouldn’t have had a vested interest in his development, since they would no longer have held his NBA rights.
We don’t know yet whether Hamilton and Wallace have reached any sort of agreements with the Thunder and Jazz, respectively, but both teams have D-League affiliates, and both organizations are solid and respected. It would make sense for Hamilton and Wallace to accept D-League assignments without NBA contracts, in the hopes that they can develop and impress their teams’ coaches, eventually earning a call-up.
In all likelihood, the Motiejunas, Hamilton, and Wallace situations will each be resolved within the next few weeks, so we’ll keep a close eye on them until then.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Hawks Sign Josh Magette
OCTOBER 3: The Hawks have officially signed Magette, the team announced today in a press release.
OCTOBER 2: The Hawks have reached an agreement with point guard Josh Magette, according to Chris Vivlamore of The Journal Constitution. He is expected to join the team in time for Monday’s practice.
The 26-year-old has spent the past two seasons with the L.A. Defenders in the D-League. He averaged 11.5 points and 9.1 assists in 45 games last season. Magette played college ball at Alabama-Huntsville and spent a year in both the Netherlands and Greece before coming to the D-League.
The move confirms speculation that the Hawks were looking to add a guard after waiving Richard Solomon on Saturday. Starting point guard Dennis Schroder has been slowed by an ankle injury and backup Jarrett Jack is working his way back from a torn ACL. The addition of Magette brings Atlanta back up to the preseason roster limit of 20.
Cavaliers Sign Toney Douglas
11:07am: Douglas’ deal with the Cavs doesn’t include any guaranteed money, though he’ll have the opportunity to earn a regular-season roster spot, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com.
10:58am: The Cavaliers have added some veteran depth at the point guard position, announcing today in a press release that they’ve signed unrestricted free agent Toney Douglas to a contract. To make room on their 20-man preseason roster, the Cavs have waived big man Eric Moreland, according to the team.
Douglas, 30, began his NBA career in 2009 with the Knicks. After spending three seasons in New York, the point guard has bounced around, playing for the Rockets, Kings, Warriors, Heat, and Pelicans. His time with the Heat overlapped with LeBron James‘ last season in Miami, so the two players will be teammates again this fall in Cleveland.
Last season, Douglas started a career-high 18 games for the Pelicans, appearing in 61 overall contests. The former first-round pick averaged 8.7 PPG, 2.6 APG, 2.3 RPG, and 1.1 SPG, to go along with a shooting line of .411/.399/.848.
While Douglas likely isn’t guaranteed a roster spot for the regular season, he’ll have a good chance to crack the rotation in Cleveland, given the club’s lack of point guard depth. Mo Williams was expected to enter the season as a primary backup behind Kyrie Irving at the point, but Williams decided to retire instead. The only other true point guard on the Cavs’ roster prior to the signing of Douglas was Kay Felder, a second-round rookie who may not be ready to handle a key rotation role right away.
We don’t know the details yet on Douglas’ contract, though it will almost certainly be a minimum-salary pact. If he receives a fully guaranteed deal, or at least a significant partial guarantee, it will be a strong signal that the Cavs expect him to make their 15-man roster.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Salim Stoudamire Interested In Attempting Comeback
Former NBA guard Salim Stoudamire has some interest in attempting an NBA comeback, Chris Reichert of Upside and Motor hears (Twitter link). According to Reichert, Stoudamire could try to use the D-League as a way to attract attention from NBA teams.
We’ve heard reports this offseason of many former veterans considering comebacks, but Stoudamire would perhaps be the unlikeliest candidate of the bunch. The former University of Arizona standout spent three NBA seasons with the Hawks, averaging 8.0 PPG and shooting 36.6% from three-point range in 157 contests. However, his last NBA game came in April 2008, more than eight years ago.
Stoudamire hasn’t been away from basketball since 2008, having spent time with multiple D-League teams and with Guaros de Lara in Venezuela. Still, he’ll turn 34 this month and hasn’t played professionally for the last couple seasons.
While Stoudamire’s potential comeback attempt is worth keeping an eye on, particularly for Wildcats fans, it would be a surprise to see him make it back onto an NBA roster at any point.
Kings Notes: Lawson, Collison, Cauley-Stein
After four arrests for driving under the influence, the most significant obstacle for Ty Lawson as the guard tries to revive his career on a one-year, non-guaranteed deal with the Kings is himself, Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee writes. Lawson’s presence is vital for the Kings, who learned Sunday that Darren Collison will be suspended for eight games to start the season following his arrest on misdemeanor domestic violence charges, Voisin adds. What’s more, the Kings lost Rajon Rondo in free agency, which ultimately led to taking a chance on Lawson, as Voisin points out.
“We went over the (free agent) list and evaluated everybody and in terms of talent, nobody was close to Ty,” Kings GM Vlade Divac said. “But we needed to meet with him and talk about a few things before we offered a contract.”
Here’s more out of Sacramento:
- Collison’s eight-game suspension represents just a fraction of the 24 games Jeff Taylor received in 2014 for his misdemeanor domestic violence arrest. However, a person with knowledge of the investigation tells Sam Amick of USA Today that the same domestic violence experts consulted in the Taylor decision were used in the Collison case.
- While it seems to be an unlikely pairing, Kings big man Willie Cauley-Stein tells James Ham of CSNBayArea.com that Peja Stojakovic, the team’s VP of player personnel and development, has been mentoring him in preparation for the 2016/17 season. “Especially in the summer time, I did a lot of work,” Cauley-Stein said. “Our goal every day was to make 700 shots. So by the end of the week, we were making thousands of shots.”
- The Kings will play in the brand-new Golden 1 Center this season, an arena owner Vivek Ranadive calls “the world’s best,” per USA Today (video link). Former commissioner David Stern, who played a significant part in overseeing the sale of the Kings to Ranadive, vowed in a Sacramento Bee interview that he’ll be there for the team’s home opener.
Will Joseph contributed to this post.
Weekly Mailbag: 9/26/16-10/2/16
We have an opportunity for you to hit us up with your questions in this, our weekly mailbag feature. Have a question regarding player movement, the salary cap or the NBA draft? Drop us a line at HoopsRumorsMailbag@Gmail.com. Here are this week’s inquiries:
Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett have both said they do not want to coach, yet Tim shows up at the Spurs’ practice and Garnett at the Clippers’, showing there is hope for them to coach. Do you think one of them will coach in the future? — Michael Thompson
Despite being retired, it’s clear that neither Duncan nor Garnett is ready to walk away from the game. It’s hard to imagine that they want to take on the schedule and duties of a full-time coach, such as watching film, diagramming plays and organizing drills, but they will probably both continue in the league in some capacity. Duncan has a standing offer to be “coach of whatever he feels like” in San Antonio, and Garnett will probably find a similar arrangement where he serves as an adviser but not a full-fledged member of the coaching staff. With more than 2,850 combined NBA games, they have a lot they can teach younger players.
Ben Simmons is down for at least a couple of months, so how will this change the logjam of centers in Philadelphia? Will they look to hold on to all of them, ramp up trade offers? What do you see them doing after this injury? — Ryan Northey
The biggest factor is the always unpredictable health of Joel Embiid. Reports out of Sixers camp have been encouraging, but no one should get excited about Embiid until he at least plays a few preseason games. If he has no more problems with the right foot that forced him to miss his first two NBA seasons, then Philadelphia will have a lot more freedom to trade Nerlens Noel or Jahlil Okafor. Our best guess is they keep everyone together until Simmons returns from the injury, probably sometime in January, to see how all the young talent meshes. That still leaves about a month to make a final decision before the trade deadline arrives.
ESPN released its Real Plus-Minus predicting every NBA team’s record next season. Was there a team who was extremely overrated? How about underrated? — Matt Trapp
We’ll start with underrated. The Clippers are projected for just 46.3 victories despite having all the key pieces back from last year’s 53-win team. That’s way too low. L.A. should be a top three team in the West. Others with curiously small win totals are the Timberwolves at 37.1, the Mavericks at 34.3, the Hornets at 41.0, the Pacers at 38.9, the Hawks at 38.6, the Bulls at 37.8 and the Knicks at 34.7. As for overrated teams, the Jazz will be much improved, but their projection of 47.6 wins seem too generous. Also, the formulas were done before the news broke about Chris Bosh, but even with him the Heat might not have reached 38 wins.
Pinckney Joins Timberwolves’ Coaching Staff
The Timberwolves have added Ed Pinckney to their coaching staff, the team announced today (Twitter link). Pinckney had served as an assistant under new Minnesota coach Tom Thibodeau during his five seasons as head coach in Chicago.
Pinckney spent last season as a lead assistant to Michael Malone in Denver, but resigned from that position in July. Pinckney started his coaching career in Minnesota, serving as an assistant to Randy Wittman and Kevin McHale from 2007 to 2009.
Pinckney had been a guest at the Wolves camp this week, so his addition to Thibodeau’s staff was expected.
Northwest Notes: Faried, Abrines, Lucas, Butler
Kenneth Faried has the inside track to remain the Nuggets’ starting power forward when the season starts, according to Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. Coach Michael Malone wanted to have a competition at that spot, but no one appears to be a serious threat to Faried. Darrell Arthur is still recovering from offseason knee surgery and will be phased in slowly. Denver sometimes uses Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler at power forward, but usually just in short bursts to speed up the game. It’s possible that Malone will decide to start Jusuf Nurkic at center and slide Nikola Jokic over to the four spot, but Dempsey believes the most likely outcome is Faried starting on opening night.
There’s more news from the Northwest Division:
- The Nuggets may get their own D-League team again, possibly by next season, Dempsey writes in a separate story. Denver last had a direct affiliate in 2009 with the Colorado 14ers, who moved to Texas and hooked up with the Dallas Mavericks.
- Alex Abrines waited to make the leap to the Thunder until he saw an opportunity for playing time, writes Brett Dawson of The Oklahoman. That chance came when Kevin Durant left Oklahoma City for Golden State and created a huge opening on the wing. OKC has owned Abrines’ rights since 2013, when it took him 32nd in the draft. The 23-year-old shooting guard has been playing in Spain ever since, but now he believes there’s a chance to make an impact with the Thunder. “Once KD left, I think there was a spot at the three position,” Abrines said. “Also I can play the two. I thought I had a chance to come here and grab some minutes. I don’t want to be here and just practice.”
- Two veterans fighting for spots on the Timberwolves‘ roster, John Lucas III and Rasual Butler, know what to expect from coach Tom Thibodeau because they’ve played for him before, notes Kent Youngblood of The Star Tribune. Both players are 37 and have non-guaranteed contracts, but they came into camp with a decent shot to make the team. Minnesota has 17 players in camp, including Nikola Pekovic, who will be kept on the roster but won’t play this season because of injuries. Butler played for Thibodeau in Chicago briefly in 2010/11, and Lucas and Thibodeau teamed up with both the Rockets and Bulls.