Blazers To Send Harper, Lauderdale To D-League
Camp invitees Demonte Harper and Dallas Lauderdale aren't traveling with the Blazers to Utah for Thursday's preseason game, and Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com tweets that the team plans to send them to the Idaho Stampede, Portland's D-League affiliate. While that doesn't necessarily mean those two are getting cut, Haynes points out via Twitter that NBA clubs are allowed to protect up to three training camp invitees for their D-League affliates, once those players clear NBA waivers. So, it seems likely that's the plan for Harper and Lauderdale.
Haynes also tweets that GM Neil Olshey said he'll make roster cuts Saturday, which would allow the players to clear waivers by 5pm Eastern time Monday, the deadline for teams to be at the 15-man regular season roster limit. Harper and Lauderdale won't be waived before Saturday, Haynes says, since Olshey has maintained that he wants to wait as long as possible to make his cuts (Twitter link). The Blazers currently have 20 players on the roster, which is the preseason limit. Six are candidates to be cut, since they are all without even a partial guarantee, and that list includes Harper and Lauderdale. The other 14 have fully guaranteed deals. Mike Tokito of The Oregonian identifies Coby Karl and Justin Holiday as two likely candidates to be the third player waived and protected for Idaho (Twitter link).
Harper, a 6'4" guard, spent last year with the Croatian club KK Cibona after going undrafted out of Morehead State in 2011. He played with the Nuggets in summer league, but has registered just four minutes of playing time in preseason with the Blazers. Lauderdale, a 6'8" Ohio State product, was also passed over in the 2011 draft, and played with Turow Zgorzelec in Poland last season. He was with the Warriors' summer league team, but like Harper, hasn't seen much preseason action, garnering only six minutes.
L.A. Rumors: Barnes, Goudelock, Johnson-Odom
Both the Clippers and the Lakers have a marquee player who'll be a free agent next summer, in Chris Paul and Dwight Howard, respectively. The teams also made a slew of offseason changes after finishing within a game of each other at the top of the Pacific Division standings and suffering playoff eliminations in the conference semifinals. The two Staples Center tenants seem to have a lot more in common than just an address as the 2012/13 season approaches, and we have news on Tinseltown's teams.
- We heard earlier today about Paul's influence on Matt Barnes' decision to sign with the Clippers, and Barnes told HoopsWorld's Yannis Koutroupis that it all started when he was at an open workout at the team's facility. Barnes was initially apprehensive, knowing the team already has Caron Butler and Grant Hill at small forward, but the Clippers kept pushing the idea, prompting Barnes to give it a go.
- The Lakers are leaning toward carrying just 14 players to start the regular season, according to Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times. Andrew Goudelock and Darius Johnson-Odom, both of whom are non-guaranteed deals, are "longshots" to make the team, Bresnahan says. That would make Robert Sacre, whose deal is also non-guaranteed, the favorite for the 14th spot.
- Howard thinks the controversy surrounding him last year with the Magic played a role in his failure to win a fourth consecutive Defensive Player of the Year award, Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com writes.
- Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times checks in with Lamar Odom, who's trying to play himself into shape with the Clippers.
Odds & Ends: Nolan Smith, Allen, Rondo, Paul
Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com wonders whether Nolan Smith's preseason troubles for the Blazers might be due in part to the pressure of the looming October 31st deadline the team has for picking up the third-year option on his rookie contract. Blazers GM Neil Olshey told Haynes he's going to wait as long as possible to make a decision. Stay up to date on this month's rookie-scale option decisions with the Hoops Rumors Rookie Contract Option Tracker, and check out the latest notes from around the league right here.
- The root of the hard feelings between Rajon Rondo and Ray Allen stemmed from a phone call Allen made to his then-teammate to get him to lobby against a trade that would have sent the pair to the Suns in 2009 for Amare Stoudemire, Leandro Barbosa and a 2010 draft pick, Joseph Goodman of the Miami Herald reveals.
- Chris Paul was instrumental in recruiting Jamal Crawford and others to the Clippers, and doesn't give the look of someone who wants to leave L.A. as he enters the final season of his deal, Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld writes (Sulia link).
- Marvin Williams is paying early dividends for the Jazz after coming aboard in an offseason trade, as Mike Sorenson of the Deseret News and Bill Oram of The Salt Lake Tribune examine.
- Coach Doug Collins pointed to four Sixers whose minutes he wants to limit during the season, and all of them are offseason acquisitions, as Tom Moore of PhillyBurbs.com chronicles.
- Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com and Newsday's Al Iannazzone share the opinion that a cyst in Stoudemire's left knee that will keep him out two to three weeks boosts the chances that Knicks non-guaranteed camp invitee Chris Copeland will make the team (Twitter links).
- Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel thinks Garrett Temple, Josh Harrellson and Dexter Pittman will all be on the Heat roster come opening night.
Central Rumors: Bulls, Walsh, Hammond, Pistons
The Bulls figure to have a tough time repeating their success of the past two seasons with Derrick Rose injured and most of their key reserves playing elsewhere. Still, they have the advantage of playing in the NBA's easiest division, according to Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio, who believes they'll be able to tread water and come up with 46 wins, likely enough for a playoff berth. If Rose is back, a higher seed probably won't want to see Chicago in the first round, but until then, here's the latest on a few teams trying to benefit from the Bulls' misfortune.
- Donnie Walsh is back in familiar surroundings as Pacers president of basketball operations after a stint in the Knicks front office, as Harvey Araton of The New York Times examines in a lengthy feature. Walsh admits his recovery from spinal cord surgery, which forced him to meet with LeBron James unprepared and in a wheelchair, affected the team's pitch for the superstar in 2010, and the 71-year-old doesn't envision himself as a long-term solution for the Pacers.
- Though he's not expected to give Brandon Jennings a long-term extension this month, Bucks GM John Hammond is confident his backcourt of Jennings and Monta Ellis can work, and sees the Pacers and Jazz as small-market models to follow, as Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe details. "The goal today is not to make trades," Hammond said. "The goal today is to try to find a way to keep some of these young pieces together and build with this young nucleus but continue to keep a fair salary structure that will give us flexibility to change and improve this team."
- Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press looks at how the Pistons are moving against the small-ball trend.
- The Pistons' rotation is starting to take shape, as Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News examines.
- A more competitive on-court product this season is critical for the business side of the Pistons, argues Tom Walsh of the Detroit Free Press.
Teams Using Cap Space On Former Players
In the past week, the Cavaliers and Celtics waived players with partially or fully guaranteed contracts, and now that those guys have cleared waivers, the teams are obligated to pay them even though they won't be playing in Cleveland and Boston, respectively. It's a scenario that's likely to play out again between now and opening night of the regular season, when rosters must be trimmed to 15. Several teams have more players with guaranteed deals than they have roster space available, so unless they're able to work out a trade, they'll be on the hook for guys who won't be contributing this year.
Most, if not all, of the players who hit the waiver wire in the next week will have less than $1MM in guaranteed money, but sometimes teams are willing to let go of someone making much more. In the case of Rashard Lewis, whom the Hornets owe $13.7MM this year, the decision to waive him and pay his partially guaranteed amount saved the team an extra $9MM they would have had to shell out if they kept him around at the full amount left on his deal.
Teams can erase the guaranteed portions of a player's salary from their books using the amnesty provision, but they can only do so once, and only on players who signed prior to last year's lockout. We're keeping track of amnesty cuts here, but this list is for players who still count against a team's cap. This list doesn't include cap holds for free agents or unsigned first-round draft picks, all of which count against the cap as well. Otherwise, if you know anyone we've missed, let us know in the comments.
Updated 10-23-12
Hawks
- Jordan Farmar ($1.5MM) — The Hawks bought him out of the final season of his deal, originally worth $4.25, in July.
- Jordan Williams ($762K) — Waived in September, despite a full guarantee.
Celtics
- Keyon Dooling ($854K) — Dooling retired in September, but the team is still on the hook for his minimum-salary deal.
- Dionte Christmas ($237K) — Waived on October 16th despite a guarantee that covered half of his minimum-salary deal.
- Jamar Smith ($25K) — Waived on October 16th despite a partial guarantee.
Cavaliers
- Kelenna Azubuike ($1.07M) — Waived on October 14th despite a full guarantee.
Pistons
- Richard Hamilton ($6.07MM) — Agreed to a buyout in 2011.
Rockets
- *Derek Fisher ($644K) — It's unclear whether he remains on Houston's books. It was widely believed that Fisher had exercised his player option for 2012/13 before he agreed to a buyout from the Rockets in March, but Marc Stein of ESPN.com recently heard that Fisher did not opt in.
Pacers
- Blake Ahearn ($25K) — Waived October 22nd despite a partial guarantee.
- Sundiata Gaines ($25K) — Waived October 22nd despite a partial guarantee.
Heat
- James Jones ($1.757MM) — Though Jones is with the Heat, he's still receiving money from a contract he signed in 2008 in addition to his current deal. Miami waived Jones in June 2010, on the final day they could do so before the partial guarantees on the three years remaining on his original deal became full guarantees. The move freed up cap space for the team to sign LeBron James, Chris Bosh and others that offseason, and Jones rejoined the team on a smaller deal later that summer.
Timberwolves
- Martell Webster ($600K) — Waived in July despite a partial guarantee.
Hornets
- Rashard Lewis ($13.7MM) — Waived in June despite a partial guarantee for 2012/13.
Knicks
- Renaldo Balkman ($1.675MM) — Waived in February despite a full guarantee for 2012/13.
Magic
- Christian Eyenga ($1.174MM) — Waived October 23rd despite a full guarantee.
Suns
- Brad Miller ($848K) — Waived in August despite a partial guarantee.
Trail Blazers
- Shawne Williams ($2.6MM) — The Blazers bought him out of the final year of his contract, originally worth $3.135MM, in July.
Storytellers Contracts and ShamSports were used in the creation of this post.
Hornets Notes: Demps, Williams, Anderson
The Hornets enter the season as one of the league's most intriguing teams, having drafted No. 1 overall pick Anthony Davis, re-signed Eric Gordon to a max deal, and pulled off a sign-and-trade for Most Improved Player award-winner Ryan Anderson, among several other moves. Here's what's happening in the Big Easy as the new-look Hornets get ready for their regular season debut.
- Hornets GM Dell Demps was quick to praise the stewardship of commissioner David Stern as he spoke to Jimmy Smith of The Times-Picayune, despite his refusal to allow Demps to trade Chris Paul to the Lakers last year. Still, Demps is glad for the stability new owner Tom Benson brings. "And even last season, a lot of decisions we were making were based along the lines of you wanted to make the team attractive to a new owner," Demps said. "And so we had some short-term and long-term plans in place last year that really set us up for this year."
- Coach Monty Williams said he's been working with Demps as the team rebuilds, as Smith documents in the same piece. "Dell and I talk a lot about the roster and where do we see ourselves in the future," the coach said. "It's been set up in a way that it gives us even more flexibility next summer to spend some money. Then once we spend that money next summer, I'm thinking 'That's our team.'"
- Anderson signed a four-year, $34MM contract this summer, but the new Hornets sharpshooter has struggled in the preseason, as HoopsWorld's Lang Greene examines.
- Greene also checks in with Brian Roberts, a point guard in Hornets camp with a deal that's partially guaranteed for $100K.
Jim Buss On Summer Moves, Kupchak, Analytics
Lakers executive vice president Jim Buss this week revealed the team has arranged almost all of its contracts to end in 2014 so the purple and gold can "make a big splash in the free agent market" that summer. The big fish that year could be LeBron James, just the latest in a star-studded litany of names that have been associated with the Lakers in the past several months. After a second straight playoff exit in the conference semifinals left Buss "very disappointed" in the team at the end of 2011/12, the Lakers appear back in business of contending for titles after the acquisitions of Dwight Howard and Steve Nash. Though Buss tells Kevin Ding of the Orange County Register that his father Jim is still "the final hammer" within the organization, GM Mitch Kupchak said the younger Buss is gradually taking over. "It's almost been a complete transition, really," Kupchak said in Ding's report.
Ding sat down with Jim Buss for a lengthy interview, and the Lakers executive shared several intriguing tidbits.
On this summer's moves:
"I've felt the last two years, we had a chance to win the championship. Adding two Hall of Famers, basically, to this squad? To me, you kind of erase that 'we're taking steps' idea. We're here. Do what we're supposed to do."
On the front-office collaboration with Kupchak:
"It's a collective effort on every step. Mitch might have his own thoughts. He might make some phone calls to see if it's even possible. And he'll introduce it to me, and I'll say, 'Give me a day to work out some numbers and see if I think it's a fit.' Basically it's the value part I do. I'm not going to question if he likes a guy. Maybe I'd say, 'Mitch, by my numbers, the guy's a $3MM player. Right now, the market's dictating he's getting six. We just can't do it.'"
On why he says he defers to Kupchak most of the time:
"That's the area that is gray for me. Mitch is fantastic at saying, 'Well, he's a good player, but he doesn't fit our team.' Breaking down a player, you can do so much number-wise. But you need that extra 'does he fit?'"
On his approach to analytics:
"To me, a ridiculous stat is plus-minus. I think it's just useless. I needed to weed out and understand what affects the game of basketball. In the past five years, those applications of numbers came into play where I believe them. It took me years to believe they do have an effect."
On his new point guard:
"The intangible with Steve Nash is he's a winner; he's dedicated. He's just a phenomenal facilitator. My numbers take that all into consideration. I'm not concerned about his defense, because he's the oil to make this whole thing run, and I think the guys will help out defensively. And I don't see as bad of defense as everybody talks about."
Celtics Rumors: Melo, Joseph, Green
It's only preseason, but the Celtics have given their Atlantic Division rivals reason to be discouraged in their last two outings. Boston recorded a 30-point win over the Nets on Thursday and rallied from down 20 points last night to beat the Knicks. They're doing so with one of the league's most overhauled rosters. Even though they still have mainstays Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo, only six players return from last year, fewer than all but three other teams. We've got news on a few of Boston's offseason acquisitions right here.
- The Celtics aren't too concerned as first-round draft pick Fab Melo struggles in the preseason, but president of basketball operations Danny Ainge envisions sending him down to the D-League for some work this season, Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald writes.
- Believing his team is deeper and more versatile than last year's Celtics, coach Doc Rivers agrees with point guard Rajon Rondo that this year's Boston team is better than the one that came away with the title in 2008, Bulpett reports.
- Kris Joseph, whom the team drafted 51st overall in June, is in camp on a non-guaranteed deal, but drew praise from Rivers, who touts his "unbelievable" rebounding for a 6'7" small forward, as CSNNE.com documents.
- Rivers believes Jeff Green struggled after arriving in a trade from the Thunder in 2011 because he deferred too much to the team's stars. Green promised a more aggressive approach when he re-signed this summer, and so far, he's delivered, as A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com examines.
Western Rumors: Harden, Curry, Spurs, Crawford
We heard last night from Marc Stein of ESPN.com that James Harden's looming restricted free agency could become a distraction for the Thunder, and in that piece he says sources have maintained for weeks that the Rockets, Mavericks and Suns are all prepared to offer Harden a maximum-salary deal should he eschew an extension this month. Other reports have linked those teams to Harden recently, but it underscores the stakes of the situation, as the deadline for an extension is now less than two weeks away. We have news on another Western star up for an extension and notes from around the conference this afternoon.
- Stephen Curry told Fox Sports Radio he wanted to go back in Friday's preseason game after injuring his ankle, but Warriors coach Mark Jackson insisted he remain on the bench, asCSNNW.com documents. Curry said he'll be back by the opener, but if he doesn't play in either of the team's two remaining exhibitions, it remains to be seen whether it affects his negotiations for an extension.
- The Spurs have their fingerprints all over the revamped Magic, as John Denton of Magic.com details. "One of the things that the Spurs do really well is build synergy within their basketball operations department, opening up steady and transparent communication lines," Magic GM Rob Hennigan said. "They teach you to be humble and to not be afraid to ask questions or ask for help. You could trust that everyone there was one the same page working toward a common goal."
- Jamal Crawford joined the Clippers on a four-year, $21.35MM deal this summer, and believes the team is a title contender, as Alex Kennedy writes on Sulia. "This would have to be the most talented team I’ve played on," the 12-year veteran said. "That’s no disrespect to any team I’ve played on in the past, but we’re 10 deep, and we may even be deeper than that if our young kids get an opportunity and continue to develop. This is the deepest team I’ve been on, by far. These are guys who aren’t worried about anything but winning. That’s all it’s about."
- Two former Timberwolves are looking for a fresh start with the Suns, as Derek Page of HoopsWorld examines Michael Beasley and Wesley Johnson.
Camp Rumors: Curry, Brown, Varnado, Blazers
The first regular season action is just 10 days away, so it's crunch time for players gunning for the last spots on the end of an NBA bench. There's news about several training camp hopefuls this afternoon, and we've rounded it up here.
- Spurs coach Gregg Popovich gave strong indication before today's preseason game that the competition for the last roster spot in San Antonio is down to Eddy Curry and Derrick Brown, tweets Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News. Josh Powell and Wesley Witherspoon are also trying to make the team, while it appears DeJuan Blair and Gary Neal, the other Spurs without full guarantees, are safe.
- McDonald also notes, via Twitter, that Popovich said Curry has lost 20 pounds, and that's on top of the 100 pounds he lost while with the Heat last year, according to Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
- Curry said he didn't entertain the idea of returning to the Heat this summer, as Winderman reports in the same piece. "It was frustrating. It was bittersweet," Curry said of his season in Miami, during which he saw little playing time. "Got a ring out of it, but it definitely wasn't the year I was looking forward to and wasn't what I worked for."
- Winderman also writes that a hamstring injury has likely torpedoed any chance Jarvis Varnado had of making the Heat's regular season roster.
- The Trail Blazers are one of three teams left at the 20-player preseason roster limit, and GM Neil Olshey said he's going to wait as long as possible before making cuts, tweets Ben Golliver of Blazer's Edge. "Some of it is strategic," according to Olshey, and Golliver interprets that remark to mean the team is trying to funnel some of its camp invitees to its D-League affiliate.