Magic Re-Sign Adonis Thomas To 10-Day Pact
FRIDAY, 8:32am: The team has officially announced the deal, via press release.
TUESDAY, 12:26pm: The Magic will re-sign Adonis Thomas to a second 10-day contract, reports Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel (on Twitter). The first 10-day pact Thomas signed with the team expires at the end of Thursday. The team brought Thomas and Dewayne Dedmon aboard shortly after waiving Glen Davis.
The 20-year-old small forward has played a total of just 13 minutes over two games in his stint with the Magic so far, but it appears he did enough in the D-League this season to convince Orlando to hold on to him for a while longer. The former Memphis Tiger took 3.1 three-pointers per game and made 46.9% of them in 26 contests with the Springfield Armor, the affiliate of the Nets. Brooklyn retained his D-League rights after he spent a brief time with the big club in the preseason, but Thomas was free to sign with any NBA team after the Nets cut him from their NBA roster before opening night.
Dedmon is set to receive a second 10-day pact, too. Orlando is only carrying 12 guaranteed contracts, so unless the team wants to continue cycling through players on 10-day deals, either Dedmon or Thomas, and maybe both, are in line to receive contracts for the rest of the season once their second 10 days are up.
Teams That Have Yet To Issue 10-Day Deals
NBA teams have been able to hand out 10-day contracts for two months already this season, and on the whole, they’ve certainly made the most of the opportunities. There have been 45 total 10-day contracts issued so far this season, and the Hawks have given out five, more than any other team, as our 10-Day Tracker shows. The Magic broke a string of nearly nine years without giving out a 10-day contract when they did short-term deals with Dewayne Dedmon and Adonis Thomas late last month.
The tracker displays a wealth of information dating back to the 2006/07 season, but it doesn’t make the teams that still haven’t signed anyone to a 10-day contract readily apparent. That’s where this post comes in. A third of the league has held out of the 10-day market, and it’s a mix of playoff hopefuls and lottery-bound clubs, as we detail below.
- Raptors
- Pacers
- Pistons
- Trail Blazers
- Timberwolves
- Nuggets
- Jazz
- Rockets
- Mavericks
- Pelicans
Don’t expect any of those teams to bring anyone in on a 10-day deal this season. While not all of them have carried 15 guaranteed contracts through the duration of the 10-day signing period, none of them have any available roster space now. It would be possible for one of these clubs to waive a player on a guaranteed deal and bring in someone for 10 days, but that would be highly unlikely. So, every team in the NBA either has a full roster or has tried out a player on a 10-day contract at some point during the season.
And-Ones: Bosh, Korver, Jones, Lakers
The NBA is always in flux, and Hoops Rumors isn’t afraid of change, either. Our roundups of news from around the league have been called Odds & Ends since our inception, but from now on, you’ll see the name “And-Ones” attached to these posts. It falls in line with “Quick Hits” on MLB Trade Rumors and “Extra Points” on Pro Football Rumors, our sister sites. While the name may have changed, our commitment to bringing you news from around the NBA hasn’t. Here’s our latest glance at the Association:
- Chris Bosh, who turns 30 later this month, says he’ll play until he’s 36, observes Joseph Goodman of the Miami Herald (on Twitter). Bosh, who occupies the third spot in our 2014 Free Agent Power Rankings, could re-sign with the Heat this summer on a five-year deal that would leave him less than a year shy of his 36th birthday, though he has plenty of time to change his retirement plans.
- Kyle Korver‘s NBA record streak of 127 consecutive games with at least one made three-pointer ended Wednesday, but the accomplishment highlights the wisdom of his decision to re-sign with the Hawks last year, opines Sean Deveney of The Sporting News.
- Former Cavs power forward Kevin Jones is leaving Cleveland’s D-League affiliate to sign a deal with the San Miguel Beerman of the Philippines that covers the rest of the season, reports Shams Charania of RealGM.com. Jones played 32 games in the NBA with the Cavs last season, but he wasn’t with any NBA club for training camp.
- The Lakers have just three players on guaranteed contracts for next season, plus Nick Young, who has a player option. Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News examines the upsides and drawbacks of having so many others in their walk years.
Team Facebook/Twitter/RSS
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Atlantic
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Central
- Bucks: Facebook / Twitter / RSS
- Bulls: Facebook / Twitter / RSS
- Cavaliers: Facebook / Twitter / RSS
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Southeast
- Bobcats: Facebook / Twitter / RSS
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Southwest
- Grizzlies: Facebook / Twitter / RSS
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Northwest
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Pacific
Chicago’s Pursuit Of ‘Melo Hinges On Mirotic
The Bulls are planning an aggressive pursuit of a major addition this summer and they won’t fear paying the luxury tax if it comes to that, as Chris Broussard of ESPN.com reports in an Insider-only piece. Carmelo Anthony and Nikola Mirotic are the two primary candidates, Broussard writes, adding that it’s an either-or proposition. Chicago will go after the Knicks star if it decides to wait until 2015 to bring on Mirotic, who’d require a hefty salary plus a sizable buyout from Real Madrid of Spain, which has the forward under contract until 2016.
Joakim Noah made a recruiting pitch to Anthony at the All-Star Game, telling him that his best chance to win a ring is in Chicago, and Derrick Rose would also love to see the Knicks star jump to the Bulls, Broussard reported this morning. A report from January indicated that Anthony would prefer Chicago to Los Angeles, though Anthony told reporters at the All-Star break that his priority is to re-sign with the Knicks. Broussard is “beginning to think” that Anthony will leave New York, but that appears to be mere speculation.
The Bulls would have to use the amnesty clause on Carlos Boozer to sign either Anthony or Mirotic for more than the mid-level exception, which would be well beneath market value for either of them. Chicago would likely have to make additional salary-clearing moves to open up enough room for Anthony, depending on how much less than his maximum starting salary of more than $22.458MM he’d be willing to take. The Bulls hold the NBA rights to the 23-year-old Mirotic, widely seen as the best player outside the NBA. Mirotic was the 23rd overall pick in the 2011 draft, but since three years have passed, he and the Bulls are no longer required to come to terms on a rookie scale contract.
Chicago paid the tax last season for the first time in franchise history, and the Bulls are in danger of paying it again this year if Taj Gibson or Joakim Noah trigger incentive clauses in their contracts. There’s a reasonable chance that either Gibson or Noah will do so, and if the Bulls pay the tax this season, another taxpaying year in 2014/15 or 2015/16 would make the team subject to the league’s repeat-offender tax penalties the following season. Those repeater rates begin at $2.50 for every dollar spent beyond the tax threshold.
Thunder Sign Reggie Williams To 10-Day Deal
12:03pm: The Thunder has officially announced the signing, via press release.
7:58am: Four-year NBA veteran Reggie Williams is headed to the Thunder on a 10-day contract, reports Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman. The 27-year-old swingman has been with the Thunder’s D-League affiliate since December following NBA interest from the Bulls and Grizzlies. The official announcement of the signing should take place this morning, according to Mayberry.
Williams spent the past four seasons in the NBA with the Warriors and Bobcats. His sophomore campaign, in which he shot 42.3% from three-point range, helped him earn a two-year, $5.1MM deal with Charlotte after the lockout in 2011. He nonetheless shot just 30.7% from behind the arc over the duration of that contract, and wound up on just a partially guaranteed minimum-salary deal this past summer with the Rockets, who cut him prior to opening night.
The 27-year-old rediscovered his stroke in the D-League, knocking down 38.2% of his three-pointers as he averaged 20.6 points per game over 20 appearances. The Interperformances client will fill Oklahoma City’s lone remaining open roster spot.
Execs, Agents Fear NBA Headed For Lockout
The consensus among agents and executives around the NBA is that the league is on the path toward a lockout in 2017, reports Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. Commissioner Adam Silver and other league officials are already sending out signals that they want a hard salary cap, former union executive director Charles Grantham tells Deveney. Grantham’s time atop the union preceded Billy Hunter’s 17-year run as executive director, but the players have yet to name a permanent replacement. That, too, is helping sow the seeds of a lockout, Deveney writes.
The league and the union both have options after the 2016/17 season to terminate the collective bargaining agreement struck at the end of the 2011 lockout. Most reports have indicated that the agreement will indeed come to an end that year. The league is negotiating a TV rights deal that will most likely ensure that teams continue to receive money even in the event of a lockout, which was the case in 2011. That gives the league incentive to use the lockout as a negotiating tool against the players, who have been unsuccessful in finding alternative revenue streams in the past, as Deveney explains.
Grantham worries that the players are “way behind” in preparing for talks on the next labor deal, though National Basketball Players Association president Chris Paul tells Deveney that he’s not worried about the slow progress toward naming a new executive director. Still, agents feel the delay is “potentially disastrous,” Deveney writes, and they worry that players, wary of repeating the Hunter debacle, won’t give whomever they do hire the support necessary to negotiate effectively.
Nets Sign Jorge Gutierrez To 10-Day Deal
The Nets have signed Jorge Gutierrez to a 10-day contract, the team announced via Twitter. The move had appeared likely last night after Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported that the Nets preferred Gutierrez to Darius Johnson-Odom as they sought a 15th player. Brooklyn had been keeping an open roster spot, with 13 guaranteed contracts and Jason Collins on his second 10-day deal.
Gutierrez, who’s set to become the fourth Mexican-born player to take part in an official NBA game, was with the Nets during the preseason. Though he saw limited action in exhibition games, his performance during camp was key in the team’s decision to bring him back. The 25-year-old has spent time the past two seasons with the D-League affiliate of the Cavs, and he’s averaged 13.9 points and 6.9 assists in 32.7 minutes per game so far this year.
The 6’3″ Gutierrez went undrafted in 2012 out of Cal, where he received Pac-12 Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year honors. He’s seen short minutes in summer league with the Nuggets and Kings the past two offseasons.
Atlantic Rumors: Carmelo, Crawford, Gay
Joakim Noah attempted to sell Carmelo Anthony on the idea of joining the Bulls this summer when the two spoke at the All-Star break, according to ESPN’s Chris Broussard. The Knicks star was non-committal, though he expressed admiration for the way Chicago plays, Broussard notes, adding that the conversation began with Anthony asking Noah what it’s like to play for Tom Thibodeau (All four Twitter links). Broussard also hears that Derrick Rose, who’s notorious for refusing to recruit other players to the Bulls, would love Anthony to join Chicago and would reach out to him if the team asked him to (Twitter link). I touched on the possibility of the No. 2 player on the Hoops Rumors 2014 Free Agent Power Rankings joining the Bulls when I examined Anthony’s free agent stock Wednesday. Here’s more on Anthony’s current team as we check the latest from the Atlantic Division:
- The Knicks have been linked to 2015 free agent Kevin Love on numerous occasions, but if Anthony re-signs, Love’s poor defense and an offensive game that’s too similar to Anthony’s would make him a poor fit, opines Chris Herring of the Wall Street Journal.
- Soon-to-be free agent Jordan Crawford has fond memories of his time with the Celtics, who traded him to the Warriors in January, and he greeted Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge warmly before Golden State’s game in Boston on Wednesday. Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald has the details.
- Rudy Gay will hear plenty of boos when he returns to Toronto with the Kings on Friday, but Raptors ownership deserves blame for setting up the compromising situation that led to Gay’s acquisition last year, argues Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun.
Kings Likely To Keep Orlando Johnson
Indications are the Kings will keep 10-day signee Orlando Johnson for the rest of the season, as Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee writes within a story about the team’s impending addition of Royce White. Johnson’s 10-day contract is set to expire at the end of Friday, though it’s unclear if the team intends to give him another 10-day contract before locking him up for the rest of 2013/14 or is simply planning to go ahead and sign him for the season.
Sacramento has only 13 guaranteed contracts, meaning there’s room for Johnson and White. Johnson joined the team shortly after the Pacers waived him to accommodate their deadline-day trade with the Sixers. The 24-year-old has seemingly had a rough go of it in a return to his native Northern California, scoring just nine points on 21.4% shooting in 39 total minutes with the Kings, spread out over four games. He’s averaged 2.4 points and 9.1 minutes per game overall this season, declines from his numbers in 2012/13, when he posted 4.0 PPG in 12.1 MPG with the Pacers.
The Kings plan to use the waning weeks of the season to evaluate young talent and sign players who could help the team down the road, Jones writes. That suggests that Sacramento may attach a non-guaranteed second year onto a deal that would retain Johnson for the rest of this season. Sacramento drafted the shooting guard out of UC-Santa Barbara with the 36th overall pick in 2012, trading him to the Pacers shortly thereafter, but the Kings were under different management at the time.