Warriors Sign Anderson Varejao
MONDAY, 6:07pm: The team officially announced the signing via press release.
SUNDAY, 8:32pm: The Warriors have signed Anderson Varejao, according to Shams Charania of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). The team has yet to make an official announcement, but Charania indicates the two sides have reached an agreement. Varejao signed at the veteran’s minimum for the rest of the season, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports tweets.
Marc Stein of ESPN.com first reported earlier today that Golden State was the front-runner to sign Varejao, with the Spurs also reportedly having had mutual interest. The minimum salary for Varejao will be prorated. So, if he were to officially sign Monday on a deal that covers only the rest of the season, he would receive $458,575, with $289,755 coming from the Warriors and the NBA picking up the rest. Golden State, which is between $10MM and $15MM above the luxury tax threshold, would be in line to pay an additional $724,388 in taxes for the Varejao deal, making the total cost, in combined payroll and taxes, a projected $1,014,143. That number would go down slightly each day the Warriors wait to formally make the signing.
Golden State is currently carrying 15 players on its roster with each contract being fully guaranteed, so a subsequent move will be needed. The Warriors have a need in the frontcourt with Festus Ezeli still out because of arthroscopic knee surgery and Andrew Bogut nursing an Achilles injury.
The Blazers waived the 33-year-old Varejao after acquiring him from the Cavs in a deadline-day trade. He told Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group and Cleveland Plain Dealer that he has no hard feelings toward the Cavs and is excited to join the Warriors (Twitter link). Varejao, who has never played for any other team aside from the Cavs, is averaging 2.6 points and 2.9 rebounds per game.
Bucks Sign Steve Novak
MONDAY, 10:51am: The signing is official, the team announced, also confirming Copeland’s release.
SUNDAY, 4:22pm: The Bucks have signed Steve Novak, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The team has yet to make an official announcement, but Stein indicates the deal is done.
Stein first reported on Saturday that the Bucks planned to sign Novak. The veteran small forward just cleared waivers from the Nuggets, who released him Friday as part of a buyout deal. Denver acquired him from the Thunder in the Randy Foye trade.
The Thunder rarely used Novak this season. He made only seven appearances, averaging just 3.4 minutes per game. The move presents a bit of a homecoming for Novak, who played his college ball at Marquette University. The Bucks will be Novak’s ninth different team in 10 seasons in the league. By signing Novak, who carved out a name for himself over his career for his 3-point shooting prowess, the Bucks are also expected to waive small forward Chris Copeland.
Bucks Waive Chris Copeland
MONDAY, 10:50am: The move is official, the team announced.
SUNDAY, 8:11pm: The Bucks have waived Chris Copeland, according to Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group and the Cleveland Plain Dealer (on Twitter). The team has not issued an official announcement, but Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times indicates via Twitter that the move has been made to make room for Steve Novak.
Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com first reported Saturday that the Bucks would likely release Copeland. The Bucks are responsible for the remainder of Copeland’s $1.1MM salary, as Bobby Marks of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports tweets. The Bucks reportedly signed Novak today once he cleared waivers.
The Bucks signed Copeland this past offseason, but the veteran never made an impact with the team. The 31-year-old is averaging 2.1 points and 0.5 assists in 6.5 minutes per game this season. As a journeyman and late-bloomer, Copeland likely won’t draw much interest around the league.
Warriors Release Jason Thompson
MONDAY, 10:09am: The move is official, the team announced via press release.
SUNDAY, 9:00pm: The Warriors waived Jason Thompson to make room for Anderson Varejao, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). The Warriors will use the stretch provision, Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group tweets. Thompson had $2.65MM guaranteed for 2016/17, but the Warriors can stretch $883,333 over the next three seasons, Bobby Marks of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports points out via Twitter.
The Warriors acquired Thompson this past offseason in a trade from the Sixers. Thompson, whom the Kings had traded to the Sixers earlier in July, has had the worst season of his career, statistically speaking, so it is no surprise the Warriors are parting ways. A starter for most of his carer, Thompson has appeared in only 28 games and has made only one start.
It will be interesting to see if any team adds Thompson, 29, who has been in decline since the 2013/14 season. The Warriors reportedly reached an agreement with Varejao on Sunday. The Warriors had a need in the frontcourt with Festus Ezeli still out because of arthroscopic knee surgery and Andrew Bogut nursing an Achilles injury, but seemingly had no desire to play Thompson.
Mavs Waive John Jenkins
MONDAY, 9:50am: The move is official, the team announced via press release.
8:51pm: Mavs coach Rick Carlisle confirmed the team has made the move, Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com tweets.
SUNDAY, 8:29pm: The Mavs will waive John Jenkins on Monday to make room for the signing of David Lee, Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News reports.
Jenkins, a shooting guard, will be released because the Mavs have a surplus of guards, according to Sefko. Jenkins has made 21 appearances, but was on the inactive list in three of the last five games, as Sefko points out. He is averaging 3.3 points and 9.2 minutes per game.
Jenkins performed well in the preseason for the Mavs, but he couldn’t make much of a dent in their rotation once the season started. The Mavs signed Jenkins to a three-year deal this past offseason with only the first season guaranteed. Jenkins’ salary for this season is $981,349. Jenkins, 24, a former first round pick, struggled for playing time in each of his three years in Atlanta, never averaging more than the 14.8 minutes per game he saw as a rookie in 2012/13.
Western Notes: Jazz, Varejao, Lakers
The Jazz acquired Shelvin Mack because he can defend bigger guards and can handle the ball, Jody Genessy of the Deseret News relays (on Twitter). Mack is in line for playing time with Utah, Genessy tweets. “We traded for him to help us — and he is different than the other guys, so he’s going to play,” Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. Mack averaged only 7.5 minutes in 24 games with the Hawks, but he doesn’t believe conditioning will be an issue, per Genessy (Twitter link).
Here’s more from around the Western Conference:
- The most significant reason why Anderson Varejao agreed to sign with the Warriors was Golden State assistant Luke Walton, a former teammate of Varejao’s, Shams Charania of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports tweets.
- Lakers star Kobe Bryant gave coach Byron Scott a vote of confidence days after Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak declined to comment on Scott’s future, Baxter Holmes of ESPN.com relays. “I think he’s been channeling his inner Zen,” Bryant said. “It’s been very tough for him. It’s been very tough. I think he’s managing it very well. He’s remaining consistent and continuing to try to bring the best out of these young guys and demanding the best from them. He’s doing the best that he can in the situation.”
- Scott said today that D’Angelo Russell will start for the rest of the season, Mike Trudell of Lakers.com tweets.
- The Wolves‘ needs for this summer after not striking a deal at the deadline consist of a veteran athletic wing who can defend and shoot, another athletic big man and a scoring point guard, Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune writes.
- The Thunder recalled Mitch McGary from the D-League, the team announced via press release.
- The Mavs recalled Jeremy Evans and Justin Anderson from their D-League affiliate, Dallas announced in an emailed press release.
Hoops Links: Celtics, Spurs, Okafor
Every Sunday, we link to some of the very best work from around the basketball blogosphere. Do you have a link to a great basketball blog post – either your own or someone else’s – that you want to see featured on Hoops Rumors? Then you should send it to us at HoopsLinks@gmail.com. Here’s this week’s rundown…
- Total Sports Live says the Sixers shouldn’t trade Jahlil Okafor.
- The Sports Quotient proposes trades for each of the league’s teams.
- Pounding The Rock interviews George Gervin.
- Blog a Bull takes a hard look at Chicago’s front office.
- CelticsBlog details the importance of Kelly Olynyk.
- Daily Knicks discusses the Knicks’ inactivity at the deadline.
- Blue Man Hoop profiles Andrew Bogut.
Please send submissions for Hoops Links to Zach at HoopsLinks@gmail.com.
Eastern Notes: Morris, Magic, Pistons
The Magic could create $45MM in cap space for this summer if Orlando makes a series of moves that include waiving Ersan Ilyasova by July 1st and renouncing the free-agent cap holds on Dewayne Dedmon, Brandon Jennings, Andrew Nicholson and Jason Smith, Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel details. The Magic like Ilyasova and Jennings, however, according to Robbins, so it is not a certainty that the team won’t retain them beyond this season.
Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:
- The Pistons have until 6pm Eastern on Monday to further evaluate Donatas Motiejunas’ back condition after the league granted their request for a 24-hour extension of the typical 72-hour post-trade window, Detroit coach/executive Stan Van Gundy confirmed to reporters, including Keith Langlois of NBA.com (Twitter link).
- The Wizards acquired Markeiff Morris on Thursday because of his versatility and toughness, Washington president Ernie Grunfeld told J. Michael of CSN Mid-Atlantic. Grunfeld also confirmed an earlier report from Michael that by acquiring Morris, the amount the Wizards can offer under the Disabled Player Exception they still have from waiving Martell Webster has dropped, lest the Wizards pass the luxury tax threshold. After this deal with Morris, the most the Wizards can offer through the DPE to a free agent without going over the tax is just slightly more than $1MM, according to Michael. “We feel like we needed a jolt at this time,” Grunfeld told Michael in reference to the addition of Morris.
- Jeff Teague and Al Horford are the only remaining Hawks from Kirk Hinrich’s first tenure with the team, and both players are glad to see Hinrich return, Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution relays.
Hoops Rumors Weekly Mailbag 2/14/16-2/21/16
In addition to our weekly chat, which Chuck Myron facilitates every Wednesday, we have a second opportunity for you to hit us up with your questions in this, our weekly mailbag feature. Have a question regarding player movement, the salary cap, or the NBA draft? Drop us a line at HoopsRumorsMailbag@Gmail.com. Here are this week’s inquiries:
HR: I like both ideas, though, I don’t know how practical either of them are. The idea of a Curry Challenge would appeal to the mainstream audience enough, even it is solely about one player, just because of how popular Stephen Curry is. I hate the dunk contest voting system and the way the competition is won. It is silly on all levels and detracts me as a viewer. I’m in favor of something different and involving fans might be a good bet. I could see fans being able to vote on Twitter and online from home in addition to fans having the ability to do it live at the venue.
I know I’m in the minority, but I don’t feel that Byron Scott has done that bad of a job. He was put in an impossible position to actually contend with this team. We, as fans, rant about developing talent and that’s exactly what he’s done. — Miles
HR: I have to disagree, Miles. Scott openly has said he does not prefer the use of advanced statistics and his coaching of D’Angelo Russell is baffling to me. I wouldn’t attribute the development of players to Scott because he seems like a coach who is interested in results more than the process. For example, Scott benched Russell for “cockiness” in December, which struck me as bizarre. Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak doesn’t want to discuss Scott’s future anymore and indicated that the coach’s status with the organization hasn’t changed, so only time will tell if he will remain. My guess, which is purely my speculation, is he doesn’t last beyond this season.
Atlantic Notes: Okafor, Knicks, Nets
- Nets interim coach Tony Brown believes the decision to part ways with Andrea Bargnani in what is believed to be a buyout deal was best for both parties, Brian Lewis of the New York Post tweets.
- The Knicks, who did not improve their point guard situation before Thursday’s deadline, hope rookie Jerian Grant, who has been inconsistent, can improve his play, Al Iannazzone of Newsday writes. Grant is averaging 4.7 points and 2.4 assists per game.
- With Kelly Olynyk dealing with a right shoulder injury and David Lee gone, there is a decent chance Celtics rookie Jordan Mickey will receive some playing time sooner rather than later, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com details. Mickey has spent the majority of this season in the D-League.
- The vibe around the Nets is a lot more positive recently after Brooklyn hired Sean Marks as its new GM and moved into a new training facility, Lewis writes. “Definitely. It’s almost like it’s a new situation,” Joe Johnson said. “We have this great practice facility. We’ve got everything pretty much at our disposal. Guys come back with a great attitude since the break. You just want to try to finish strong and try to develop some type of chemistry with players that we have here. Just keep improving as a team, individually and see what happens.’’ Marks will spend the second half of the season evaluating the entire organization, per Lewis, and it will be interesting to see what becomes of Brown if Brooklyn continues its positive trend.