Southwest Notes: Pelicans, Spurs, Covington
Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN details Pelicans GM Dell Demps‘ process of rebuilding New Orleans’ roster after trading away Chris Paul in 2011. A mixture of good and bad results have come from that blockbuster trade (Eric Gordon), drafting (selecting Anthony Davis last year, trading Nerlens Noel for Jrue Holiday this year), and free agency (Ryan Anderson, then Tyreke Evans via a sign-and-trade with the Kings that also sent away Robin Lopez), and the team has little flexibility in the near future. Coach Monty Williams is unhappy with the current roster’s performance, but a slew of injuries this year has limited a thorough roster evaluation, as well as the team’s performance. “The errors in planning are easy to enumerate and Demps tacitly admits some of his primary goals are cleaning up his own mistakes,” writes Arnovitz. “Fortunately for the Pelicans, a single truth lies beneath the spreadsheets: When you have a budding star like Anthony Davis, you can afford to make mistakes.” Here’s more from around the division:
- It cost roughly $200K for the Pelicans to buy recent signee Luke Babbitt out of his contract with BC Nizhny Novgorod, reveals Marc Stein of ESPN.com. New Orleans also paid $575K to pry Alexis Ajinca from his French team this season.
- The Rockets have assigned Robert Covington to the D-League, per Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (via Twitter). Covington has spent most of the year in the D-League, owning the longest assignment stretch of the season after a 72-game stint that ended in January.
- Shannon Brown tells Jeff McDonald of San Antonio Express-News that he’s working hard to extend his time with the Spurs beyond his current 10-day contract, which expires Tuesday per our 10-Day Tracker.“All I can do is going out and give my best, do what the guys ask me to,” Brown says. “Let the chips fall where they may. I’m going to play hard no matter what. That’s one thing they aren’t going to be able to say about me, that I didn’t battle.”
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Pelicans Sign Luke Babbitt
TUESDAY, 11:43am: The Pelicans have officially announced the signing.
SATURDAY, 12:28pm: The deal is for two years, according to Chris Haynes of Comcast SportsNet (via Twitter).
10:04am: The Pelicans have a “done deal” with Luke Babbitt, per a tweet from Serbian journalist Djordje Matic. The Pelicans were reportedly close to adding Babbitt earlier in the week, but Russian team BC Nizhny Novgorod was stifling the process.
Babbitt spent three years with the Portland Trail Blazers before heading to Russia this year in hopes of proving his game to the NBA by playing more minutes for an overseas team. The 24-year-old forward has never averaged more than 5.1 points or 13.4 minutes per game, being used almost exclusively as a three-point specialist. He shot a career-best .430 from deep in 2011/12 before taking a step back statistically last year with decreases in field goal percentage, free throw percentage, rebounds, and minutes.
Celtics Won’t Re-Sign Vander Blue
1:15pm: Blue will re-join the D-League’s Delaware 87ers, tweets Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald.
11:27am: Vander Blue won’t receive a second 10-day contract from the Celtics, according to Shams Charania of RealGM (via Twitter). The move makes Blue a free agent, and he can seek employment with any NBA, D-League, or overseas team. Charania notes that it’s possible the Celtics could revisit adding Blue to the roster after the All-Star break.
Blue played just 15 total minutes with Boston before his 10-day deal expired overnight. The Celtics had moved blue to the Celtics’ D-League affiliate a day ago, but apparently decided against keeping him with either club for development. The undrafted rookie has averaged 17.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 2.6 assists in five D-League games.
D-League Notes: Mavs, Warriors, Murry
The D-League is producing more and more success stories, and Terrence Williams hopes to be the next to benefit from showcasing his talents there, writes Gino Pilato of D-League Digest. Williams has a 50-point game in his pocket, and hasn’t scored fewer than 20 points over his last four games. The NBA veteran has struggled to earn a roster spot or consistent playing time since showing some promise in 78 games as a rookie with the Nets in 2009/10. While his athleticism has never been in doubt, Williams now says he is in a better place mentally: “It’s unfortunate that I’m here, but it is fortunate for me to be humbled. I needed this.” Here is all of the recent D-League movement from around the league:
- The Mavs have assigned both Shane Larkin and Ricky Ledo to their D-League affiliate Texas Legends, per a press release from the team. Ledo is moving back down less than 24 hours from his recent call-up, and Larkin is likely only being moved for a one-game stint.
- The Knicks’ PR account tweeted the announcement that Toure’ Murry has been recalled from the D-League. Since playing 27 minutes in a December loss to the Raptors, the rookie guard averaged just 8.9 minutes per contest in January, as limits to J.R. Smith and Raymond Felton‘s playing time due to performance and injury, respectively, were relaxed.
- The Warriors are expected to send both MarShon Brooks and Kent Bazemore to the D-League, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). Brooks came to the Warriors in the recent trade for Jordan Crawford, and Bazemore has been a end-of-the-bench player in his two years with the club.
Spurs Sign Brown To 10-Day, Release Jeffers
The Spurs have signed Shannon Brown to a 10-day contract, per a team press release. Othyus Jeffers has been let go in conjunction with the addition of Brown. Brown figures to add depth to their depleted guard rotation. The Spurs have suffered a litany of injuries lately, with Kawhi Leonard, Manu Ginobili, Danny Green, and Tiago Splitter all missing extended time. Brown has played for five teams over his nine-year career, and hadn’t played anywhere this year after being traded to the Wizards from the Suns, and promptly released. He was reportedly considering joining a team in China over continuing his NBA career, but has opted for this route in San Antonio, where coach Gregg Popovich has consistently given role players opportunities to maximize their skills and contribute.
Jeffers’ 10-day contract wasn’t set to expire until this coming Sunday night, as our 10-day contract tracker shows. The 28-year-old shooting guard has struggled to stay in the league, spending more time in the D-League over his six-year career than on NBA teams.
Hawks Sign Cartier Martin To 10-Day Contract
5:11pm: The Hawks have officially announced the signing, via Twitter.
9:51am: After letting go of James Nunnally at the end of his second 10-day contract, the Hawks are now adding small forward Cartier Martin on a short-term deal, according Shams Charania of RealGM. Martin recently played out consecutive 10-day contracts with the Bulls, who declined to extend him for the rest of the year.
Martin was released by the Hawks earlier this season, then performed well in his limited time with the Bulls, shooting over 60% from both the three and the floor overall. In his six seasons, the Andrew Vye client has career averages of 5.4 points and 2.0 rebounds on 14.4 minutes per game.
Pacers Sign Andrew Bynum
UPDATE, 10:26am: Bynum’s contract is worth $1MM and will run through the rest of the season, per a tweet from USA TODAY’s Sam Amick. Indiana is using part of its mid-level exception to accommodate this salary, since $1MM is more than a prorated minimum salary would allow for Bynum.
Team president Larry Bird and head coach Frank Vogel both spoke with reporters about the deal. Bird said the idea that the perception that the move was to keep Bynum away from the Heat is “about the dumbest thing I ever heard. We dont have money like that,” according to a tweet from Stefan Bondy of New York Daily News. Vogel said he believes it will be weeks before Bynum actually plays, per another tweet from Candace Buckner of the Indy Star.
9:22am: Andrew Bynum has officially joined the Pacers, per the team’s press release this morning. The contract covers the remainder of the season. Larry Bird is quoted as saying, “He gives us added size, he is a skilled big man and he has championship experience. With the minutes he gets, he should be a valuable addition.” News of his meeting with the team broke yesterday, and the move is perceived by many to be as much about keeping Bynum off of a competitor’s roster as it is about improving Indiana’s.
The Pacers had been rumored as a potential landing spot for Bynum, but weren’t seen as the favorites until yesterday. Bynum will back up all-star center Roy Hibbert.
After winning two championships with the Lakers, the supremely talented 7-footer’s career has turned into a whirlwind. He was dealt to Philadelphia in the Dwight Howard blockbuster of 2012, but he never played a minute for the Sixers due to chronic knee issues and setbacks. The client of agent David Lee signed a unique, partially guaranteed contract with the Cavs this offseason, and had limited success in a small dose of minutes. His frustration with that situation led to his suspension and trade to the Bulls for Luol Deng. Chicago immediately cut him as a cap-saving maneuver to duck under the tax.
Since then, lukewarm interest has come from many rumored teams, but concerns over Bynum’s commitment to the game and his reported preferences — to make more than the minimum veteran’s salary, and compete for a title, and receive plenty of playing time — kept him a free agent for nearly a month.
Hawks Won’t Retain James Nunnally
The Hawks won’t keep James Nunnally, whose second 10-day contract expired yesterday, per a tweet from Shams Charania of RealGM. Teams are only able to sign a player to two 10-day contracts, after that the player can only be retained through a contract that lasts at least the rest of the season.
In four games with the Hawks (his only time in the NBA), Nunnally was averaging 4.5 points on .333 shooting, and 2 rebounds per game in 13.5 minutes. Before the Hawks gave him this look, the Cavs, Bulls, and Thunder all showed some interest in the 23-year-old. Nunnally spent time in the Suns’ training camp before being waived, and has played in the D-Leauge this year as a member of the Bakersfield Jam, averaging 11.3 points a contest there.
Odds & Ends: Timberwolves, Melo, Lakers
The questions about Carmelo Anthony‘s pending free agency (assuming he opts out this offseason, as expected) continue to circulate. Anthony told reporters his wife said “nothing wrong” when claiming he would “definitely” stay with the Knicks while promoting her new book, per Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. “That’s my wife, I support her.” He also addressed recent Bulls rumors, saying he has no relationship with Chicago coach Tom Thibodeau and hasn’t thought about Chicago as a destination.
- Kerry Eggers of the Portland Tribune wouldn’t be surprised if Rick Adelman retires after this season, when he and the Timberwolves have a mutual option on his contract. Eggers would also be “shocked” if Kevin Love is still in Minnesota after next year’s trade deadline.
- The Lakers are another team that gets brought up as a potential suitor for Anthony, but Larry Coon of Basketball Insiders says (via Twitter) that he hears Los Angeles doesn’t value the forward enough to offer a competitive contract.
- While speaking of her disappointment in the Lakers‘ season to Janis Carr of the Orange County Register, team president for business operations Jeanie Buss maintained hope for an improved team. Despite her displeasure with oft-criticized coach Mike D’Antoni‘s hiring over Phil Jackson (her boyfriend) last year, Buss voiced support for D’Antoni. “You saw our general manager come out and give a vote of confidence to the coach,” she said. “And if he feels confident, then I have to feel confident.”
- Jason Collins, who remains a free agent, was First Lady Michelle Obama’s guest at tonight’s State of the Union address. Collins tells ESPN.com he’s still training in pursuit of another NBA job, and that he’s unsure if coming out as a homosexual in the offseason has been a barrier to his continued career. “I have no idea. For me, again, it goes back to what I can control, and that’s my training.” Collins believes he can still contribute: “I know that I’m in great shape and that if I get an opportunity … if an owner, coach, GM calls my agent … I’ll be ready to play.”
- Yannis Koutroupis of Basketball Insiders explains why Dante Exum is projecting as a top draft choice next year. “As far as point guard prospects go, Exum is on par with some of the best to come across in recent years, including Michael Carter-Williams, Trey Burke and even Kyrie Irving and Damian Lillard.”
Warriors GM On Iguodala, Bogut, Potential Moves
In part two of an interview with Nate Duncan of Basketball Insiders (part one was released yesterday), Warriors GM Bob Myers discussed the decision-making that led to the current Warriors roster, the team’s solid performance this season, and their championship window. The whole thing is an interesting read, and here are some of the highlights:
On Andrew Bogut‘s three-year extension, which is one of just two non-rookie extensions to be signed under the new CBA:
“In this day and age in a new CBA, a player that’s playing well likely will opt to wait because they can add years. Had he waited until this summer, he can get a five-year deal. The way that we structured it in the extension, all we have to give are those three years. From the player’s side, a lot of players don’t want to come to the table and discuss the extension because they’re forfeiting money in the future. But Andrew understood that this is a place he wanted to be, and he obviously wanted to get a fair deal. I felt like we offered a fair deal, obviously he did too because he accepted it.
…there are always variables that play into it. Some financial, some situational; injury plays into it to some extent, age plays into it, whether that player feels like he can get another deal, happiness, how happy is the player in that market, on that team with his coach and his front office. A lot of things have to line up and that’s why I think you see few of those types of deals.”
Going to the Andre Iguodala sign-and-trade, at what point did the thought of opening up the cap space over last summer kind of come into focus for you guys?
What started as a seed from our side in the situation, we felt like this would be a great guy to add to our roster, was cemented when we met with him and he echoed the same sentiments. From that point on, it was full steam ahead to try to find a way to do it. Even after that, though, my personal belief was that it remained a long shot. Just because we wanted to do it and he wanted to do it, that was nice and made us feel good about it, but you’d still put low odds on it – less than five percent. We had to find multiple trading partners taking a lot of money; it had to fit what they were trying to do. It really came down to the last 30 minutes, where his agent had said to us, ‘Look I’ll let you guys try and try and try, but you have a deadline now.’ He was very fair about it. So that really came down to the wire, and fortunately for us the league is comprised of 29 other teams and if you’re really motivated to do a deal, you can usually find a partner – sometimes you can’t and thankfully we did. I think it fit what Utah was looking to do, and it all lined up.
On the possibility of further moves:
We feel like we’re going to give this core and these players a healthy amount of time to see if it works. We also believe that we maintain now and believe in the future a healthy amount of assets on our roster. We’re very attractive, we have a lot of talent. It allows you to have flexibility should you want to make moves.