Harden Rejects $52MM, Continues Extension Talk
James Harden and agent Rob Pelinka recently turned down a four-year extension offer from the Thunder worth $52MM in their quest for a max extension from the Thunder, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports. Pelinka and Thunder GM Sam Presti have been meeting in Oklahoma City the past to two days to try to hammer out a deal. Wojnarowski takes the continued negotiations as a sign there's figure between $52MM and the maximum, likely worth $60MM, that will get the extension done.
Wojnarowski hears the Thunder may be trying to get Harden to agree to incentive clauses that may sweeten the deal, as they did with Serge Ibaka's extension. Teams are already lining up to offer Harden a maximum deal in restricted free agency next summer if Oklahoma City can't get an extension done by Wednesday's deadline. If the Thunder don't sign him to an extension, sources tell Wojnarowski that they may explore trades for him sooner rather than later.
"You're asking a player to take less money and remain a non-starter," a league executive told Wojnarowski. "Harden can start and go make more money. …That's a tough sell."
The Thunder could be on the hook for a hefty luxury tax bill for years to come if they commit to Harden, after previously doling out long-term deals to Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Ibaka. They could be more willing to pay the tax than they're letting on, Wojnarowski speculates, which could prompt the team to simply wait for the extension deadline to pass and match any offer sheet Harden signs next summer.
Heat Cut Garrett Temple
The Heat have waived point guard Garrett Temple, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports (Twitter link). The move brings Miami's roster to the regular-season limit of 15. Terrel Harris, Josh Harrellson, Dexter Pittman and James Jones, all thought to be competing for a roster spot at one time or another, appear as though they've made it to opening night. Winderman believes the good health of starting point guard Mario Chalmers made Temple expendable (Twitter link).
Hawks Waive James Anderson, Damion James
The Hawks waived their last pair of players on non-guaranteed deals, cutting ties with James Anderson and Damion James, Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports via Twitter. The team's roster is down to 14 players, 13 of whom have fully guaranteed deals. Kyle Korver has a partial guarantee of $500K on his $5MM deal, but he seems unlikely to be let go.
Knicks Waive Bellfield, Shurna, Thompson, Sims
The Knicks waived four players to get down to the 15-man roster limit today, cutting ties with Oscar Bellfield, John Shurna, Mychel Thompson and Henry Sims, as Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today reports (Twitter link). Shurna and Sims had partial guaranteed of $50K, while Bellfield's and Thompson's contracts were non-guaranteed. The moves likely mean Chris Copeland, who has a non-guaranteed deal, will be on the Knicks opening-night roster.
Cavs Waive Eric, Jones, Brown
The Cavs have waived Micheal Eric, Kevin Jones and D'Aundray Brown, the team reports via Twitter. The moves bring the team's roster down to the regular-season limit of 15. Eric's deal was partially guaranteed for $300K, while Jones had a partial guarantee of $50K. Brown's contract was non-guaranteed.
Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio tweets that Brown appears headed to the team's D-League affiliate in Canton, while it's unclear whether Eric will wind up there. Jones will likely go elsewhere, Amico says.
Lakers Cut Goudelock, Will Waive Johnson-Odom
The Lakers have waived Andrew Goudelock, Mike Trudell of Lakers.com tweets. Emiliano Carchia of Sportando reports the team will also waive fellow camp invitee Darius Johnson-Odom, who has a deal lined up with the Ukrainian club Azovmash Mariupol. The subtraction of both players, who were on non-guaranteed deals, will leave the Lakers with a roster count of 14, one fewer than the regular-season limit.
The Lakers took Goudelock with the 46th overall pick in the 2011 draft, and the 6'3" guard was in the team's rotation early last season, when he wound up averaging 4.4 points in 10.5 minutes per game with an 8.4 PER. A deeper backcourt in L.A. this year squeezed him out, however. Johnson-Odom, also a 6'3" guard, was the 55th overall pick in this year's draft, but didn't get much time in the preseason, averaging just 1.5 PPG in 4.8 MPG over four contests.
The moves appear to signal Robert Sacre, the team's only other player on a non-guaranteed deal, has made the team. The Lakers could opt to carry only 13 players, though, and if they do so, or decide to sign someone else, they could cut Sacre anytime between now and January 10th without being on the hook for a full season's salary.
Thunder Waive Rautins, Orton, Thompson
The Thunder have let go of Andy Rautins, Daniel Orton and Hollis Thompson, reports Royce Young of DailyThunder.com. All were on partially guaranteed deals — Orton for $100K, Thompson for $75K, and Rautins for $25K. That means DeAndre Liggins, whose deal is also partially guaranteed for $25K, appears to have won the competition for the team's final regular season roster spot.
Young writes that the Thunder are expected to retain the rights to Rautins, Orton and Thompson for their D-League affiliate, the Tulsa 66ers, as long as they clear waivers. The Thunder signed the 6'8" Thompson, who went undrafted out of Georgetown in June, on the first day free agents could officially sign with teams this summer. Orton, a 6'10" native of Oklahoma City, was the 29th pick in the 2010 draft by the Magic, who didn't pick up his third-year option, allowing him to sign with his hometown team in August. The Thunder picked up Rautins and Liggins, both guards, on the same day in September. Both were former second-round picks with brief NBA action.
The Thunder now have 15 players on their roster, though they could decide to let Liggins go at any time before January 10th without having to pay more than his $25K partial guarantee.
Eastern Notes: Jennings, DeRozan, Boozer, Jaric
Bucks GM John Hammond said Wednesday the team wants to keep Brandon Jennings around long-term, adding that he'll continue to have talks about an extension with Bill Duffy, the agent for Jennings, until either a deal is reached or the October 31st deadline passes, as Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports. We've got more on another player up for an extension and other notes from the Eastern Conference tonight.
- DeMar DeRozan is eligible for extension before next week's deadline, but the Raptors reportedly "want to be wowed" by his performance this season before signing him to a long-term deal next summer. DeRozan is making strides toward that so far, as Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun observes.
- Carlos Boozer, an amnesty candidate for next summer, has looked sharp in preseason for the Bulls as he tries to pick up the slack for the injured Derrick Rose, writes K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune.
- Marko Jaric was waived by the Bulls today, but expressed appreciation for his time in camp via Twitter, and wrote that he hopes he'll be back with the team next month, when it can afford him on a minimum-salary deal under its hard cap (hat tip to Shams Charania of RealGM.com). Until then, Jaric is free to sign with any team.
- When asked by reporters why he re-signed with the Celtics, Jeff Green pointed to Rajon Rondo, whom he called "the best point guard in the league," notes Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald.
- Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal weighs the chances Kevin Jones has of making the Cavs opening-night roster. Jones has a diminutive partial guarantee of $50K on his deal.
- John Denton of Magic.com takes a look at Nikola Vucevic, the likely starting center for the Magic after coming over from the Sixers in the Dwight Howard trade.
- The Bobcats were the league's worst offensive team last year, and they haven't been much better in the preseason, notes Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer.
Northwest Rumors: Thunder, Blazers, Batum
When GMs were polled recently on their thoughts about the upcoming season, the only two teams who received consideration to win the Western Conference other than the Lakers were the Thunder and Nuggets. The nod to Oklahoma City is no surprise, but the mention of Denver might have raised a few eyebrows, since the Nuggets haven't gotten out of the first round the past three years. Nuggets coach George Karl would be pleased if his team notched 50 wins, but with Andre Iguodala on board, he believes this year's squad has a chance to break the franchise record of 54 victories, as Aaron J. Lopez of Nuggets.com writes. Here's the latest on a couple of the Nuggets' division rivals.
- The Thunder have 14 players on fully guaranteed deals, and another four with partial guarantees, meaning the team will likely owe money to at least three players who don't make the team. Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman gives reasons why he believes Daniel Orton will edge out DeAndre Liggins for the final regular season spot, adding that it's a decision that may pit GM Sam Presti against coach Scott Brooks (All four Twitter links).
- Mayberry also believes there's a chance the Thunder could trade Daequan Cook or Lazar Hayward to free up a spot for both Orton and Liggins, but thinks finding a taker for either would be a tough task (All Twitter links).
- With Demonte Harper and Dallas Lauderdale reportedly about to be waived and sent to the D-League, Mike Tokito of The Oregonian identifies Coby Karl, Adam Morrison and Justin Holiday as other camp invitees the Blazers will probably cut.
- Nicolas Batum signed for about $12MM less in his four-year deal than Eric Gordon is getting his four-year contract, but Blazers GM Neil Olshey hopes Batum can increase his scoring this year in a manner similar to 5.4 PPG jump Gordon took from his second year in the league to his third, writes Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com.
2011/12 Starters Who Are Out Of The League
Full-time NBA starters are usually fixtures who at least wind up in a rotation the next season, if not the starting lineup. In a few cases, though, starters wind up out of the league entirely, either because of retirement or declining skills. That was the case for three players who were among those who met the starter criteria as defined by the CBA. For last year's lockout-shortened season, that meant players who started at least 33 games or played at least 1,610 minutes, pro-rated figures of the usual 41 starts and 2,000 minutes over an 82-game season.
Here are the three starters from last season who are no longer in the league, and an explanation why.
- Shelden Williams — Started 35 games for the Nets last season, but will spend this year playing in France after receiving interest from the Warriors over the summer.
- Anthony Parker — Started 51 games for the Cavaliers last season before retiring. He now works as a scout for the Magic.
- Derek Fisher — Started 43 games for the Lakers prior to his trade to the Rockets, who bought him out and allowed him to sign with the Thunder. He remains unsigned but continues to seek an NBA deal.