Bobcats Sign Anthony Tolliver
AUGUST 19TH, 12:26pm: The Bobcats' signing of Tolliver is now official, according to Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (via Twitter).
AUGUST 10TH, 12:21pm: Tolliver's deal is for the veteran's minimum of $1.027MM, according to Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports (on Twitter).
10:32am: The Bobcats and Anthony Tolliver have reached agreement on a one-year deal, according to Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (via Twitter). The deal is fully-guaranteed and won't be finalized until Friday, according to Shams Charania of RealGM (on Twitter). Tolliver is a client of Larry Fox, as shown in the Hoops Rumors Agency Database.
Tolliver, 28, reportedly narrowed his free agent choices down to the Bobcats, Bulls, and Jazz on Wednesday. However, the scope of the search expanded once again when the Lakers entered the fray on Thursday and the Magic, Spurs, and Knicks continued their pursuit as late as yesterday.
The 6'8" forward spent the 2012/13 season with the Hawks, averaging 4.1 PPG and 2.5 RPG in 62 games (15.5 MPG). For his career, Tolliver has averaged 6.1 PPG and 4.0 RPG across five seasons.
Odds & Ends: Heat, Jamison, Scott, TPEs
Sports, science, and technology are more closely linked than ever before and eight NBA clubs are at the forefront of the latest craze in athletics, writes Jeff Caplan of NBA.com. The Spurs, Mavericks, Rockets, and Knicks plus four other teams that have kept their identities secret have invested in complex GPS tracking devices that track a player's movements to help better protect them. If a player is overexerting themselves – which is the time when injuries typically occur – then his activity can be shut down before anything goes south. Here's tonight's look around the Association..
- In today's mailbag, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel points out that the Heat have tons of options if they want to carry more than the minimum of 13 players. Antawn Jamison is available, but he's joined on the open market by fellow veterans such as Lamar Odom, Stephen Jackson, DeShawn Stevenson, and Richard Hamilton.
- Hawks forward Mike Scott got a $100K guarantee on his contract when he wasn't waived on/before Thursday. Scott averaged 4.6 PPG in 9.4 MPG for Atlanta last season.
- The Thunder didn't make major upgrades this offseason, but that's not a problem at all in the eyes of Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman.
- Luke Adams updated the Hoops Rumors' running guide of outstanding trade exceptions. The Celtics and Nuggets have the most to work with of any club.
- Do you have what it takes to play in the D-League? Probably not. But you can find out by trying out, as detailed by Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside.
Pistons To Pass On Jason Collins
The Pistons have decided to pass on signing veteran free agent center Jason Collins, an official in the team's front office tells Franz Lidz of Sports Illustrated. Collins recently worked out for Detroit in hopes of filling out their bench, but it doesn't seem like he'll be joining the club.
The 7-foot journeyman played in 38 games last season for the Celtics and Wizards, averaging less than two points and two boards in about 10 minutes per contest. The Pistons were looking at the veteran as an insurance policy for big men Andre Drummond and Greg Monroe.
The 34-year-old center became the first active male in one of the four major North American team sports to announce he was gay earlier this year. Now, Collins is back in L.A. working out and hoping to get another call from an NBA club looking for a tough veteran defender.
Hoops Links: Rose, Suns, Nets, Rockets
On this date in 1992, Celtics forward Larry Bird announced his retirement from the NBA after 13 seasons. After walking away from the game, the future Hall of Famer joined Boston management as a special assistant to Celtics Senior Executive Vice President Dave Gavitt.
Got a fantastic basketball blog piece that you want featured on Hoops Rumors? Send your submissions to HoopsLinks@gmail.com. Here's this week's look around the web..
- Blog A Bull implores you to give Derrick Rose's recovery some time.
- Bright Side Of The Sun grades Phoenix's small forwards.
- The Brooklyn Game updates us on the Nets.com domain name saga.
- Red94 has a Rockets blast from the past.
- Hardwood Paroxysm recaps the Blazers' offseason.
- Pounding The Rock sizes up the Spurs' competition.
- Rufus On Fire looks at some potential lineups.
- Golden State Of Mind talks life after Jarrett Jack.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, Zach can be reached here.
Week In Review: 8/12/13 – 8/18/13
Nikola Pekovic wanted to stay with the Timberwolves and the Wolves wanted to retain their restricted free agent. So what the heck took them so long? Well, the cliffnotes are that it was all about the money. The Wolves wanted a four-year deal with an average annual value of $12MM while Pekovic's agent was pushing for a $15MM AAV. The final resolution was basically $12MM per season with a fifth year, good for a $60MM pact. Here's the rest of the week that was..
- Finally, the 76ers found their new head coach in former Spurs assistant Brett Brown. The 76ers made us wait for nearly four months after they parted ways with Doug Collins, but we finally have a resolution in Philly. Unfortunately for Collins' former assistants, they'll be seeking employment elsewhere.
- The Bucks are nearing a four-year, $44MM extension agreement with Larry Sanders.
- The Grizzlies and Celtics swapped Donte Greene and Fab Melo.
- Al Harrington hooked on with the Wizards.
- The Clippers told Antawn Jamison that they're waiting on Lamar Odom.
- Kevin Garnett probably won't play in any back-to-backs this season.
- LeBron James won't run for NBPA president but Roger Mason Jr. will. That's just as exciting, right?
- The Rockets might be in the mix for Stephen Jackson.
- Gary Forbes will audition for the Knicks and Lakers.
- The Knicks met with Hamed Haddadi on Friday.
- The Knicks are interested in Earl Barron.
- The Sixers cut Jrue Holiday's brother.
- Kim English is going overseas.
- The Lakers invited a sharpshooter to camp.
- Eric Griffin has his work cut out for him, but he'll try to get the 15th spot on the Heat.
Hoops Rumors Originals
Here's a roundup of the original analysis generated by the Hoops Rumors staff this week..
- Luke Adams reflected on how teams have used their mid-level exceptions.
- Chuck Myron examined new contracts with player options.
- Here are some observations on the 2013/14 MLEs, courtesy of Luke.
- Here are the remaining unsigned 2013 draft picks.
- We looked at Eric Bledsoe of the Suns and Paul George of the Pacers as extension candidates. Larry Sanders of the Bucks wound up signing an extension that was close to Chuck's estimate..
- Michael Pina asked if you feel that PED use is prevalent in the NBA.
- We asked you to weigh in on Steve Kerr's proposed changes to the NBA Lottery.
- Luke updated us on the NBA coaching carousel.
- Here's a look at the free agent stock of Antawn Jamison.
Ivan Johnson Considering Overseas Offers
Free agent Ivan Johnson hasn't seen interest from NBA teams build in recent weeks and he's now seriously considering lucrative offers out of China and Italy, according to Shams Charania of RealGM. Four clubs are still in talks with Johnson, but none of those teams have stepped up enough for his representatives to feel good about things.
Johnson, who is one of the better big men left on the open market, is looking for offers higher than the veteran's minimum. That could be overly ambitious considering the fact that Johnson's free agency has been moving in "slow motion" as of late.
“It is very legitimate Ivan could end up overseas this season,” agent Jeremiah Haylett said. “It’s the best possibility right now. It wouldn’t be a multi-year deal, though, because he would like to get back into the NBA.”
Over the past two seasons, the 6'8" forward has averaged 6.5 points and 3.9 rebounds in 125 games for the Hawks. The Knicks have been among the clubs linked to Johnson, but his salary requirements coupled with the signing of Jeremy Tyler could hurt his chances in New York.
Johnson is no stranger to playing overseas, having had stints in South Korea, Puerto Rico, and China.
Atlantic Notes: Garnett, Nets, Sixers, Forbes
Here's the latest out of the Atlantic Division..
- Nets head coach Jason Kidd says prized offseason acquisition Kevin Garnett probably won't play in any back-to-backs this season, according to Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News (via Twitter). Kidd added that he's already talked that plan over with the 37-year-old superstar (link).
- New 76ers head coach Brett Brown has decided to let assistants Michael Curry, Aaron McKie, and Jeff Capel go, writes Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. "I'm doing that for obvious reasons," said Brown. "I want to hire my own staff and have a clean start going in that direction. … I feel like it's important that I come in with my own staff and start fresh and try to rebuild." Curry was a candidate for the head coaching job after Collins resigned on April 18th.
- Keith Schlosser of Knicks Journal wonders if Gary Forbes could be this summer's Ronnie Brewer for the Knicks. New York will audition the 28-year-old veteran early next week.
Knicks Meeting With Hamed Haddadi
The Knicks have been connected with free agent big man Hamed Haddadi for several weeks and the two sides could finally be coming together on an agreement. The Knicks are meeting with the Iranian center today, according to Frank Isola of the New York Daily News (via Twitter).
From a basketball perspective, Haddadi can provide the Knicks with additional frontcourt depth at what will presumably be the league minimum. Signing him would also have the added benefit of scratching the back of agent Marc Cornstein who represents free agent acquisitions Metta World Peace and Beno Udrih.
Haddadi finished last season strong after coming over from the Raptors at the deadline as he averaged 4.1 points and 5.1 rebounds in 13.8 minutes per game for Phoenix. The big man had a partially-guaranteed deal with the Suns for 2013/14 and the team opted to cut him loose for $200K this summer rather than pay him $1.4MM for the season.
Bucks, Larry Sanders Near Deal On Extension
The Bucks and Larry Sanders are nearing agreement on a four-year, $44MM contract extension, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. The deal will include bonuses that could push the value of the contract to the $48 million range, according to sources.
Sanders, 24, enjoyed a breakout season in Milwaukee last year, averaging 9.8 PPG, 9.5 RPG, and 2.8 blocks per contest. Even though the Bucks were swept by the Heat in the opening round of the playoffs, Sanders showed that he could produce in the postseason with 10.8 PPG and 8.3 RPG.
The Bucks have had a very busy offseason which has seem them add free agents O.J. Mayo, Carlos Delfino, and Zaza Pachulia while parting ways with a number of players including Monta Ellis and J.J. Redick. Milwaukee also replaced interim coach Jim Boylan with former Hawks head man Larry Drew.
Recently, our own Chuck Myron examined Sanders as an extension candidate and concluded that he would wind up with a contract that would give him between $11MM and $12MM annually. That's pretty much what the big man has in this deal as his base AAV is $11MM with incentives that could bump him to $12MM. Sanders is a client of Relativity Sports' Dan Fegan, according to the Hoops Rumors Agency Database.