Rockets Notes: Papanikolaou, Dunn, Howard
The Rockets have been busy lately, finally inking Francisco Garcia to a new contract yesterday and earlier tonight deciding to exercise the options on Terrence Jones and Donatas Motiejunas come late October. Let’s see what else is going on in Houston on Tuesday night:
- Kostas Papanikolaou‘s new contract with the Rockets isn’t guaranteed unless he sticks on the roster through Saturday, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders, who adds that next season carries both non-guaranteed salary and a team option (Twitter link).
- Rockets head coach Kevin McHale has hired T.R. Dunn as an assistant coach, the team announced today. This will be the second stint in Houston for Dunn, who was also an assistant on Rick Adelman‘s Rockets staff from 2007 to 2011. The defensive-minded coach has been an assistant in Minnesota since then and also spent time on staffs in Sacramento, Denver and Charlotte.
- While Dwight Howard can become a free agent at 30 in the summer of 2016, GM Daryl Morey likes his chances of re-signing him, writes Grantland’s Zach Lowe in a longer, Rockets-based piece. “We’re the first team Dwight has ever picked,” said Morey. “James [Harden] and Dwight are a combo you can win a title with, and we plan to have them here for the remainder of their careers.”
Chuck Myron also contributed to this post.
Rockets To Pick Up Option On Jones, Motiejunas
The Rockets plan to exercise their fourth-year team options on the rookie scale contracts of both Terrence Jones and Donatas Motiejunas, reports Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. The team will wait until the October 31 deadline to do so for the duo, both of whom are entering their third seasons in Houston and will compete for minutes at power forward alongside center Dwight Howard.
Jones, 22, really came into his own last season in his sophomore campaign out of Kentucky, averaging 12.1 points and 6.9 rebounds in 71 starts for the Rockets. Montiejunas, from Lithuania, occupied more of a reserve role, playing 15.4 minutes off the bench. As Feigen notes, the seven-footer was dropped from the rotation in the playoffs. Both players are former first round picks. Jones was selected 18th by the Rockets in 2012 while Montiejunas was taken 20th by Minnesota in 2011.
Once the options are officially exercised, the 2015/16 salaries for Jones ($2.489MM) and Motiejunas ($2.288MM) will become guaranteed, locking in over $50MM in total commitments for Houston next season. With all of the changes to the Houston roster this offseason, there was some speculation that the seven-foot Motiejunas could be dealt. While this news makes that less likely, it’s hard to rule anything out when it comes to the always-active Rockets.
Sixers Waive Pierre Jackson
The Sixers have waived Pierre Jackson today, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (via Twitter). This move comes as no surprise after Jackson didn’t show up on the team’s training camp roster yesterday. Philly traded for Jackson in June and then curiously signed him to a partially-guaranteed deal a month later after he ruptured his Achilles tendon in summer league. Jackson starred last season for the D-League’s Idaho Stampede, averaging 29.1 points and 6.2 assists in 41.5 minutes per contest.
As Stein suggests in a separate tweet, it now appears that the $400K that the Sixers guaranteed to Jackson, who will undoubtedly miss the entire upcoming season rehabbing his injury, might have been intended to encourage the Baylor product to rejoin the team next summer. Philly, of course, loses the rights to Jackson by waiving him.
It was actually the Sixers who drafted Jackson out of Baylor in 2013 second round before dealing him to New Orleans. He joined the Pelicans for summer league but went unsigned through the fall before being selected in the D-League draft. Once he emerged as a force for Idaho, New Orleans allowed Jackson to reach out to other teams to see if they’d be interested in trading for his rights. After nothing materialized, he signed with European powerhouse Fenerbahce Ulker before the Sixers acquired his rights in June.
Rockets Re-Sign Francisco Garcia
SEPTEMBER 30TH: The team inked Garcia to a new contract Monday, according to Pincus (Twitter link). Presumably, it’s guaranteed for the minimum salary and covers one season, just like the original pact.
SEPTEMBER 11TH: It appears as though Garcia’s contract with the Rockets has become invalid, likely because he failed to take his physical in time, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter links). The matter is likely clerical in nature and Garcia will probably ink a new version of the contract and take his physical soon, Pincus says in a pair of tweets. The collective bargaining agreement stipulates that a player must report for his physical no later than the third day following the time at which the contract becomes official. That would have been August 27th, three days before the start of the FIBA World Cup in Spain, where Garcia played for the Dominican Republic team. Rockets GM Daryl Morey referred today to signings that had been delayed by the World Cup as the last items on his offseason agenda, as Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston notes on Twitter.
AUGUST 22ND, 11:28am: The deal is official, the team announced via press release.
AUGUST 21ST, 6:52pm: The Rockets will re-sign veteran guard Francisco Garcia to a one-year deal, reports Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston (via Twitter). Berman confirmed the report with Aaron Goodwin, Garcia’s agent, after Houston GM Daryl Morey welcomed back the Louisville product to his roster on Twitter. The deal is for the veteran’s minimum of $1.32MM, reports Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle, which is equivalent to the minimum salary option Garcia turned down from the team in May.
“He liked the opportunity,” Goodwin told Berman. “He felt he could continue to help the team in a number of ways outside of just being a good guard on the team. He thought he’d have an opportunity to play there a little bit more with Chandler Parsons being gone.” (Twitter links here)
We also heard from Goodwin last week, when he told Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com that Garcia had not yet re-signed with Houston. Though he turned down his option with the Rockets, there were reports that the sides maintained mutual interest. The Jazz, Pelicans and Nets all reportedly had interest in Garcia, who preferred to play for a title contender.
Garcia averaged 19.7 minutes over the course of 55 games in his second season with the Rockets in 2013/14. He shot a paltry 40.1 percent from the field — he’s a career 43 percent shooter — but his 35.8 percent mark from three was near his career average. While Trevor Ariza figures to be the man primarily responsible for replacing Parsons, Garcia has carved out a nice long-range role over the past two seasons in Houston.
Pelicans Sign Dionte Christmas
SEPTEMBER 26TH, 5:09pm: The deal is official, the Pelicans announced via a press release.
SEPTEMBER 12TH, 10:06am: Christmas has inked his contract, according to the RealGM transactions log, though the Pelicans haven’t made a formal announcement.
SEPTEMBER 11TH, 9:39am: The deal covers one year, as Charania writes in his full story.
SEPTEMBER 10TH, 5:31pm: The Pelicans have reached an agreement with free agent guard Dionte Christmas, reports Shams Charania of RealGM (via Twitter). The Temple product was waived by the Suns in late July before his minimum salary for 2014/15 became fully guaranteed. Last season was the first in which Christmas saw any regular season NBA action, when he averaged 2.3 points and 6.4 minutes over 31 appearances with Phoenix.
Christmas, who turns 28 on September 15, played overseas for several seasons after going undrafted in 2009 but latched on with Phoenix after a strong summer league performance last season. The financial terms of this accord have yet to be disclosed, but it’s worth noting that Christmas has received more than the standard non-guaranteed training camp deal in each of the past two seasons, first with the Celtics in 2012 and again with the Suns last year.
The Pelicans have added Jimmer Fredette, Russ Smith, Darius Miller and John Salmons to their mix in the backcourt and on the wing this summer, all of whom Christmas figures to be competing with in training camp. Miller and Smith (and rookie big man Patric Young) are on partially guaranteed deals. New Orleans already has 12 players on fully guaranteed contracts for the 2014/15 season.
Warriors Want To Extend Klay Thompson
Warriors general manager Bob Myers indicated on Tuesday that the team wants to sign Klay Thompson to a long-term extension, reports Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group. Thompson, of course, was famously dangled in trade offers for Kevin Love during the offseason before the Warriors opted against moving him. Myers had the following to say about Thompson and his backcourt mate Stephen Curry:
“We value [Thompson] in the highest way, and we want to keep him on this team for a long time. I think most people believe it to be the best, one of the best backcourts in the NBA, and I don’t think that that’s a minority opinion. I think it’s a majority opinion. That’s part of the team you don’t worry about too much, right? I mean, that part is good, which is hard to find… The two guard in the NBA is a depleted position, so we feel like if we can move forward with those two guys we’re in pretty good shape.”
Thompson is reportedly seeking a max contract and the Warriors have until October 31 to agree on an extension of his rookie-scale contract that would prevent him from hitting restricted free agency next summer. There was an August report that suggested the 24-year-old shooting guard was disgruntled after all the trade rumors, but last week Sam Amick of USA Today spoke to Thompson who pledged his loyalty to his current team.
Unfortunately for the Warriors, Amick also reported that Thompson’s agent Bill Duffy values his client as the best two-guard in the NBA, though the USA Today scribe added that the team believes they have budgeted appropriately enough to keep Thompson. More details surrounding negotiations between the Warriors and their star shooting guard are sure to unfold as we near the start of the 2014/15 regular season.
Grizzlies Sign Michael Beasley For Camp
THURSDAY, 2:30pm: The deal is official, the team announced.
TUESDAY, 6:53pm: Michael Beasley has reached an agreement on a non-guaranteed contract with the Grizzlies, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Beasley spent this week working out with Memphis, according to Wojnarowski, who writes that the former No. 2 overall pick has chosen the Grizzlies because of the opportunity to make the team as a backup power forward. The Memphis roster now stands at 20, but with only 14 fully guaranteed deals Beasley figures to have a reasonable shot to break camp with the team. The Grizzlies are limited to giving him the minimum, since the sliver of their mid-level exception that they have remaining exceeds the amount of the rookie minimum, but not the minimum for a player with the six years of experience that Beasley has.
The talented but troubled Kansas State product, still only 25 years old, was drafted by Miami in 2008 and spent time with the Timberwolves and Suns before returning to the Heat for a second term last season. The Jared Karnes client auditioned for the Spurs last week, had a pair of workouts with the Lakers earlier in the offseason and had reportedly drawn interest from a few other teams. Beasley would have liked to have re-signed with the Heat, but concerns over his defense and maturity persuaded the team against bringing him back, we heard earlier this month.
Beasley has averaged 13.2 points and 4.9 rebounds over six years in the league. Last season, on a loaded Miami team, he posted career-low averages in points (7.9), rebounds (3.1) and minutes (15.1). He will be competing against fellow non-guaranteed camp invitees Earl Clark, Patrick Christopher, Luke Hancock, Kalin Lucas and Hassan Whiteside for the Grizzlies final roster spot.
Mavs Notes: Additions, Chandler, Lamb, Analytics
The new-look Mavericks introduced most of their offseason additions today at a press conference, as Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com writes. In adding Chandler Parsons, Raymond Felton, Tyson Chandler, Jameer Nelson, Al-Farouq Aminu and Richard Jefferson, Dallas bolstered a roster that took the champion Spurs to seven games with six veterans that were primary starters on NBA rosters last season, as owner Mark Cuban explained:
“I think we’ve got a group where everybody has had their own personal success but not a lot of team success or great team success,” Cuban said. “So, coming here, we don’t have guys that are looking to just throw up numbers. They’ve already done that and now they’re looking to win. You know, they’re not 21 or 22 anymore, and they’re ready to win. That’s going to have a big impact.”
Here are some other notes coming out of Dallas on Tuesday:
- Cuban also implied today that he made a mistake in allowing Chandler to leave Dallas in free agency in 2011, writes Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas. Cuban was responding to a question from a fan who asked whether Chandler, who will again be a free agent next summer, will remain in Dallas beyond this season. Neither Cuban nor Chandler, who also spoke to media, offered many clues as to the answer, though MacMahon indicates that both sides are happy to be reunited.
- As Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders confirms, Doron Lamb‘s minimum-salary deal with the Mavericks covers just one season (via Twitter).
- Many of the Mavericks additions were strategic decisions based on an improving analytical department, writes Jeff Caplan of NBA.com. Both Cuban and head coach Rick Carlisle discussed the team’s analytics push at length on Tuesday, according to Caplan, who adds that Mavs stats guru Roland Beech was given “carte blanche to hire as needed” in an effort to catch up to the stats-savvy Spurs.
Lakers Sign Jeremy Tyler, Jabari Brown For Camp
The Lakers have added Jeremy Tyler and Jabari Brown to their roster for training camp, the team announced today, while also confirming the official deals for Keith Appling and Roscoe Smith. After adding Wayne Ellington yesterday, the team’s roster now stands at 18 heading into camp, with 13 of the spots occupied by fully guaranteed contracts. The Lakers training camp roster should eventually balloon to 19 or 20, according to Mark Medina of the L.A. Daily News (via Twitter).
Tyler is a three-year veteran who has spent time with the Warriors, Hawks and Knicks since being drafted by Charlotte in the second round of the 2011 NBA Draft. Tyler and Ellington were two of five players to work out with the Lakers earlier this month. Tyler was waived by the Kings a week prior after being dealt to Sacramento by the Knicks in August along with Ellington, coincidentally. The 23-year-old power forward has averaged 3.6 points and 2.6 boards over 104 games in his NBA career.
Brown, who led the SEC in scoring in 2013/14, went undrafted in June after leaving Missouri following his junior season. The shooting guard averaged 19.9 points and shot 41 percent from three for the Tigers last season en route to a first team all-SEC selection. He was a college teammate of fellow Lakers rookie Jordan Clarkson, who signed with the team in August.
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.