Magic Sign Peyton Siva
SEPTEMBER 29TH: The team followed up with a formal announcement via press release, finally making the deal official.
JULY 29TH: Free agent point guard Peyton Siva has agreed to a deal with the Magic, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). The 23-year-old guard recently participated in NBA summer league competition for the Pistons before being waived two weeks ago. According to Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel, it appears that Siva will be brought to training camp on a partially-guaranteed contract before eventually being waived and sent to Orlando’s D-League affiliate in Erie. The money from the partial guarantee will be used to supplement his D-League salary (Twitter links).
With the ability of Victor Oladipo to play point guard and the addition of playmaker Elfrid Payton via the draft, there doesn’t appear to be much room left for another young point guard on Orlando’s roster. The team also added veterans Luke Ridnour and Ben Gordon via free agency and traded for shooting guard Evan Fournier, which more or less has the team set in their backcourt rotation. It seems likely that the Magic would look to keep Siva’s rights in the D-League, which would keep him away from the D-League draft if the former Louisville star indeed decided to sign an NBDL contract. The partial guarantee could be an incentive to entice Siva to play for the Bayhawks rather than head to Europe for a more lucrative salary.
After being drafted 56th overall in 2013, the Andy Miller client played out the 2013/14 season for Detroit on a partially guaranteed deal, appearing in a total of 24 games. Siva averaged 2.3 PPG and 1.4 APG in 9.3 MPG, shooting just 31.6% from the field and 28.0% from long range.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Kings Sign Sim Bhullar
FRIDAY, 10:48pm: The signing is official, the team has announced.
THURSDAY, 7:14pm: Former New Mexico State big man Sim Bhullar announced via his personal Twitter account that he has signed a contract with the Kings (hat tip to Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group). The terms of the deal are unclear, although at this point it’s reasonable to think that Bhullar received a non-guaranteed deal to participate in training camp.
Bhullar declared for the NBA draft in mid-April, shortly after he and the Aggies were eliminated in the opening round of the NCAA tourney. The Toronto native had a very productive collegiate career, averaging 10.1 PPG, 6.7 RPG, and 2.4 BPG in 24.4 MPG while shooting 62.1% from the field as a freshman and 10.4/7.8/3.4/26.3/64.8% as a sophomore. Although he would ultimately go undrafted, Bhullar was quickly snatched by Sacramento to play for their summer league team.
The 7’5, 365 pound center played sparingly for the Kings in Las Vegas this summer, averaging only 2.5 MPG over four games played.
Derrick Rose On Bulls, Gasol, Carmelo
Bulls star Derrick Rose looks well and confident about his upcoming return to NBA action this season after a long recovery from knee surgery, observes Sam Smith of NBA.com. In addition to saying that he has no fears and has developed into a more controlled player, the one-time MVP shared his thoughts on the upcoming season and some of the player movement this summer. You can find a handful of the highlights from the above piece below:
On the Bulls roster for 2014/15:
“I think we have a solid team. We’re definitely contenders in the East. But we know it’s a long year and we have to gel pretty quickly, knowing that we’re not going overseas like we did at the beginning of the season with Brazil like we did last year. I think we’re going (staying here) so we get a lot of time here to really go at it in training camp.”
On the team’s highly-touted free agent signing, Pau Gasol:
“We needed him. Pau (adds) another dimension to our team that we didn’t have and I think I never had since I’ve been in the NBA. I think (Taj Gibson) did a great job last year (being) a low post presence. But with (Pau) being seven feet (and) (Joakim Noah) with Taj on the other side cleaning up everything else, I think that we just need shooting and just one other playmaker. But I think we have that.”
On losing out on Carmelo Anthony in free agency:
“I always say when a player like Carmelo doesn’t sign with you, of course you’re going to be kind of devastated. But at the same time, the world (doesn’t) end and basketball (doesn’t) end just because someone doesn’t come to your team. I think (Bulls management) did a great job with pursuing Pau. And we got it done.”
On LeBron James heading back to the Central Division:
“ (I feel the) same way I would if anyone else was in my division. Just because it’s him it’s not going to get me to play even harder. I know that every night that I step on the floor, I’m going to do whatever it takes to win the game no matter who is on the floor. Just knowing how great he is and the game, I hope the fans appreciate the game even more.”
On Kevin Love likely being traded to Cleveland:
“(That’d be a) great move (to get) a player like KLove. He’s very, very skilled (for) a big. I work out with him every summer. I didn’t work out with him this summer. But every summer I’ve been in the league, I’ve worked out with him in the offseason. If he does go (to the Cavs), I’m just happy he gets an opportunity to go somewhere and actually play and feel good about playing to win. I think that he deserves it. I think they should have a great team if he was to go there.”
Thunder Sign Lance Thomas
SEPTEMBER 29TH: The deal is official, the team announced via press release.
AUGUST 14TH: The Thunder have reached an agreement to sign Lance Thomas to a training camp deal, sources tell Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). Oklahoma City currently has 14 guaranteed contracts on the books for next season and will have until September 1st to decide on Hasheem Thabeet‘s contract, which becomes fully guaranteed for 2014/15 if he isn’t waived by then.
Thomas spent his first two seasons in the league with the Pelicans and was waived after five games into the start of his third year. Over 106 games and 19 starts in New Orleans, the 26-year-old forward averaged 3.0 PPG, 2.3 RPG, and 46.5% shooting from the field in 12.4 MPG. Last December, Thomas headed overseas to play for the Foshan Dralions of the Chinese Basketball Association.
The former Blue Devil reportedly drew interest from the Nets in June but would later drop out of a scheduled workout. In July, Thomas joined the Bulls for summer league play in Las Vegas, posting 7.6 PPG, 4.4 RPG, and 58.3% shooting from the field in 21.8 MPG over a span of five games.
And-Ones: Cousins, Durant, Blair
Here are some miscellaneous news and notes to pass along this evening:
- Earlier today, ESPN reported that Kings center DeMarcus Cousins injured his right knee during Team USA practice today. Fortunately, an MRI reveled no structural damage, and Cousins is now listed as day-to-day, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports.
- USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo described Kevin Durant‘s decision to drop out of Team USA as a “contractual situation” in which “he had no choice,” notes Erik Horne of NewsOK, who doesn’t think that those comments are consistent with Durant’s official statement for withdrawing. Last week, the Thunder star mentioned an inability to fulfill his responsibilities from a “time and energy standpoint” as a reason for his departure.
- Team USA coach Mike Krzyzewski was among many who were caught off-guard by Durant’s decision to leave the national team, notes Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com.
- DeJuan Blair is eager to build on a productive playoff series against the Spurs this past May as he suits up for the Wizards in 2014/15, writes Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post. “I was very excited when I (learned I was traded from Dallas to Washington). It was like a dream come true…Last year, I saw what type of team they had. The youth, the big men coming up, the ingredients around the team. And I think I’ll be a great addition.”
- Based on what he’s seen from Andre Drummond so far, Team USA assistant Tom Thibodeau spoke glowingly about how Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy will be an ideal coach to help the 21-year-old big man reach his potential (piece from Keith Langlois of Pistons.com).
Bulls Expected To Sign E’Twaun Moore
Former Magic guard E’Twaun Moore is expected to sign with the Bulls in the next few days, reports Mary Stevens of SportsTalkFlorida.com (hat tip to HoopsHype). Moore held off on signing a deal with Olimpia Milano in Italy earlier this month after reportedly receiving interest from two NBA teams; the 6’4 guard was linked to the Cavaliers just last week.
Moore played in 79 games for Orlando last season, averaging 6.3 PPG in 19.1 MPG while shooting 42.8% from the field and 35.4% from long distance. The former Boilermaker put on quite a shooting display over the final month of the season, scoring 9.1 PPG on 52.9/47.1. Moore also matched his season high in points during a game against the Nets in early April, netting 17 points while going a perfect 6-for-6 (including 5-for-5 from downtown) in 18 minutes.
Kings GM On Knicks Trade, Rookies, Collison
Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro offered some comments on the team’s offseason thus far, including the thought process behind their recent trade with the Knicks, the impression that the rookies have made at this point, and how he expects Darren Collison to significantly contribute next season. D’Alessandro covers several other topics in his recent Q&A session with NBA.com, but you can find some of the interview’s more notable highlights below:
On dealing Quincy Acy and Travis Outlaw to New York and what it meant for Sacramento:
“First, I would say Quincy did a phenomenal job for us – we loved Quincy. I think when we looked at our positioning and the positions we had filled, it became much more difficult. So we worked with Quincy – in a partnership with him – to make something happen that worked for him and worked for us. And we’re really happy for him because I think he’s going to play really well for the Knicks. On our end, we give ourselves a little flexibility. We took some protection off a pick, which we now have in an unconditional manner and we got a young player who has a chance to make our team and who’s an exceptional shooter. So we have flexibility and also we have other players in which we’re negotiating with who we think could fill the role that Travis played, which was a huge role.
Travis is another hard guy to let go – he was such a good citizen and a really good player for us. So overall, it was a broad brush of things that it did for us and cleaned some things up and it put us in position for future [moves]. For Quincy and Travis, we wish them the best and really do thank them – they are great guys and great players.”
On rookie Nik Stauskas:
“We have high hopes for Nik. He’s very young so we’re not going to put a lot of pressure on him this year, but I don’t think we don’t need to. He puts a lot of pressure on himself. We have very high hopes for him as a player, as a shooter, and as a guy who can help us to stretch the floor, so there’s a lot of opportunities for him… (What stands out about him right now is) confidence. If he gets three shots, he feels like he’s going to make all three. If he gets 20 shots, he feels like he’s going to make 20. He’s not a guy that will ever have the ball in his hands and feel like he’s not going to succeed with it and you saw that in Summer League. We didn’t go to him as often as we might have, but nothing really fazed him. He continued to shoot the ball well and do what he does. So we’re looking forward to his development.”
On Deonte Burton:
“…With Deonte we see a guy with a lot of promise. A lot of guys saw him highly ranked, but he didn’t get drafted. And this Draft was such a tough one because it was so loaded and stacked. When you got to the second round you just didn’t know what was going to happen – there were teams who didn’t necessarily want to bring guys in, so they take guys who are stashed. Deonte’s not a guy who wanted to be stashed – he feels like he’s an NBA player and we would like to see what he has…“He [had] a great (draft) workout. He’s a great kid too – I think he fits in with what we’re trying to do. We’re excited that he’ll be part of this process and training camp and he’ll have an opportunity to try to make the team.”
On Eric Moreland:
“I thought [he brought] energy and he had an ability to block shots, but really just how hard he plays…These guys come in and play hard – they play really hard and we expect that out of Eric and that’s what it’s going to take for him to succeed in this league…(Players with his skill set) translate to almost any system because those are the guys who raise the energy of your team and the players around them. To me, you can insert a guy who’s 22-years-old and now it’s up to him. It’s up to him to step in and create a niche for himself.”
On how he expects Darren Collison to have an impact:
“[He’s another guy with a high] motor – a guy who can just go, flat-out go. He can help pick up our pace. He’s a great veteran and he’s a guy we look forward to bringing more than just his skills [to our team]…You’re talking about a guy who has playoff experience – a guy who has an expectation of winning. When I talk to Darren, it’s always ‘how do we make the playoffs? How do we get there?’ That’s something that’s important to me – that you have players that are thinking that way, and more important, acting that way…His ability to pull it together – we talk about the-straw-that-stirs-the-drink analogy and that’s [our] hope for him. We want him to be that guy that brings out the talent from everyone else, while also showing his talent and leadership in the process.”
Kings Sign Eric Moreland
WEDNESDAY, 1:53pm: The deal is official, the team announced.
TUESDAY, 9:34pm: League sources tell Charania that the deal will be for three seasons (Twitter link), which would require the capped-out Kings to use their mid-level exception. Sacramento committed most its MLE to Darren Collison earlier this month, leaving an amount precisely equivalent to the rookie minimum salary.
7:32pm: The Kings have reached an agreement with free agent forward Eric Moreland, according to Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). The rookie forward out of Oregon State played six games for Sacramento in the Las Vegas Summer League earlier this month. The terms of the deal haven’t been disclosed yet.
Moreland was a model of consistency over his sophomore and junior seasons in college, posting 9.4 PPG and 10.6 PPG in 30.7 minutes during the 2012/13 season and 8.9/10.3/29.4 in 2013/14. He was also an active rim protector, averaging almost two blocks per game each year since his freshman season. Upon deciding to forego his senior year and declare for this year’s draft, there was some belief that the 6’10 forward could be taken in the second round; however, Moreland would ultimately go undrafted.
The Chris Patrick client put on the same display of rebounding and defensive prowess in Vegas as he did at Oregon State, posting 8.8 RPG and 2.7 BPG in just 19.2 MPG.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Mavericks Notes: Marion, Aminu, Lewis
Mavericks president Donnie Nelson is still open to signing Shawn Marion, tweets Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. This isn’t any different from what Nelson said in a radio interview roughly two weeks ago, when he said that the team wouldn’t close the door on attempting to bring the 6’7 forward back to Dallas. It’s worth noting that the Mavs still had their $2.7MM room exception at that point; however, Nelson said that Marion’s value in the free agent market was much more than the team could afford. Now that the team used the room exception to sign Jameer Nelson, it seems even less likely that a reunion with “The Matrix” would materialize.
Here’s more out of Dallas tonight:
- Donnie Nelson admitted that the team had originally considered signing Al-Farouq Aminu with their room exception, according to Price (Twitter link). The Mavs were fortunate to land the young forward on a veteran’s minimum deal instead.
- Price also heard Donnie Nelson say that the Mavs may consider signing Rashard Lewis after he undergoes knee surgery (Twitter link). The team recently voided their one-year, $1.4MM offer after learning that Lewis needed an operation on his right knee.
- Price (via Twitter) passes along that Donnie and the rest of the team expect Raymond Felton to have a bounce-back year this season.
- Ivan Johnson‘s contract with the Mavs is a two-year arrangement, a source tells Sportando’s Enea Trapani (Twitter link), and both years are partially guaranteed, tweets Shams Charania of RealGM. It’s almost certainly a minimum-salary deal, as Chuck Myron explained earlier.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
And-Ones: Love, Mudiay, Byron Scott
Here are a few miscellaneous news and notes to pass along out of the Association tonight:
- It’s a safe bet that Kevin Love will be traded from the Timberwolves before opening night this upcoming season, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities.
- The NCAA had cleared top 2015 draft prospect Emmanuel Mudiay to play academically, but there were still issues about his status as an amateur when he decided earlier this month to instead play in China, multiple sources tell Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (Twitter link).
- Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak insisted in a press conference today that the team saw Byron Scott as its preferred candidate from the beginning of its coaching search, as Mike Trudell of Lakers.com notes via Twitter. Kupchak also said that Scott’s appeal to Lakers fans and experience as a former Lakers player played a role in the team’s decision, tweets Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
- Former Warriors coach Mark Jackson has changed agents, dropping Arn Tellem in favor of Rich Paul, the agent for LeBron James, TNT’s David Aldridge reports amid his Morning Tip column for NBA.com. Jackson denied a report before the Cavs hired David Blatt that he was interested in Cleveland’s head coaching job.
- Hawks swingman Kyle Korver has gone from being the 51st pick in the 2003 draft to arguably becoming one of the league’s most valuable role players, and Grantland’s Zach Lowe takes a comprehensive look at the evolution of the sharpshooter’s game over the years. In another piece, Lowe briefly touches on the effect that Jeff Hornacek had on Korver’s development when Hornaceck was an assistant on the Jazz.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.