Pacers Sign Ty Lawson
MONDAY, 8:19am: The signing is official, the Pacers announced.
“We’re glad to have Ty come play with the Pacers for this final run of the season,” Pacers president of basketball operations Larry Bird said in the team’s statement. “We think he brings added speed to our backcourt, he can get up and down the floor and he helps strengthen our second unit.”
Lawson, not far removed from having finished third in the league in assists last season, spoke merely of fitting in.
“This is a good opportunity for me to come here, try to help the Pacers win and get into the playoffs,” Lawson said in the statement. “I’m just ready to play and do whatever is needed.”
THURSDAY, 8:51pm: The Pacers have reached an agreement with free agent point guard Ty Lawson, Shams Charania of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports reports. The exact details of the arrangement are not yet known, but it is likely a minimum salary pact that covers the remainder of the season, though that is merely my speculation. The team has about $1.9MM left on its room exception, so it could use that instead of a prorated minimum that would pay Lawson about $300K.
Indiana currently has the league maximum of 15 players on its roster, but the Pacers reportedly have had a buyout arrangement in place with small forward Chase Budinger for a week. The team has held off on finalizing the buyout due to the rash of injuries it has been hit with. Budinger is expected to be waived on Saturday, which is also when Lawson is expected to officially sign, Charania notes.
Lawson was never a good fit with the Rockets this year, prompting him and the team to reach a buyout arrangement prior to the March 1st deadline for players to hit waivers and retain postseason eligibility for other teams. In 53 appearances for Houston this season, Lawson averaged 5.8 points, 1.7 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 22.2 minutes per night. His shooting line is .387/.330/.700.
Suns Waive Sonny Weems
4:50pm: Weems has officially been waived, the team announced.
3:36pm: The Suns intend to waive shooting guard Sonny Weems, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports reports (via Twitter). The Suns currently have a roster count of 14 players, including Phil Pressey, who inked his second 10-day deal with the team last Tuesday. This means the team still had an open roster spot, so the move to release Weems wasn’t a necessity unless the Phoenix is eyeing multiple players for potential deals, though that is merely my speculation.
The 29-year-old will hit waivers and it would require $2.814MM of cap space or a trade exception of that amount or greater to claim him, Bobby Marks of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports tweets. The shooting guard is owed approximately $660,000 for the remainder of the season, a number the Suns will be on the hook for if Weems goes unclaimed. The Sixers still need to reach the minimum salary floor of $63MM, so I would speculate they remain an outside possibility to make a claim on Weems.
Weems appeared in 36 games this season for the Suns and averaged 2.5 points and 1.1 assists in 11.7 minutes per outing. His slash line is .393/.406/.538.
Pacific Notes: Brown, Kings, Curry
The reputation of the Kings organization has suffered another blow in the wake of a flubbed D-League move. The D-League forced the affiliate of the Kings to forfeit a game because it played Duje Dukan, who was on assignment from Sacramento, during the All-Star break, report Marc J. Spears of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports and Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor (All five Twitter links here). The D-League upheld a protest that the Suns affiliate filed after losing to Sacramento’s D-League team on February 16th, a game in which Dukan took part, according to Spears. NBA players weren’t allowed to play for D-League teams from February 11th through February 16th because of the NBA All-Star break, Reichert notes. So, the Reno win became a Bakersfield win instead, as Spears points out. The Sacramento front office under GM Vlade Divac has drawn criticism for its lack of knowledge about the finer points of rules governing personnel movement, though the Kings reportedly interviewed cap expert Bobby Marks on Thursday.
Here’s more from the Pacific Division:
- Lakers rookie small forward Anthony Brown is expected to miss at least a month due to a stress reaction in his right foot, the team announced (Twitter link). Brown, 23, was the No. 34 overall selection out of Stanford in the 2015 NBA draft. He has appeared in 29 contests for Los Angeles, including 11 starts, and is averaging 4.0 points, 2.4 rebounds and 0.7 assists in 20.7 minutes per game. Brown’s shooting line on the season is .310/.286/.850.
- Brown, prior to his injury, was struggling to adjust to the NBA on offense, which frustrated the Lakers coaching staff, though head coach Byron Scott has praised the rookie’s acumen as a defender, Bill Oram of The Orange County Register writes. “Defensively he has a world of confidence that he can guard most people he has to guard,” Scott said. “I want that to translate on the other end as well.” For his part, Brown seems to understand why his shot selection and accuracy has vexed his coaches, Oram adds. “Obviously, as a coach you want to be able to know what you’re going to get consistently from a guy offensively as well as defensively,” Brown said. “And that’s something I’ve got to continue to work on.”
- Seth Curry hasn’t seen much action for the Kings this season despite being a solid defender, an area the team is poor in, which has the combo guard mildly frustrated, Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee writes. “It’s tough,” Curry said. “I think mentally the toughest part is trying to stay involved and try to keep that competitive edge. It’s pretty easy to work out and keep your skills right, but I think mentally and being in good shape is the hardest part.“
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Hoops Rumors Originals 2/28/16-3/5/16
Here’s a look back at the original analysis generated by the Hoops Rumors staff this past week…
- If you missed the week’s live chat, you can view the transcript here.
- Zach Links highlighted some of the better basketball blogs around in his weekly installment of Hoops Links.
- Chuck Myron ran down what each team had to spend on the buyout market.
- I ran down the updated 2015/16 salary cap numbers for the Hornets, Cavaliers, Mavericks, Nuggets and Pistons.
- Chuck recapped how players fared in the buyout market the past few weeks.
- If you missed any of our daily reader-driven discussions, be sure to check out the Community Shootaround archives.
- Here’s how you can follow Hoops Rumors on social media and RSS feeds.
- Chuck looked at the financial impact of the trade deadline and buyout market moves for teams of the Central and Northwest divisions.
- You can keep track of where your favorite team currently stands in relation to the 2016 NBA draft lottery with our reverse standings tracker.
- We reviewed our commenting policy. Play nice everyone.
- Here’s how you can follow specific players on Hoops Rumors.
Week In Review 2/28/16-3/5/16
The Nuggets are thinking about sitting Danilo Gallinari for the rest of the season even if he returns to health with a few games left on the schedule, coach Michael Malone acknowledged to reporters this week. The 27-year-old small forward suffered two torn ligaments in his right ankle during Friday’s game that are expected to sideline him for a month, as Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports reported on Tuesday. Only five games are on the schedule for the Nuggets in April, which raises the question of whether it would be wise to put the team’s veteran centerpiece back on the court and risk additional injury with only a few games left to go.
“I’ve already thought about that. I don’t have an answer,” Malone said. “I think it’s a very good question. At that point, depending on where we are, it’s going to depend on four games to go, what is the picture? Are we 15 games out of the playoffs? Well, it probably makes sense to play some of our younger guys and let them get minutes and see what they can do. But we’ll see.”
Gallinari is signed through next season with a player option for 2017/18, thanks to a rare renegotiation and extension deal that he and the team pulled off this past summer. The Nuggets reportedly turned away interest that the Celtics had in trading for him before last month’s deadline.
Here’s more from the week that was…
Signings
- The Heat signed Joe Johnson.
- The Cavaliers signed Jordan McRae to a 10-day contract.
- The Nets signed Sean Kilpatrick to a 10-day pact.
- The Spurs signed Andre Miller.
- The Hornets signed Jorge Gutierrez to a second 10-day contract.
- The Suns signed Phil Pressey to a second 10-day contract.
- The Raptors signed Jason Thompson.
- The Hawks signed Kris Humphries.
- The Clippers signed Alex Stepheson to a second 10-day contract.
- The Timberwolves signed Greg Smith to a 10-day contract.
- The Grizzlies signed Ryan Hollins.
- The Nuggets signed Axel Toupane to a 10-day contract.
- Jarrid Famous, who was with the Mavericks for the preseason, signed with Bucaneros de la Guaira in Venezuela.
- The Rockets signed Michael Beasley.
- The Pistons signed Justin Harper to a second 10-day contract.
- The Sixers signed Christian Wood to a 10-day deal.
You can stay up to date on all the 10-day deals handed out with our 10-day contract tracker.
Waivers
- The Suns waived Kris Humphries as part of a buyout arrangement.
- The Heat waived Beno Udrih as part of a buyout arrangement.
- The Spurs waived Ray McCallum.
- The Raptors waived Anthony Bennett.
- The Rockets waived Ty Lawson as part of a buyout arrangement.
- The Timberwolves waived Kevin Martin as part of a buyout arrangement.
- The Grizzlies waived James Ennis.
Miscellaneous News
- The Bucks announced that Steve Novak will miss the rest of the season with a sprained MCL.
D-League News
- Jarnell Stokes, who was traded from Miami to New Orleans at the deadline and then waived by the Pelicans, rejoined the Heat’s D-League affiliate.
- Former Blazer Tim Frazier joined the D-League’s Maine Red Claws as a returning player.
- Marcus Thornton, the 45th pick in last summer’s draft, returned from Australia and joined the Celtics’ D-League affiliate.
- Chris Douglas-Roberts, whom the Pelicans cut in training camp, rejoined the D-League’s Texas Legends, who are the affiliate of the Mavericks.
- Swingman Jabari Brown, who played with the Lakers last season, joined the team’s D-League affiliate after returning from China.
You can stay up to date on all the D-League assignments and recalls for the season here.
Thunder Ink Nazr Mohammed
SATURDAY, 11:13pm: The signing is official, the Thunder announced today.
FRIDAY, 9:12pm: The Thunder intend to sign free agent Nazr Mohammed for the remainder of the season, Shams Charania of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports reports (on Twitter). Oklahoma City has an available roster spot, so no other moves would be required to bring the center into the fold. The team intends to ink the veteran on Saturday, Charania adds. It’s not entirely clear whether it’ll be a minimum-salary contract or one that eats into the roughly $2MM Oklahoma City has left on its taxpayer’s mid-level exception.
The move to ink Mohammed comes as a bit of a surprise as the big man had not been mentioned in any recent chatter. He last appeared in the NBA during the 2014/15 season, making 23 appearances for the Bulls and notching 1.2 points and 1.7 rebounds in 5.6 minutes per contest. Mohammed’s career numbers since entering the league as the No. 29 overall pick in the 1998 NBA draft are 5.8 points, 4.7 rebounds and 0.6 blocks to accompany a slash line of .486/.000/.639.
Mohammed was contemplating retirement in October, saying he would be OK with never playing again.“Truth is, I still love this game, I still have that competitor in me and I still feel like I can help a team. And regardless of what happens, I plan on staying in basketball shape,” Mohammed wrote at the time. “But at this moment, I am comfortable and confident saying that I’m cool with it being over. I am really at peace. I realize how big of an accomplishment it is to have played as long as I’ve played. It’s an unbelievable feat. I’m cool with not playing ever again and choosing which path to take at this fork in the road that leads me away from my first love.”
The Mike Higgins client said then that he didn’t want to merely be a locker room mentor and would only sign with a team that planned a legitimate on-court role for him. He also suggested that he’d like to join a team in a front office capacity at some point. It remains to be seen if the Thunder promised him significant playing time or if Mohammed simply had a change of heart. He’ll presumably compete for minutes at the pivot with Steven Adams, Mitch McGary and Enes Kanter.
2015/16 Salary Cap Update: Warriors
The NBA’s salary cap for 2015/16 is set at $70MM, which is good for an 11% increase from last season, and the luxury tax line is fixed at $84.74MM. With the February 18th cutoff date for trades and the de facto deadline of March 1st for buyouts now past, we at Hoops Rumors are in the process of updating the salary cap commitments for each NBA franchise for the 2015/16 campaign. Here’s the cap breakdown for the Golden State Warriors, whose regular season roster can be viewed here:
- 2015/16 Salary Cap= $70,000,000
- 2015/16 Luxury Tax Line= $84,740,000
- Fully Guaranteed Salary Commitments= $95,777,682*
- Remaining Cap Room= –$25,777,682
- Amount Above Luxury Tax Line= $11,037,682
*Note: This amount includes the $6,908,685 due Jason Thompson, who was waived.
Cap Exceptions Available:
- Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception= $876,000 (Remainder was used to sign Leandro Barbosa)
- Trade Exception= $5,387,825 (David Lee. Expires July 27th, 2016)
- Trade Exception= $3,197,170 (Gerald Wallace. Expires July 31st, 2016)
Cash Available to Send Out In Trades= $2,400,000
Cash Available to Receive Via Trade= $3,400,000
Note: Despite the trade deadline having passed, the NBA season technically doesn’t end until June 30th. Teams are able to again make trades upon the completion of the regular season or when/if they are eliminated from the playoffs, whichever comes later. So these cash limits still apply.
The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.
Pacers, Chase Budinger Agree To Buyout
SATURDAY, 9:15am: Budinger has been waived, the Pacers announced this morning.
THURSDAY, 4:24pm: The Pacers and small forward Chase Budinger have reached an agreement on a buyout arrangement, Sean Deveney of The Sporting News reports (Twitter link) and Candace Buckner of The Indianapolis Star confirms (Twitter links). The agreement has been in place for a week and will be finalized on Friday, Buckner notes. Indiana needs to clear a roster spot for Ty Lawson, who is expected to sign with the team, Deveney adds. Because he will be waived after the March 1st deadline, Budinger will not be playoff eligible this season for any team that were to sign him.
Indiana was reportedly attempting to trade Budinger leading up to February’s trade deadline, but found no takers for the remainder of his $5,00,000 expiring contract. The Pacers acquired Budinger from the Timberwolves this past offseason when the plan was to move Paul George to power forward. But with Indiana utilizing George more often at his natural small forward spot as the season wore on, it cut into Budinger’s playing time significantly, as Buckner noted at the time.
Budinger has appeared in 48 games for the Pacers this season, including two starts. He is averaging 4.5 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.0 assist in 15.0 minutes per night to accompany a shooting line of .419/.299/.708. The 27-year-old’s career numbers are 8.1 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.2 assists.
Western Notes: Griffin, D-League, Conley
The Clippers are awaiting the return of Blake Griffin and point guard Chris Paul asserts the team can’t contend for a title without the high-flying power forward, Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com relays. Griffin, who will have a four-game suspension to serve once he returns from his broken hand, hasn’t played since December 25th. “I don’t care if he gets back the day before the playoffs.” Paul said regarding Griffin. “We’re playing for a championship and there’s no championship without Blake Griffin. There’s not one.” When coach/executive Doc Rivers was asked how long it would take to Griffin to ready himself for the postseason, Rivers told Howard-Cooper, “We don’t know. As soon as he’s ready, we’re going to go from there. But do we need him? We’d be crazy to say, ‘No, no,’ you know what I mean? It’s ‘Yeah, yeah.’ We’re just going to take it day by day.”
Here’s the latest from out West:
- Injuries have hit the Grizzlies hard this season, but point guard Mike Conley insists that it’s part of the game and the team can’t use its missing personnel as a crutch, Peter Edmiston of The Commercial Appeal writes. “It can get frustrating at some times, but you can’t let it bother you in these situations, because these are the cards we’ve been dealt,” Conley told reporters. “We didn’t count on Marc Gasol getting hurt, we didn’t count on Brandan Wright getting hurt, these things happen and new guys come in, trades happen, we’re here with the guys we have and we have to make the best of the situation.“
- Conley, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, understands patience will be required as new players are worked into roles in the rotation, Edmiston relays in the same piece. “It takes time for guys like Lance Stephenson, Birdman [Chris Andersen] and P.J. Hairston to understand that. I’m telling them after almost every play that we’re basically in that flex stuff — just set a screen, pin down, it’s gonna be in that situation, but it’s easy to forget when you’re going full speed, so it’s tough on them to grasp that in only a week’s time.“
- The Thunder assigned Josh Huestis and Mitch McGary to their D-League affiliate Friday, the team announced via press release. Huestis has appeared in 16 games for the Blue this season, notching 11.8 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.19 blocks in 32.7 minutes per game, while McGary has made 17 D-League appearances and is averaging 14.4 points, 9.1 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 25.1 minutes per night.
Hoops Rumors Community Shootaround 3/4/16
LeBron James famously broke the hearts of Cleveland fans in 2010 with his “decision” to take his talents to Miami and the Heat. The move paid off handsomely for James, who helped guide the franchise to four straight trips to the NBA Finals, garnering two championships for his troubles. His return to the Cavaliers last season was supposed to be a homecoming of sorts, but the team has had its struggles despite reaching the NBA Finals in 2014/15. Adding to the intrigue and turmoil in Cleveland is James’ preference to ink one-year deals that afford him the opportunity to leave Ohio once again for what he may perceive as greener pastures if he is unhappy with the state of the franchise.
James and his Cavs teammates reportedly don’t have great chemistry, which only adds fuel to the fire for those who speculate that James may end up departing after this season. LeBron turned some heads this week with his decision to take a jaunt to Miami during consecutive off days to work out with his friend and former teammate Dwyane Wade. “What do I go there for? Go there ’cause I want to,” James said. “I would love to go to L.A., but I’ll take two and a half [hour flight] over four and a half. I’ve got a house in L.A., but it makes more sense for me to go south than go west. But I go because I want to.”
If LeBron wanted to defuse the situation, regardless of whether he felt he needed to or not, he didn’t help things with a series of cryptic tweets he posted a short time later. “Can’t replace being around great friends that reciprocate the same energy back to you in all facets of life,” James wrote, in what appears to be an obvious reference to Wade. It’s unclear if this is a condemnation of his relationship with his teammates in Cleveland or just an appreciation for the Heat shooting guard’s continuing friendship. Regardless of James’ intent, it was what he posted next that is truly interesting. “It’s OK to know you’ve made a mistake. Cause we all do at times. Just be ready to live with whatever that comes with it and be with those who will protect you at all cost!”
The 31-year-old declined to explain the tweets, but he did deny they were directed at his current team. “I don’t want to explain it, and no, [it wasn’t] directed at a teammate,” James said. Whether or not you accept James’ assertion that it wasn’t directed at a teammate, it wouldn’t be the first time James took to social media to call out another player or express his displeasure.
This brings me to the topic for today: Will LeBron James leave the Cavaliers as a free agent once again?
There’s no denying that it would be a public relations nightmare for James if he were to abandon his home state team a second time, but with his career winding down, James could decide his on-court legacy is more important than upsetting and potentially alienating the state of Ohio. But what say you? Will LeBron ditch the Cavs again? More importantly, should he do so? There is also the question of what team would he go to. Take to the comments section to share your thoughts and opinions. We look forward to what you have to say.