Hawks Sign Jarell Eddie For Camp
SEPTEMBER 29TH: The deal is official, the team announced via press release.
SEPTEMBER 19TH: The Hawks and Jarell Eddie have agreed to a training camp deal, Shams Charania of RealGM reports (Twitter link). The contract is likely non-guaranteed according to Charania. This signing brings Atlanta’s preseason roster count to 16, with 14 of those players being signed to fully-guaranteed contracts. The other player, Mike Muscala, has his contract partially guaranteed for $408,241, which makes Eddie a longshot to make the opening night roster.
The 6’6″ forward went undrafted this year out of Virginia Tech after averaging 13.1 PPG, 4.2 RPG, and 1.1 APG his Senior year. His slash line was .358/.376/.776.
Eddie will compete John Jenkins, Kyle Korver, and DeMarre Carroll for minutes at small forward, with Korver the likely starter.
Dexter Pittman Signs With Hawks
SEPTEMBER 29TH: The deal is official, the team announced via press release.
SEPTEMBER 24TH: Free agent Dexter Pittman has agreed to a deal with the Hawks, Shams Charania of RealGM reports (Twitter link). Terms of the deal weren’t revealed, but it’s likely a minimum salary camp deal with a nominal guarantee at best. This signing gives Atlanta a total of 17 players on their preseason roster, with 14 of those being fully-guaranteed and one other player who has a partial guarantee.
The 6’11” 26-year-old out of Texas appeared in two games for the Hawks last season while on a 10-day contract that was cut short when Pittman was released in order to make room on the roster for Mike Muscala. In 50 career games, including six starts, Pittman has averaged 2.3 PPG and 1.8 RPG. His career field goal percentage is 45%.
Pittman will compete with Muscala and Pero Antic for a spot backing up Al Horford at center, though he’s unlikely to stick on the roster until opening night without an especially strong training camp. Pittman had also worked out for the Lakers back in August, but it’s unlikely that L.A. made any contract offer.
Heat Notes: McRoberts, Deng, Haslem
The Heat enter next season without the talents of LeBron James who returned to Cleveland this summer. But Miami isn’t giving up on contending this season, and with a core of Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade, and Luol Deng, GM Pat Riley hopes his offseason moves will pay off with a return to the playoffs. Here are some notes from Miami’s media day:
- Josh McRoberts said that he was drawn to Miami because the team pursued him so hard, Jason Lieser of the Palm Beach Post tweets. McRoberts also added that the deal now gives him multi-year stability.
- In keeping with the theme of being pursued, McRoberts said that he felt wanted in Miami, tweets Joseph Goodman of the Miami Herald. Goodman wasn’t sure if the statement by McRoberts was a dig at the Hornets, his former team, but he believes it was notable given the context.
- When asked about sacrificing money for the sake of the team’s cap flexibility, Udonis Haslem said, “I never had that money. It was never in my bank account. It’s not about that. I don’t regret it,” Lieser tweets.
- The Pacers tried to entice Danny Granger to return this offseason, tweets Lieser, but Granger said, “It didn’t work out.”
- Deng told Lieser that he forgives Danny Ferry for the comments that he made (Twitter link). “It’s not something I want to hold onto… I believe he’s really sorry for what he said,” Deng relayed.
- Deng also said that he believes Ferry’s remorse is genuine, and added, “I do not think Danny is racist,” tweets Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.
- The veteran small forward said that he was actually close to signing with the Hawks, notes Jackson (Twitter link). Deng also noted that Ferry should have read the offensive comments allegedly contained in the scouting report to himself before saying them out loud.
- Deng confirmed to Lieser that he was close to joining Atlanta and that he never got any sense of prejudice from them. Deng also said that he was totally surprised by what he heard when the story was made public, Lieser notes.
Southeast Notes: LeBron, Bosh, Hornets
LeBron James says it would have been more difficult for him to leave the Heat if they’d beaten the Spurs in the Finals this year and that he hadn’t envisioned returning to play in Cleveland until the end of his career. James made his comments to CNN’s Rachel Nichols, who released a preview of the full interview, which airs Friday (video link).
Here’s more from the Southeast Division:
- With LeBron gone Chris Bosh will become the focal point of the Heat‘s offense, something the player is greatly looking forward to, Jared Zwerling of Bleacher Report writes. Bosh’s former coach Sam Mitchell believes his former player will answer the bell, saying “Pat Riley gave him the contract that said, ‘You’re going to be the guy. People think Chris is not that guy. When the offense is running through him, they’re going to find out, I guarantee you. One of those Big Three in Miami had to take a backseat and check his ego at the door. If Chris hadn’t done it, they may not have two championships. Now, I think Chris is going to play even better than he did in Toronto. I really do, because now he has something to prove all over again.”
- Hornets GM Rich Cho said there have been some initial discussions between the franchise and Kemba Walker about a possible extension, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer reports (Twitter link). Walker can become a restricted free agent next summer.
- The Wizards enter the new season with higher expectations than usual, Joseph White of USA Today writes. Coach Randy Wittman embraces the pressure that comes with those expectations, saying, “Listen, as a coach, you want to have these expectations. I’d much rather be sitting here talking about high expectations than you so-called experts thinking we might win 15-16 games. Last year doesn’t mean nothing. Last year we’ve got to use. Are we going to use it as a stepping stone to this year? When I say we’re back to ground zero, everybody’s 0-0 right now.”
- Embattled Hawks GM Danny Ferry is slowly gathering supporters around the league, Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes. But this support may not ultimately help Ferry keep his job, notes Vivlamore, and the executive’s fate most likely rests with whomever the new controlling owner of the franchise is.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Mike Budenholzer On GM Duties, Roster, East
Mike Budenholzer probably didn’t bank on adding responsibility over Atlanta’s basketball operations to his coaching duties after just one season as an NBA head coach, but the controversy surrounding the team has left him with a dual capacity. He’s serving as an interim GM while Danny Ferry is on an indefinite leave of absence, but in his comments today to Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Budenholzer suggested the most difficult part has been seeing Ferry, whom he calls a friend, suffer under the harsh light of scrutiny. The coach/executive called Ferry’s racially derogatory statements about Luol Deng “out of character,” and dished on his new job and more in his conversation with Vivlamore. The entire interview is worth a read, but we’ll pull out three highlights here:
On how he’ll handle two jobs at once:
“We have an incredible group here with our management and our basketball operations, scouts, assistant coaches and medical staff. I think it’s what we feel is the best solution in a tough time. I’m excited to continue to fight for our guy, protect our guys and protect what we have been building and continue to move us forward. We have done everything collaboratively since I arrived. So in a lot of ways as much as possible we are going to continue to work and continue to do business. In a tough time, this is the best solution.”
On the battle for roster spots in camp:
“I think there is still competition. Guys come to camp and they come to make the team. I think we are in a situation where salary-wise and cap-wise we have some flexibility. I think we want to leave ourselves open to competition, most importantly, in putting together the best team we can. I think fortunately for us there is still opportunity for us, there is still flexibility in all ways, shapes and forms.”
On the team’s place in the Eastern Conference hierarchy:
“It’s strange. I don’t really pay that close attention to the rest of the East or the entire NBA. We are in such that building mode and that beginning phase mode that I’m really focused on our guys. I genuinely mean that. I think there are fans out there that know more about the East than I do. Hopefully I know more about the Hawks than they do. I know LeBron is in Cleveland now and Chicago has made some good additions, mostly Derrick Rose coming back healthy. I think you can go down the list of how the teams have improved. To whatever degree, I am aware of all that. I’m significantly more focused on what we are doing and hope that we can have that daily approach and be worried about ourselves. We’ll find our spot in that mix of teams.”
Eastern Notes: Ferry, Antetokounmpo, Raptors
With the racism scandal still fresh in Atlanta, Hawks GM Danny Ferry‘s former teammate Tim Duncan came to his defense, Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News writes. Duncan acknowledged during a radio interview that Ferry made a mistake in his comments regarding Luol Deng, but denied Ferry had an issue with race. Duncan said, “Knowing Danny, he’s not what everybody’s saying about him. He’s not a racist.”
Here’s more from the east:
- Bucks second-year player Giannis Antetokounmpo is embracing the team’s experiment of moving him to point guard, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders writes. On Milwaukee asking him to change positions, Antetokounmpo said, “I’m not going to say I was shocked by it. It’s something that I feel comfortable with and I’ll play wherever Coach wants me to play, especially when it’s Coach Kidd who thinks that I can play point guard. That makes me feel like, ‘I can play it. I can play point guard.’ I’m going to try my best and just listen to Coach. I’ll do whatever Coach says to do and I’ll get more comfortable.”
- During an interview with Reggie Miller regarding injured Pacers swingman Paul George, team president Larry Bird said that despite his star player’s horrific injury, he would still like George to return to Team USA, Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star relays. “I hope so. That’s one of his goals,” Bird said. “He wants to play for Team USA. I think that any kid that gets the opportunity to do that and they want to play for their country, they should have that opportunity. And I think Paul will be there in Brazil (Olympics).”
- In their season preview the staff at HoopsHype predict that the Raptors will repeat as champs in the Atlantic Division.
- Despite last season ending with his potential game-winning shot being blocked by Paul Pierce in the playoffs, the Raptors‘ Kyle Lowry showed significant growth on and off the court, writes Jonathan Abrams of Grantland in his profile of the player and his career.
Hawks Re-Sign Elton Brand
SEPTEMBER 23RD: The deal is official, the team announced via press release.
SEPTEMBER 12TH, 10:02am: The signing has taken place, according to the RealGM transactions log, though the team has yet to make an official announcement.
SEPTEMBER 10TH, 6:54pm: The Hawks will re-sign Elton Brand to a one-year deal for $2MM, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). Brand spent his 15th NBA season as a role player in Atlanta, averaging 5.7 points and 4.9 rebounds in 73 appearances for the Hawks. He shot 53.9 percent from the field in 19.4 minutes per contest, helping Atlanta to land the eighth and final playoff seed in the Eastern Conference.
There were reports a few weeks back that Brand and the Hawks were in talks, and the Duke product also reportedly drew interest from the Heat and Knicks this offseason. The 35-year-old has had some injury issues at points in his career and took some time to consider retirement before committing to a 16th season in June. His PER declined for the third straight season in 2013/14 and, at 14.05, was the lowest mark of his career.
The Hawks drafted Adreian Payne at No. 15 in June to add to a frontcourt that already includes Al Horford and Paul Millsap. While Brand, a David Falk client, should get legitimate minutes in 2014/15, he figures to have a somewhat reduced role. He made $4MM in Atlanta last season. If his deal is fully guaranteed, it would make 14 such contracts on the books for the upcoming season in addition to Mike Muscala‘s partially guaranteed deal.
Hawks Sign Kent Bazemore
SEPTEMBER 23RD: The deal is at last official, the team announced via press release.
SEPTEMBER 11TH: The Hawks and Bazemore finally put pen to paper Wednesday, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). The team has yet to make an official announcement. It’s likely that the signing took so long to complete because Atlanta wanted to preserve cap space, though that’s just my speculation. The Hawks could have used cap space to acquire other players and circled back to sign Bazemore using the room exception. As it stands, they’re using cap space to ink Bazemore.
JULY 11TH: 9:50pm: Bazemore’s agent, Austin Walton, confirmed the deal and that it is fully guaranteed, tweets Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops.
9:31pm: Kent Bazemore has reached an agreement to join the Hawks, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The deal is for two years and $4MM, according to Stein. Shams Charania of RealGM tweets that the deal is fully guaranteed, and contains no options.
The shooting guard was traded along with MarShon Brooks from the Warriors to the Lakers in the Steve Blake deal on February 19th of this year. Bazemore’s career numbers are 4.1 PPG, 1.1 RPG, and 0.9 APG.
The 25 year old who originally went undrafted out of Old Dominion also received interest from the Hornets, Lakers, Rockets, Spurs, Warriors and Celtics.
Lloyd’s Latest: Thompson, Allen, Deng
LeBron James is set to play a game in a Cavs uniform less than two weeks from now for the first time in more than four years, but that’s far from the only storyline surrounding the team as it prepares for training camp. Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal shares 23 mostly Cavs-related thoughts in honor of James’ No. 23 jersey, and the entire piece is a must-read for wine-and-gold faithful. We’ll pass along three highlights here:
- The Cavs and Tristan Thompson‘s representatives with Klutch Sports have yet to talk numbers in a potential extension for the former No. 4 overall pick, a source tells Lloyd. Still, the Beacon Journal scribe believes agent Rich Paul will ask for a deal in the neighborhood of the four-year, $44MM extension the Bucks gave Larry Sanders and the four-year, $48MM extension the Jazz granted Derrick Favors.
- Cleveland’s brass maintains belief that Ray Allen will sign with the team, as Lloyd wrote Monday, but they anticipate starting camp without him, as their full 20-man roster indicates, Lloyd explains in his latest piece.
- The NBA and the Cavs are fairly certain that the racially derogatory remarks in the infamous Luol Deng scouting report that seemed to come from someone with ties to the Cavs emanated from someone who’s no longer with Cleveland, according to Lloyd. Instead, many around the league are directing their ire toward the Hawks for their handling of the situation, Lloyd writes.
Hawks Notes: Silver, Ferry, Owners
It’s been more than two weeks since Hawks controlling owner Bruce Levenson announced his intention to sell his stake in the club stemming from an investigation that uncovered an email with racially charged statements that he’d written in 2012. GM Danny Ferry helped defuse the controversy when he agreed to take an indefinite leave of absence after his own racist statements became public, but the leadership of the Hawks remains in limbo. Here’s the latest:
- A sitting NBA owner told Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the Hawks will move to a new city “over my dead body,” casting further doubt on the notion that a new principal owner will move the franchise. Commissioner Adam Silver will meet Friday with Atlanta mayor Kasim Reed to discuss the state of Hawks ownership, as Vivlamore reports in the same piece.
- Silver said today that he thought Ferry was wise to take his indefinite leave of absence, as Chris Herring of The Wall Street Journal tweets. Silver said earlier this month that he doesn’t think Ferry committed any offense that should prompt the team to fire him.
- Vivlamore’s piece also provides a breakdown of the Hawks ownership shares. Levenson owns 24% of the team, but his share combined with those of Ed Peskowitz and Todd Foreman total 50.1%, and all three are selling. Michael Gearon Sr. and Michael Gearon Jr. own approximately 42% of the team combined, while the rest of the club is in the hands of Rutherford Seydel, Beau Turner and a New York-based investment group that includes Steven Price.