Pelicans Sign Nate Robinson
10:36am: It’s a non-guaranteed contract, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).
FRIDAY, 10:31am: The deal is official, the team announced.
THURSDAY, 4:15pm: The Pelicans are set to sign unrestricted free agent combo guard Nate Robinson, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (Twitter links). The deal will be for one year, and is for the veteran’s minimum, Stein adds, though the level of guarantee on his salary is unclear. The Pelicans already have 20 players on their roster, which is the preseason maximum, so a corresponding move will need to be made prior to inking Robinson.
Robinson had reportedly been considering an offer from the Sichuan Blue Whales in the Chinese league, according to international journalist David Pick. The 31-year-old began last season with the Nuggets and appeared in 33 games before he was traded to the Celtics in January for Jameer Nelson. Robinson then reached a buyout agreement and was waived by Boston in mid-January. The veteran also played for the Clippers last season on a pair of 10-day contracts but they opted not to sign him for the rest of the campaign because of a left knee injury. The Clippers wound up re-signing Lester Hudson heading into the playoffs because of lingering concerns over Robinson’s sore knee. Robinson appeared in a total of nine games for the Clippers, averaging 5.1 points and 2.2 assists in 14.0 minutes.
New Orleans is in need of backcourt depth in the wake of injuries to Jrue Holiday, who is playing on a minutes restriction until January according to coach Alvin Gentry, and Norris Cole, who is expected to miss up to six weeks with a high ankle sprain. The team also added Bo McCalebb on a partially guaranteed deal to bolster its backcourt ranks.
Hoops Rumors Community Shootaround 10/15/15
Last year’s NBA All-Star game saw six players earn themselves an invite for the first time, and for many of these players, it won’t be their last appearance at the annual showcase. While the league has averaged approximately five first-time All-Stars per year since 2005, the 2013 and 2014 events saw a combined 13 first-time All-Stars join the ranks of the elite. The 2014 first-timers were DeMar DeRozan, Paul Millsap, and John Wall in the East, and Stephen Curry, Anthony Davis, and Damian Lillard out West. While being named as an All-Star starter is occasionally based more on a player’s popularity than actual on-court production, it’s difficult to argue against any of last season’s rookie All-Stars making the cut.
This brings me to the topic/question for today: Who will earn their first NBA All-Star game invitation this season?
Which player(s) do you predict will take the next step this season and emerge as an All-Star? Or are you on the other side of the fence, and believe that there won’t be any new additions to the All-Star rosters of either Conference? Take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions. We look forward to what you have to say.
Submit Your Questions For Hoops Rumors Mailbag
In addition to our regular weekly chat, which Chuck Myron facilitates every Wednesday, we have a second opportunity for you to hit us up with your questions in our weekly mailbag feature, which is posted every Saturday.
Have a question regarding player movement, free agent rumors, the salary cap, the NBA draft, or the top storylines of the week? You can e-mail them here: hoopsrumorsmailbag@gmail.com. Feel free to send emails throughout the week, but please be mindful that we may receive a sizable number of questions and might not get to all of them.
If you missed out on any past mailbags and would like to catch up, you can view the full archives here.
Poll: 2015/16 Team Power Rankings (No. 10)
The NBA preseason has officially begun, and teams are now in the process of paring down their preseason rosters. Every new season brings with it the hope for each franchise that it will conclude with the hoisting of the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy. But for the more jaded fans — or practical, depending on your outlook — not every team has a realistic shot at making the playoffs, much less at being the last team standing when all is said and done and the playoffs have concluded.
We at Hoops Rumors want to know what you, the reader, think about each team’s chances this coming campaign. To help facilitate that, we’ll be posting a series of polls asking you to vote on where in the standings each franchise is likely to end the season. So please cast your vote below for the franchise you expect to end the season with the 10th best overall record. But don’t end your involvement with the simple click of a button. Take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions on why you voted the way that you did. We look forward to what you have to say.
Previous Selections:
- No. 30: 76ers
- No. 29: Knicks
- No. 28: Nuggets
- No. 27: Lakers
- No. 26: Nets
- No. 25: Timberwolves
- No. 24: Trail Blazers
- No. 23: Magic
- No. 22: Pistons
- No. 21: Kings
- No. 20: Hornets
- No. 19: Jazz
- No. 18: Suns
- No. 17: Celtics
- No. 16: Pacers
- No. 15: Mavericks
- No. 14 Bucks
- No. 13: Pelicans
- No. 12: Raptors
- No. 11: Heat
If you’re a Trade Rumors app user, click here.
Atlantic Notes: Nets, Reed, Okafor
The Nets‘ high-profile acquisition of Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce from the Celtics prior to the 2013/14 season never worked out as planned for Brooklyn, and the team is trying to move on and rebuild as best it can despite dealing away multiple future draft picks for the two aging veterans, Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald writes. “We all made the decision to go for it,” GM Billy King said. “We made a decision, and at that point we felt it was the best decision. And now we’re headed in a different direction. I don’t think you can sit there and say, ‘What if?’ You make a decision and you move on. That’s how we did it. You make the decision, and then you adjust and you move on as you have to.”
“If we hadn’t had injuries, could we have won more? Possibly,” King continued. “And then the picks [that went to the Celtics] . . . you know, I look at it like, there’s nothing that can be done about them. So now we’re focusing on trying to gain younger assets, as we did this year. And we’ll keep doing that. It’s something similar to what I did in Philadelphia, where we gave up a lot of picks early to get to The Finals. Then after that we started retooling and drafting second-round picks like Kyle Korver. You’ve just got to take what you have and work with it.”
Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- Nets power forward Willie Reed has been diagnosed with a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right thumb and he’ll undergo surgery on Friday, the team announced. A timetable for his return will be established following the procedure, according to the release. Reed is one of seven Brooklyn players without a fully guaranteed deal, but the Nets would have to pay him until he’s healthy, even if they waive him.
- The Sixers don’t expect rookie center Jahlil Okafor to be at full strength when the regular season begins, and they intend to take it slow with his minutes as he works his way back into shape from being sidelined with a sore right knee, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. “He’s been tremendously set back now,” coach Brett Brown said. “He was going to be fine, going through [training camp at] Stockton [University].” When asked about Okafor’s ideal playing weight, Brown responded by saying, “There are a few goals that we have. But like a little bit with Joel [Embiid], we will probably keep them in house. Fair question, but keep them in house.“
- Rookie shooting guard R.J. Hunter has impressed the Celtics‘ coaching staff with his all-around game, and he is the likeliest of Boston’s three rookies to see significant playing time this season, Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com relays. “I think it’s pretty obvious, just watching him, he really has a feel,” coach Brad Stevens said of Hunter. “It just comes pretty natural — little passes, simple plays, being able to put the ball on the money to other people, understanding spacing, understanding where his opportunities are going to come. And he’s got a pretty good feel for the game.“
Kings Waive Marshall Henderson, Vince Hunter
The Kings have waived point guard Marshall Henderson and combo forward Vince Hunter, the team announced. Both players were signed to partially guaranteed deals, so Sacramento will be on the hook to each for $35K this season if they clear waivers. These moves reduce the Kings’ roster count to 16 players.
Henderson, 24, went undrafted out of Mississippi in 2014 after a number of incidents involving narcotics, the string of which began during his Senior year of high school. During his final season at Mississippi back in 2013/14, Henderson averaged 19.0 points, 1.9 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 31.1 minutes per contest. His slash line was .353/.342/.817. The 6’2″ guard played overseas last season for both Al Rayyan of the Qatari Basketball League and the Iraqi club Nift Al-Janoub.
The 21-year old Hunter made 33 appearances for UTEP during the 2014/15 campaign, averaging 14.9 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in 28.5 minutes per contest, and he owned a slash line of .526/.400/.602. Hunter played for the Sixers’ squad in the Las Vegas Summer League, logging averages of 7.0 PPG and 5.5 RPG in four appearances after going undrafted this year.
Suns Waive Terrico White, Kyle Casey
4:13pm: The moves are official, the team announced.
3:20pm: The Suns have waived shooting guard Terrico White and small forward Kyle Casey, Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic reports (Twitter link). Both players were inked to non-guaranteed pacts, so Phoenix won’t be responsible for any funds as a result of these moves. The Suns’ roster count now stands at 15 players, the regular season limit, putting Henry Sims and Cory Jefferson, the team’s two remaining players with non-guaranteed salaries, in a strong position to stick for opening night.
White, 25, last season with Enisey Krasnoyarsk of Russia, where he averaged 11.4 points and 3.4 rebounds in 28.3 minutes per game, with 37.2% three-point shooting. He’s also played in Israel, Serbia and Turkey.
Casey, 25, spent the past season playing for Helios Domzale of Slovenia, averaging 12.6 points and 7.2 rebounds in 28.5 minutes per game. That was more playing time than he saw as a senior for Harvard in 2013/14, when he put up 9.7 PPG and 5.6 RPG in 22.0 MPG. At 6’7″, he averaged 1.2 blocks per game as a college senior but fewer than one block per contest in Slovenia last year, and he shot less than 30% from three-point range in both seasons. Casey played for the Nets summer league team in 2014 but didn’t take part in NBA summer league this year.
Thunder, Dion Waiters Explore Contract Extension
The Thunder and shooting guard Dion Waiters are actively exploring a contract extension, league sources have informed Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. The two sides have until November 2nd to come to an agreement or Waiters would be eligible to become a restricted free agent after the 2015/16 campaign, which is just in time for the anticipated jump in the salary cap. Waiters, 23, has been enthusiastic about working toward a deal with the Thunder, Wojnarowski notes, and he is eager to compete on a contender as well as comfortable with his growth in a strong atmosphere for player development like Oklahoma City provides. He is set to earn $5,138,430 this season, the last of his rookie scale deal.
Oklahoma City already has $59,056,672 in guaranteed salary on the books for 2016/17, and that figure doesn’t include Kevin Durant, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent come the end of this season. Any dealings by the franchise this season will certainly be done with Durant’s pending free agency in mind, which could potentially hinder the two sides in reaching an accord by the league’s deadline. For his part, Durant believes Waiters will remain in OKC for the long term, telling Royce Young of ESPN.com (Twitter link), “He feels like he belongs here. He’s not going anywhere.”
The Thunder acquired Waiters as part of a three-way trade last January and he had averaged 10.5 points in 23.8 minutes while shooting 40.4% from the field and 25.6% from 3-point range prior to the deal last season. With the Thunder, he notched 12.7 points in 30.3 minutes while shooting 39.2% overall and 31.9% from long range. He regressed from his second year averages of 15.0 PPG, 43.3% overall shooting and 36.8% on three-pointers. His ESPN Hollinger PER rating of 10.93 last season was well below the league standard of 15.0 and 59th among shooting guards, as Hoops Rumors’ Dana Gauruder noted in his extension candidate piece on Waiters.
Hoops Rumors Community Shootaround 10/14/15
Mavericks small forward Chandler Parsons is entering the second year of the three-year, $46.08MM deal that he signed with Dallas back in July of 2013. The upcoming campaign is a pivotal one for the 26-year-old who can opt out of his contract after this season and become an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his professional career. Parsons’ first year in Dallas was marred by injury, as well as the team failing to live up to expectations in the wake of acquiring point guard Rajon Rondo from Boston back in December.
Parsons appeared in 66 contests for Dallas during the 2014/15 season, averaging 15.7 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 2.4 assists in 33.1 minutes per game. While those numbers aren’t terrible, they don’t quite measure up to the expectations that go along with the $15MM+ annual salary that Parsons receives, an amount that is more befitting a star player than the supporting role that Parsons has played thus far since arriving in Dallas.
This brings me to the question/topic of the day: Will Chandler Parsons’ performance ever live up to his contract, or will he be looked at as a mistake once his current deal runs its course?
It can certainly be argued that Parsons’ performance last season was impacted by switching teams and cities, though I was never a fan of the deal in the first place. I have always felt that Dallas overpaid for Parsons in an effort to damage the rival Rockets, and that his contract would hamper the Mavs’ efforts to rebuild. He has shown himself to be a valuable player, though I don’t ever see him evolving past his current ability level and production, which certainly would not justify Dallas’ expenditure for Parsons’ services … especially if he opts in for the 2016/17 campaign.
But what do you think? Do you believe that Parsons will live up to his contract, or are you dissatisfied with the return the Mavs franchise has received thus far, and remain pessimistic that Parsons will do much to improve? Take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions. We look forward to what you have to say.
Pelicans Nearing Deal With Bo McCalebb
The Pelicans are close to a deal with unrestricted free agent point guard Bo McCalebb, Andrew Lopez of The Times Picayune reports. The two sides are expected to reach an agreement on Thursday, Lopez adds. The Pelicans currently have the preseason maximum of 20 players under contract, including center Mirza Begić, who was signed by New Orleans earlier today, so the team would need to make a corresponding roster move prior to signing McCalebb.
Several NBA teams were interested in McCalebb back in June, and more recently, two Western Conference teams were said to be involved in discussions with the 30-year-old, according to reports by international journalist David Pick. The Pelicans are in need of depth at point guard in the wake of injuries to Jrue Holiday, who is playing on a minutes restriction until January according to coach Alvin Gentry, and Norris Cole, who is expected to miss up to six weeks with a high ankle sprain, Lopez notes.
McCalebb went undrafted out of the University of New Orleans in 2008, and he’s never spent time with an NBA team aside from a summer league stint with the Kings that same year. He averaged 11.0 points and 3.0 assists in 24.5 minutes per game for Turkey’s Fenerbahce in 2013/14, and 12.4 PPG and 4.8 APG in 25.7 MPG for FC Bayern Muenchen of Germany last season.