International Notes: Turkoglu, Bogdanovic
Could James White be taking off for a trip to China? Yesterday, we learned that the well-traveled 30-year-old could be headed back overseas as he mulls over all of his options. The small forward has career averages of 2.7 PPG and 1.0 RPG, but his real hoops legacy comes in the form of highlight reel dunks. Let’s take a trip around the globe for today’s international news..
- Hedo Turkoglu wants to record 1,000 games played before his NBA career ends, and then he intends to play for either Fenerbahce Ulker or Anadolu Efes in his native Turkey, as he tells Ajansspor.com (translation via HoopsHype). Turkoglu is entering the final season of his contract with the Magic. He’s played 895 regular season games, which would mean he’ll need to play beyond 2013/14 if he wants to hit 1,000, unless he’s counting the 93 playoff games in which he’s taken part.
- Bojan Bogdanovic tells Gol.hr that even though his deal with the Nets fell apart this summer, he still intends to play for Brooklyn at some point. His contract with Fenerbahce Ulker in Turkey is set to expire next summer (translation via NetsDaily).
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Odds & Ends: Kobe, Pekovic, Goudelock, Cooley
While this season is pretty much a write-off for the Lakers, 2014 is the dream season for Kobe Bryant & Co., write Mike Bresnahan and Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times. Much of what they can do, however, depends on the type of sacrifice that Kobe is willing to make. Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan made financial sacrifices in recent years and it remains to be seen whether Bryant is willing to do the same in order to help the Lakers build the best team possible. The L.A. Times duo has a very out of the box (and illegal) idea for Bryant: sign for the veteran's minimum in 2014/15 and ink a $19.5MM deal with the Lakers (who hold his Bird Rights) in the following year. Here's more from around the Association..
- Wolves owner Glen Taylor continues to say that he is confident a new deal with restricted free agent Nikola Pekovic will be reached, tweets Charley Walters of the Pioneer Press.
- Terms of Andrew Goudelock's deal with Russia's BC UNICS Kazan were not disclosed, but the offer is worth “considerably more” than his NBA minimum of about $1MM, a source tells Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News.
- Jack Cooley is weighing offers from "a half dozen" teams after strong play in summer league, a source tells Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld (on Twitter). Cooley averaged 15 PPG, 9.2 RPG, and 1.2 BPG for the Grizzlies' summer league squad.
- The Nets' luxury tax penalties for next season bring their total monetary commitment for 2013/14 to just over $189MM, notes Tim Bontemps of the New York Post. The Nets added to their total after signing Alan Anderson.
Pacers Notes: George, Granger, Scola
While a healthy Danny Granger undoubtedly makes an already stacked Indiana team even scarier, some outsiders are concerned that his presence will stunt the growth of Paul George. George, however, doesn't see things that way. “Even my second year in the league and my rookie year, we were still able to play off one another,” George told Joel Brigham of HoopsWorld. “I didn’t have as big of a role as I do now, but we still did a good job playing off one another.” Here's more out of Indiana..
- With the addition of Luis Scola, the Pacers might have the best team in the Eastern Conference, argues Tom Ziller of SBNation.com. Indiana managed to reach the conference finals and take the Heat to seven games last season despite having a weak bench and any upgrade to that unit goes a long way for them.
- Scola will definitely help the Pacers, but the offense-driven games of the veteran forward and newly-signed guard Chris Copeland give Zach Lowe of Grantland (via Twitter) some pause. The deal for Scola is expected to be finalized today.
- George, who has said that he wants to stay with the Pacers long-term, feels that talks are going well and both sides are on the same page, writes Scott Agness of NBA.com.
Bucks Close To Signing Gary Neal
The Bucks are close to finalizing a deal with free agent guard Gary Neal, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com. (via Twitter). Sources tell Stein that Milwaukee took the lead after Neal's agent, David Bauman, broke off discussions with the Hawks.
The Bucks and Hawks were the leading pursuers of Neal after the Spurs withdrew their qualifying offer, which made Neal an unrestricted free agent. A deal is now expected to be completed today between Neal and Milwaukee.
Neal's one-year qualifying offer was worth about $1.12MM and would have allowed the Spurs to match any bids for him. The 28-year-old has posted nearly identical numbers in his three seasons in San Antonio, with his averages ranging from 9.5 to 9.9 PPG in 21.1 to 21.8 MPG. However, after posting a 41.9% three-point rate in each of his first two years, that mark fell to 35.5% in 2012/13.
Grizzlies Sign Jamaal Franklin
FRIDAY, 12:07pm: The Grizzlies have officially signed Franklin, the team announced today in a press release.
THURSDAY, 4:12pm: The Grizzlies have reached agreement with Jamaal Franklin on a three-year deal, according to Sam Amick of USA Today (on Twitter). The third year of the deal will be a team option.
Memphis drafted the former San Diego State swingman with the 41st overall pick last month. The 22-year-old also drew interest from the Bulls, Knicks, Clippers, and Hawks and was thought by some to be a late-first round talent. In his final collegiate season, Franklin averaged 17 PPG, 9.5 RPG, and 3.3 APG.
Odds & Ends: Raptors, Camby, Oden, Bynum
The Raptors' buyout of center Marcus Camby will save the club $2MM in 2013/14, according to Eric Pincus of HoopsWorld. The veteran had a guaranteed $5.4MM between this year's salary and the $1MM partial guarantee on 2014/15 and he agreed to part ways with Toronto for $3.4MM. The Raptors will take a cap hit of $2.8MM for the coming season and $646K for 2014/15. Here's more from around the Association..
- In addition to the Hawks, Marc Stein of ESPN.com (via Twitter) hears that the Spurs and Pelicans also have representatives at Greg Oden's latest workout audition in Indianapolis.
- It's no secret that the Andrew Bynum deal didn't work out for the Sixers and yesterday, new CEO Scott O'Neil apologized to fans for how it turned out, writes Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
- There are two main questions to consider when weighing the idea of the Wizards giving point guard John Wall an extension, argues Tom Ziller of SBNation.com.
- The Raptors announced that they have filled out their coaching staff with assistants Bill Bayno and Jesse Mermuys.
Hawks Sign Pero Antic
The Hawks announced that they have signed Macedonian forward/center Pero Antic. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Antic's agent tipped the signing yesterday on his Twitter and indicated that it was a one-year deal with an option for year two. The Hawks still appear to have some cap space, so Antic could be getting more than the minimum salary.
Antic helped lead Greek powerhouse Olympiacos to back-to-back Euroleague titles in 2012 and 2013 and has also captured championships in Serbia, Russia, and Bulgaria. In 31 Euroleague contests in 2012/13, Antic averaged 6.0 PPG and 3.5 RPG in 17.5 minutes of action.
The 30-year-old is the captain of the Macedonian National Team, helping the team to the semifinals of EuroBasket 2011 in Lithuania. He averaged 11.5 points and 8.8 rebounds over 11 games in that year's tournament, while collecting three double-doubles.
Los Angeles Notes: Lakers, Daye, Jordan, Clippers
The voting on the worst $40MM+ signing of the summer is still ongoing, but the Clippers' Chris Paul appears to be more than safe. While a five-year, $107MM+ deal is anything but cheap, it's hard to argue that the league's premier point guard isn't worth it. Here's more out of the Staples Center..
- The Lakers have expressed interest in free agent Austin Daye, sources tell Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld (via Twitter). The 6'11" forward, who became an unrestricted free agent when the Grizzlies declined to make him a qualifying offer, auditioned for the Lakers earlier today. For his career, Daye has averaged 5.6 PPG and 2.8 RPG in 15.4 minutes per game.
- Sources close to the process tell Bill Ingram of HoopsWorld that the Lakers might add one more player before camp, but their plan is to keep some roster room open in hopes of luring some talented guys that fall through the cracks. Daye could wind up being that addition, provided that he has a strong showing in L.A.
- DeAndre Jordan is over the fact that he was nearly traded from the Clippers to the Celtics, writes Eric Pincus of HoopsWorld. “Boston is cold, man,” Jordan said. “It’s not really something I’m concerned about. If you get traded, you get traded — it just means someone else wants you.”
Odds & Ends: Flopping, Neal, Blazers, Faverani
NBA commissioner David Stern says the league's anti-flopping rules were working well and the competition committee recommended no changes to them, but not everyone is on board. The NBPA is now seeking an arbitration hearing on the matter, writes Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. "We are now in the process of scheduling a case with our arbitrator to determine whether the NBA is allowed to unilaterally impose discipline in an area that exceeds the commissioner's authority without the consent of the union," NBPA interim executive director Ron Klempner said. "It's a subject they need to bargain with us, and we hope that the arbitrator will find that any type of discipline must be collectively bargained." Here's tonight's look around the Association..
- Gary Neal wouldn't be an option for the Bobcats without a sign-and-trade with the Spurs, but that scenario hasn't been discussed yet, tweets Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer.
- Tom Ziller of SBNation.com questions whether the amnesty clause and more punitive luxury-tax penalties have really helped level the NBA playing field.
- Mike Tokito of The Oregonian spoke with ex-teammates of new Blazers additions Robin Lopez, Thomas Robinson, Dorell Wright, and Earl Watson.
- The Celtics used $2MM of their mid-level exception on Vitor Faverani and now have $3.15MM left, tweets Eric Pincus of HoopsWorld. The Brazilian big man agreed to a two-year, $6.3MM deal that became official yesterday.
Marcus Smart To Enter 2014 Draft
Oklahoma State standout Marcus Smart says that he will enter the 2014 Draft and unlike this year's go-round, he intends to stay in it, writes Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. Smart was in the mix for the No. 1 pick in last month's draft, but decided to return for his sophomore season.
The 19-year-old, who averaged 15.4 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists during his freshman season, added that he has told athletic department officials that he plans to go to the NBA after this coming season.
"It's safe to say that if, by the grace of God I'm healthy and everything, this will be my last year at Oklahoma State," Smart said. "Nothing will change my mind on that. [Oklahoma State] understands. They didn't figure I was coming back this year. They were just as surprised as everyone else."
While Smart had a shot at being the top pick in this year's shallow draft, he won't be the No. 1 selection in next year's class which will feature Canadian super-prospect Andrew Wiggins, among others. DraftExpress' 2014 mock draft has Smart going No. 5 behind Wiggins, Julius Randle,Dante Exum, and Aaron Gordon.