Hawks, Knicks To Pursue Greg Monroe
The Hawks and Knicks are set to pursue Greg Monroe in free agency this coming summer, according to Shams Charania of RealGM. Over a dozen teams should have the necessary cap space to attract Monroe, who will almost assuredly be seeking a max contract, notes Charania. The Knicks see him as a secondary target if they can’t convince Marc Gasol to leave Memphis and come to New York, Charania adds, and landing Gasol is prospect they’re reportedly pessimistic about.
Monroe took the risky route this offseason when he signed Detroit’s one year qualifying offer after he and the team were unable to come to terms on a new long-term deal. The fact that Monroe spurned the Pistons’ attempts to lock him up for the long term and that he was willing to accept a salary of approximately $5.48MM for 2014/15, which is definitely below the market value for a player of Monroe’s talents, suggest that he has no intention of returning to Motown next season, Charania notes.
Monroe’s camp was also reportedly active in seeking sign-and-trade deals this past summer rather than attempting to secure offer sheets, with the fear that the Pistons would match and he would then be forced to stay in Detroit. Despite speculation that big-market teams like the Lakers and Celtics were pursuing Monroe, neither were an interested party when Monroe was seeking suitors, Charania’s sources told him. For their part, the Pistons rejected the proposed sign-and-trade offers, and they instead decided to take their chances that new president of basketball operations and head coach Stan Van Gundy could convince Monroe during the course of the season that Detroit was indeed a desirable place for him to continue his playing career.
The Knicks’ interest in Monroe furthers the notion that New York is focused on adding a center via free agency next summer. Monroe is the No. 4 player on the Hoops Rumors Free Agent Power Rankings, and he’s the third-ranked center behind Gasol and Al Jefferson, who holds a $13.5MM player option for the 2015/16 season. The Knicks certainly will have enough cap flexibility to offer Monroe a maximum-salary deal, with roughly $25.9MM to spend. I do question how well Monroe would fit into the triangle offense that New York is transitioning to, since he is not known as a willing and competent passer, something that is required of big men in that system.
As for the Hawks, Monroe would be a curious fit alongside Al Horford and Paul Millsap and could find himself in a situation similar to the one he is now in with Detroit, where the Pistons’ experiment with an oversized frontcourt has not worked out well for any involved. Millsap is set for unrestricted free agency this coming summer, too, so Atlanta’s interest in Monroe could portend that the Hawks are either not confident in re-signing Millsap, or that they would prefer to add Monroe to their squad instead. Atlanta is expected to have more than $24MM in cap flexibility available next summer.
Northwest Notes: Burks, Aldridge, Shaw
Jazz guard Alec Burks met with specialists on Friday to have his injured left shoulder examined and the results were positive, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link). According to Wojnarowski’s sources, Burks won’t require surgery and will undergo rehab that could allow him to return in as little as two weeks. Jody Genessy of the Deseret News (Twitter link) has heard differently, and his sources inform him that Burks will definitely require surgery, either now or at the end of the season.
Here’s more from the Northwest Division:
- LaMarcus Aldridge is set to become an unrestricted free agent next summer, and has said that his comfort level with the Blazers organization, the city, and the media, will play a big factor in making his ultimate decision, Jason Quick of The Oregonian writes. “The relationship I’ve built here is invaluable,” Aldridge said. “I definitely value it a lot because it took work on both ends. I’m definitely comfortable here, but this is all I know. I can’t say I would be uncomfortable in those other environments you talk about, but I can say I’m comfortable here, because I’ve been here so long and I understand this market, this city, this organization. So there’s that extra level of comfort here.”
- Aldridge’s teammates say that his legacy might be a factor in making his free agent decision as well, Quick adds. “We haven’t talked about this stuff, but I’m just speaking if I were him,” Wesley Matthews said. “If I were him, seeing my name creeping up on the ranks in the all-time lists … that changes stuff. That’s big time. That’s legacy. I don’t know. I can’t speak for him. But that might be a factor, a role.”
- Brian Shaw‘s 100th game as Nuggets head coach was Tuesday night, and the former player reflected on how the league has changed since he last put on a uniform, Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post writes. “Understanding that it’s a different day and age that we live in,” Shaw said. “Some of the things that we have to deal with that weren’t around. For instance, when I played, cell phones, social media, things of that nature that are just different.I tell the guys that when I first got in the league in 1988, we didn’t have cell phones; I don’t even know if we had computers. “
Eastern Notes: Irving, Parker, Van Gundy, Celtics
Lost amidst all the publicity surrounding the Cavs with LeBron James making his return to Cleveland was just how important it was for the team to sign Kyrie Irving to a contract extension, Terry Pluto of The Northeast Ohio Media Group writes. The Cavs needed Irving to be “all in” so that they could attract James and other free agents, which is why the team pushed to get Irving to re-sign for the maximum five years, Pluto adds.
Here’s the latest from the East:
- If Jabari Parker continues to develop his game, the Bucks will have landed a player whose talent is on par with Paul Pierce and Carmelo Anthony, two players whom Parker’s game has been compared to, Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops writes. “I think Parker will end up closer to Pierce later in his career,” an Eastern Conference scout told Scotto. “I think the comparisons fit better when Anthony is playing a small four instead of the three. I think Jabari is going to have success in the league more as a small four than a three.”
- Re-signing with the Celtics is Rajon Rondo‘s free agent preference this summer, but if that scenario falls apart, then Los Angeles would move to the top of the point guard’s list, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com says in a video report.
- Pistons president and head coach Stan Van Gundy wasn’t very flattering of himself when assessing the job that he has done in Detroit thus far, Brian Schmitz of The Orlando Sentinel writes. “If I were only the president, I’d fire the coach,” Van Gundy said. “Clearly I’m not doing a great job. I need to coach guys. I need to make sure we’re getting to things quicker. I need to take responsibility for things going on.” Detroit is off to a 3-16 start this season, which ranks the Pistons 14th in the Eastern Conference.
- James Young and Dwight Powell of the Celtics have been re-assigned to the Maine Red Claws, the team announced. This is the fourth D-League assignment of the season for both players. The Red Claws are scheduled to take on the Sioux Falls Skyforce this evening.
2014/15 Salary Rankings: Shooting Guards
Hoops Rumors is in the process of ranking the cap hit for each NBA player by position. I’ve already posted the point guard salary rankings for the 2014/15 campaign. The next spot on the hardwood that I’ll be looking at is the shooting guard position for the 2014/15 season.
All told, NBA teams have committed a total of $346,747,725 in cap hits this season to the men tasked with lighting up scoreboards around the league. The average hit for the two spot this season is a respectable $3,810,415, with Kobe Bryant of the Lakers topping the list with a healthy $23,500,000 to further pad his retirement fund.
It should be noted that teams won’t necessarily pay out every dollar listed here. There are quite a few players who have non-guaranteed or partially guaranteed contracts. Some of those players will be sweating it out all the way until January 7th. That’s when teams must waive players with no specific guarantee date written into their contracts to avoid having to guarantee their salaries for the rest of the season. Most salaries align with cap hits, but that’s not the case for a player like Jeremy Lin, who’s getting close to $15MM from the Lakers this season even though his cap hit is little more than half that amount, because of the contract he signed through the Gilbert Arenas Provision. In addition, incentive clauses that a player either triggers or fails to meet can leave a player with more or less money than his cap hit reflects.
Still, the purpose of this list is to show the relative pay scale by position, which is why all contracts are included in this post. The only deals which were omitted were for players who were already waived.
The league’s shooting guards are listed below, in descending order of salary:
- Kobe Bryant (Lakers) $23,500,000
- Dwyane Wade (Heat) $15MM
- Eric Gordon (Pelicans) $14,898,938
- James Harden (Rockets) $14,728,444
- Andre Iguodala (Warriors) $12,289,544
- DeMar DeRozan (Raptors) $10.1 MM
- Lance Stephenson (Hornets) $9MM
- Marcus Thornton (Celtics) $8,575,000
- Monta Ellis (Mavs) $8,360,000
- O.J. Mayo (Bucks) $8MM
- Arron Afflalo (Nuggets) $7.5MM
- Wesley Matthews (Blazers) $7,245,640
- Avery Bradley (Celtics) $7,191,011
- Manu Ginobili (Spurs) $7MM
- Kevin Martin (Wolves) $6,792,500
- J.J. Redick (Clippers) $6,792,500
- Jason Richardson (Sixers) $6,601,125
- Kyle Korver (Hawks) $6,253,531
- Jodie Meeks (Pistons) $6MM
- J.R. Smith (Cavs) $5,982,375
- Jason Terry (Rockets) $5,850,313
- Jamal Crawford (Clippers) $5,450,000
- Courtney Lee (Grizzlies) $5,450,000
- Victor Oladipo (Magic) $4,978,200
- Tony Allen (Grizzles) $4,831,461
- Corey Brewer (Wolves) $4,702,500
- Bradley Beal (Wizards) $4,505,280
- Ben Gordon (Magic) $4.5MM
- Jared Dudley (Bucks) $4,250,000
- C.J. Miles (Pacers) $4,205,000
- Dion Waiters (Thunder) $4,062,000
- Danny Green (Spurs) $4,025,000
- Vince Carter (Grizzlies) $3,911,981
- Gerald Green (Suns) $3,500,000
- Bojan Bogdanovic (Nets) $3,278,000
- Evan Turner (Celtics) $3,278,000
- Gary Neal (Hornets) $3,250,000
- Anthony Morrow (Thunder) $3.2MM
- Quincy Pondexter (Grizzlies) $3,146,068
- Klay Thompson (Warriors) $3,075,880
- Alec Burks (Jazz) $3,034,356
- Ben McLemore (Kings) $3,026,280
- Randy Foye (Nuggets) $3MM
- Marco Belinelli (Spurs) $2,873,750
- Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (Pistons) $2,772,480
- Nik Stauskas (Kings) $2,745,840
- Iman Shumpert (Cavs) $2,616,975
- Austin Rivers (Clippers) $2,439,840
- C.J. McCollum (Blazers) $2,421,000
- Jeremy Lamb (Thunder) $2,202,000
- Jimmy Butler (Bulls) $2,008,748
- Kent Bazemore (Hawks) $2MM
- Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks) $1,873,200
- Zoran Dragic (Suns) $1,706,250
- James Young (Celtics) $1,674,480
- Gary Harris (Nuggets) $1,519,200
- Evan Fournier (Magic) $1,483,920
- Willie Green (Magic) $1,448,490
- John Jenkins (Hawks) $1,412,920
- Jordan Adams (Grizzles) $1,344,120
- Alan Anderson (Nets) $1,276,061
- Tony Wroten (Sixers) $1,210,080
- Reggie Bullock (Suns) $1,200,720
- Andre Roberson (Thunder) $1,160,880
- P.J. Hairston (Hornets) $1,149,720
- Brandon Rush (Warriors) $1,145,685
- Archie Goodwin (Suns) $1,112,280
- C.J. Wilcox (Clippers) $1,109,760
- Toure’ Murry (Waived by Jazz) $1MM
- Garrett Temple (Wizards) $981,084
- E’Twaun Moore (Bulls) $948,163
- Leandro Barbosa (Warriors) $915,243
- Will Barton (Blazers) $915,243
- Jared Cunningham (Waived by Clippers) $915,243
- Chris Douglas-Roberts (Celtics) $915,243
- Wayne Ellington (Lakers) $915,243
- Francisco Garcia (Rockets) $915,243
- Rodney Stuckey (Pacers) $915,243
- Joe Harris (Cavs) $884,879
- Allen Crabbe (Blazers) $862,000
- Ian Clark (Jazz) $816,482
- Troy Daniels (Rockets) $816,482
- Justin Holiday (Warriors) $816,482
- Ricky Ledo (Mavs) $816,482
- Glen Rice Jr. (Waived by Wizards) $816,482
- Hollis Thompson (Sixers) $816,482
- Markel Brown (Nets) $507,336
- Andre Dawkins (Waived by Heat) $507,336
- Nick Johnson (Rockets) $507,336
- K.J. McDaniels (Sixers) $507,336
- Glenn Robinson III (Wolves) $507,336
Note: The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.
And-Ones: Jordan, Ledo, Cauley-Stein, Hawks
DeAndre Jordan‘s continued emergence as one of the best defensive big men in the NBA could put him in line to command a max salary contract when he hits free agency next summer, which would also be the first significant financial test of the Clippers‘ new owner, Steve Ballmer, Ben Bolch of The Los Angeles Times writes. A maximum five-year contract for Jordan projected at $103.5MM would probably nudge Los Angeles over the luxury tax threshold for a third consecutive season in 2015/16, which would trigger the repeater tax the following year, notes Bolch. Ballmer has stated that he would make whatever financial commitment was necessary to preserve the core of his team, but this dollar-for-dollar charge tacked onto the existing luxury tax fees will surely test the billionaire’s commitment to his stated goal, Bolch adds.
Here’s more from around the league:
- Despite all the hype leading up to the 2014 NBA draft, this season’s crop of rookies are off to the worst statistical first year start of any rookie class in the last 10 years, Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com writes.
- The Hawks have recalled Adreian Payne from the Fort Wayne Mad Ants and have assigned Mike Muscala to the D-League, Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports (Twitter link).
- With his 21 points, 12 rebounds, 5 steals and 3 blocks against Texas Friday night, Kentucky junior Willie Cauley-Stein, “Made himself some money,” according to one NBA scout, Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv writes. Cauley-Stein is currently projected as the 10th overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft by DraftExpress. The big man returned for his junior season specifically to improve his draft stock, notes Zagoria. “For sure,” Cauley-Stein said. “You know, that is one of the biggest reasons that I came back is to just develop myself more as a basketball player. I feel like I am just starting to do that. It’s only December. I still have three months left.”
- The Mavericks have recalled Ricky Ledo from the Texas Legends of the NBA D-League, the team announced in a press release. In five games this season for the Legends, Ledo has averaged 12.0 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 2.2 steals in 34.0 minutes per contest.
Atlantic Notes: Young, Fisher, Rondo, Brown
James Young has been lighting up the scoreboard during his D-League appearances this season but he’s still waiting for his opportunity with the Celtics, Jimmy Toscano of CSNNE.com writes. “You never know what’s going to happen with your team first and foremost with regard to injuries or whatever the case may be,” head coach Brad Stevens said. “So he’s always got to stay ready and be ready. I think the biggest thing for James is he’s got to continue to play and get those opportunities in Maine, continue to practice extremely well, and then when that opportunity presents itself to take advantage of it. Do I have a timeline for that? When he beats those other guys out, then that’s the timeline. And I think that’s the right way to look at it.”
Here’s more out of the Atlantic Division:
- Amid the Knicks‘ early season struggles, head coach Derek Fisher‘s calm demeanor has helped stabilize his players, but the franchise might need the former player to show more fire on the sidelines, Chris Herring of The Wall Street Journal opines. The Knicks, who have been whistled for more fouls than any other NBA team while getting to the line less than any other team, need Fisher to depart from his relaxed, mild-mannered state with the officials, Herring adds.
- Despite the rumors that resulted from Kobe Bryant and Rajon Rondo having breakfast together, the Celtics aren’t likely to deal Rondo, Sean Deveney of The Sporting News hears. The point guard remains a player who the team wants to build around even after he hits free agency this summer, and Boston sees Rondo as a means of attracting one of the crop of talented big men who will be available on the free agent market this summer, Deveney adds.
- Sixers coach Brett Brown shouldn’t be judged by his won-loss record thanks to being saddled with a roster intended to lose, Michael Lee of The Washington Post writes. But Philadelphia’s woes do weigh on Brown despite the lower expectations, and the coach also worries about how losing affects his players, Lee adds. “I am prideful. You care a lot. But I didn’t accept this job to boost my resume,” Brown said. “I am 53 years old. You get used to winning 50 games every one of my San Antonio years. And so I need to make sure that [the players] feel good about themselves, that there is a difference between losing a game and losers.”
Warriors Owner On Mark Jackson, Kerr, Arena
Warriors co-owner Joe Lacob had nothing but praise for his new head coach Steve Kerr while also relaying the reasons why he chose to fire Kerr’s predecessor, Mark Jackson, during a speaking appearance before venture capitalists in Menlo Park this week, Diamond Leung of The Bay Area News Group reports. While Lacob did credit Jackson for changing the Warriors’ culture, the owner said he didn’t think the team “could be great” without removing a coach he characterized as unwilling to hire better assistants and disliked by many in the organization, Leung notes.
“Right now, [Kerr] looks great,” Lacob said. “I think he will be great. And he did the one big thing that I wanted more than anything else from Mark Jackson he just wouldn’t do, in all honesty, which is hire the very best. Carte blanche. Take my wallet. Do whatever it is to get the best assistants there are in the world. Period. End of story. Don’t want to hear it. And [Jackson’s] answer . . . was, ‘Well, I have the best staff.’ No you don’t. And so with Steve, very, very different.“
Lacob continued, saying he thought at the time when he hired Jackson that the key for an inexperienced coach who he said “didn’t know X’s and O’s, really” was to hire the right staff around him, Leung relays. “You can’t have a staff underneath you that isn’t that good,” Lacob said. “And if you’re going to get better, you’ve got to have really good assistants. You’ve got to have people that can be there to replace you. We all know this from all of our companies. It’s . . . Management 101. A lot of people on the outside couldn’t understand it when we [fired Jackson].“
Lacob also discussed the status of the franchise’s new arena in San Francisco, which could be open in time for the start of the 2017/18 campaign, though the official target date for the ribbon-cutting is the 2018/19 season, Leung notes. Lacob said the arena project costs $800MM, and including office and retail space the price tag in privately financed dollars is “well over a billion.”
“We’re going to put a shovel in the ground, assuming the bureaucrats don’t slow us down any more next summer,” Lacob said. “And it’ll be built in 24 months. We’ve hired the contractors already, and we’ll open hopefully in fall of ’17. We told the world fall of ’18. We’re trying to move it up to fall of ’17, and it’s a real possibility we could do that.”
The Warriors recently moved the site of their proposed arena to the Mission Bay area of San Francisco after failing to muster civic support for a plan to build on Piers 30 and 32. The team has been seeking approval as it makes presentations about the design and traffic impact of the building to a local citizens advisory committee.
2014/15 Salary Rankings: Point Guards
Hoops Rumors is in the process of ranking the cap hit for each NBA player by position. The first spot on the hardwood that I’ll be looking at is the point guard position, one of the most vital to any team’s success.
All told, NBA teams have committed a total of $393,634,516 in cap hits this season to the men who facilitate the offenses around the league. The average hit for the one spot this season is a respectable $4,686,125, with Chris Paul of the Clippers topping the list with a whopping $20,068,563 to account for on his year-end W-2 form.
It should be noted that teams won’t necessarily pay out every dollar listed here. There are quite a few players who have non-guaranteed or partially guaranteed contracts. Some of those players will be sweating it out until January 7th. That’s when teams must waive players with no specific guarantee date written into their contracts to avoid having to guarantee their salaries for the rest of the season. Most salaries align with cap hits, but that’s not the case for Jeremy Lin, who’s getting close to $15MM from the Lakers this season even though his cap hit is little more than half that amount, because of the contract he signed through the Gilbert Arenas Provision. In addition, incentive clauses that a player either triggers or fails to meet can leave a player with more or less money than his cap hit reflects.
Still, the purpose of this list is to show the relative pay scale by position, which is why all contracts are included in this post. The only deals which were omitted were for players who were already waived, except in the case of Will Bynum, who is the only point guard waived thus far who had a fully guaranteed deal.
The league’s point guards are listed below, in descending order of salary:
- Chris Paul (Clippers) $20,068,563
- Deron Williams (Nets) $19,754,465
- Derrick Rose (Bulls) $18,862,876
- Russell Westbrook (Thunder) $15,719,062
- John Wall (Wizards) $14,746,000
- Eric Bledsoe (Suns) $13,000,000
- Rajon Rondo (Mavs) $12,909,090
- Tony Parker (Spurs) $12,500,000
- Kyle Lowry (Raptors) $12MM
- Ty Lawson (Nuggets) $11,595,506
- Stephen Curry (Warriors) $10,629,213
- Jrue Holiday (Pelicans) $9,904,495
- Steve Nash (Lakers) $9,701,000
- Mike Conley (Grizzlies) $8,694,216
- Jeremy Lin (Lakers) $8,374,646
- George Hill (Pacers) $8MM
- Brandon Jennings (Pistons) $8MM
- Jeff Teague (Hawks) $8MM
- Goran Dragic (Suns) $7,500,000
- Isaiah Thomas (Suns) $7,238,606
- Jose Calderon (Knicks) $7,097,191
- Kyrie Irving (Cavs) $7,070,030
- Greivis Vasquez (Raptors) $6.4MM
- Jarrett Jack (Nets) $6.3MM
- Shaun Livingston (Warriors) $5,305,000
- Darren Collison (Kings) $4,797,664
- Ricky Rubio (Wolves) $4,660,479
- Andre Miller (Wizards) $4,625,000
- Mario Chalmers (Heat) $4MM
- Patrick Mills (Spurs) $3,842,105
- Devin Harris (Mavs) $3,787,896
- Raymond Felton (Mavs) $3,793,693
- Mo Williams (Wolves) $3,750,000
- Dante Exum (Jazz) $3,615,000
- Brandon Knight (Bucks) $3,553,917
- Damian Lillard (Blazers) $3,340,920
- Marcus Smart (Celtics) $3,283,320
- Alexey Shved (Sixers) $3,282,057
- Kemba Walker (Hornets) $3,272,091
- D.J. Augustin (Pistons) $3MM
- Jerryd Bayless (Bucks) $3MM
- Luke Ridnour (Magic) $2,750,000
- Kirk Hinrich (Bulls) $2,732,000
- Brian Roberts (Hornets) $2,732,000
- Trey Burke (Jazz) $2,548,560
- Shelvin Mack (Hawks) $2,433,333
- Elfrid Payton (Magic) $2,397,840
- Michael Carter-Williams (Sixers) $2,300,040
- Reggie Jackson (Thunder) $2,204,369
- Nate Robinson (Nuggets) $2,106,720
- Steve Blake (Blazers) $2,077,000
- Jordan Farmar (waived by Clippers) $2,077,000
- Ramon Sessions (Kings) $2,077,000
- Beno Udrih (Grizzlies) $2,077,000
- C.J. Watson (Pacers) $2,077,000
- Zach LaVine (Wolves) $2,055,840
- Norris Cole (Heat) $2,038,206
- Cory Joseph (Spurs) $2,023,261
- Will Bynum (Waived By Celtics) $2,015,908
- Dennis Schröder (Hawks) $1,690,680
- Pablo Prigioni (Knicks) $1,662,961
- Shane Larkin (Knicks) $1,606,180
- Tyler Ennis (Suns) $1,590,720
- Shabazz Napier (Heat) $1,238.640
- Donald Sloan (Pacers) $948,163
- Patrick Beverley (Rockets) $915,243
- Aaron Brooks (Bulls) $915,243
- Jimmer Fredette (Pelicans) $915,243
- Kendall Marshall (Bucks) $915,243
- Jannero Pargo (Hornets) $915,243
- Ronnie Price (Lakers) $915,243
- J.J. Barea (Mavs) $909,859
- Ish Smith (Thunder) $861,405
- Nick Calathes (Grizzlies) $816,482
- Isaiah Canaan (Rockets) $816,482
- Matthew Dellavedova (Cavs) $816,482
- Jorge Gutierrez (Nets) $816,482
- Ray McCallum (Kings) $816,482
- Nate Wolters (Bucks) $816,482
- Phil Pressey (Celtics) $816,432
- Spencer Dinwiddie (Pistons) $700K
- Jordan Clarkson (Lakers) $507,336
- Erick Green (Nuggets) $507,336
- Russ Smith (Pelicans) $507,336
Note: The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.
D-League Notes: Celtics, Smith, Ledo
The Mavs reaped a subtle benefit when the Thunder decided to keep Ish Smith instead of Sebastian Telfair when their 16th roster spot expired last week, as Gino Pilato of D-League Digest explains. The Mavs affiliate, by D-League rule, inherited top waiver priority once Smith, who left the Mavs affiliate to sign with Oklahoma City on November 7th, spent his 21st day on the Thunder’s NBA roster, as Pilato points out. Thus, the Legends were able to grab Ivan Johnson even though Dallas didn’t have his D-League rights when he signed with the league earlier this week.
Here are the latest D-League moves:
- The Celtics have recalled James Young, Dwight Powell, and Marcus Smart from their D-League affiliate, the Maine Red Claws, the team has announced. The trio make their return after seeing action in Maine’s victory against Fort Wayne last night. Young poured in 31 points and grabbed nine rebounds, while Powell contributed 21 points. Smart, making his D-League debut, added six points, five boards, and dished out seven dimes.
- Russ Smith has been assigned to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, the Pelicans have announced. Smith has appeared in three contests for New Orleans, going scoreless in his 3.7 minutes per game. The rookie averaged 5.0 points, 0.8 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in six preseason games for the Pelicans this year. Smith is the first player that New Orleans has assigned to the D-League this season.
- The Pistons have assigned Tony Mitchell to their D-League affiliate, the Grand Rapids Drive, David Mayo of MLive reports (Twitter link). This will be Mitchell’s third trip to the D-League this season.
- Ricky Ledo has been reassigned to the Texas Legends, the Mavs‘ D-League affiliate, Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com tweets. This is Ledo’s third such assignment, and in four games with the Legends Ledo has averaged 11.5 points and 2.8 assists.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Pelicans Sign Gal Mekel
The Pelicans have signed free agent Gal Mekel, the team announced in a press release. Roey Gladstone of Israeli Channel 5 TV was the first to report the news. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Gladstone tweets that it is a two-year deal which contains a team option for the second season, and Marc Stein of ESPN.com adds (Twitter link) that the contract is non-guaranteed. This signing will increase New Orleans’ roster count to the league-maximum 15 players.
New Orleans had one open roster spot available after waiving Patric Young and Darius Miller on Sunday and inking Dante Cunningham to a deal yesterday. Mekel will add depth at the point guard position behind Jrue Holiday.
The 26-year-old guard joined the Mavs in 2013 after putting up 13.3 points, 5.4 assists and 2.5 turnovers in 32.3 minutes per game during 2012/13 for Maccabi Haifa in his native Israel. He inked a fully guaranteed three-year contract for the minimum salary to come stateside, but Dallas instead chose to eat the salaries for the final two years to instead sign J.J. Barea shortly after opening night.