Jason Collins Mulling Retirement
After making history last season as the NBA’s first active openly gay player, Jason Collins is likely through with playing professional basketball, writes Marcus Thompson II of the Bay Area News Group. In front of a crowd of ~600 people on Monday night at San Francisco’s Castro Theatre, the 35-year-old acknowledged that, athletically, his best years are probably behind him.
“I used to be able to jump and touch the top of the white square behind the rim with ease,” Collins said. “As the years go by, you watch your hand go lower and lower on that square. Father Time is undefeated against us all. … I’m really grateful for my Stanford degree now. On the other hand, I can still dunk.”
Collins began his career with the Nets and experienced success right from the get go, helping New Jersey to back-to-back Eastern Conference Championships in his first two seasons. The big man would start 404 regular season games for the Nets in six-and-a-half seasons and also cashed in on a very lucrative second contract with the club. In total, Collins has earned upwards of $34MM over the course of his career (according to Basketball-Reference) and has appeared in 95 playoff games.
In his stint last season with Brooklyn, Collins averaged 1.1 PPG and 0.9 RPG across 22 late season games. Even though Collins was a consummate teammate and a quality low-post defender during his NBA career, his legacy will extend far beyond what he accomplished on the hardwood.
Free Agent Stock Watch: Andray Blatche
It’s worth wondering why Andray Blatche is without an NBA contract in the middle of August. He’s 27 years old, stands 6’11”, and is coming off a season in which he averaged 11.2 points and 5.3 rebounds in 22.2 minutes per game with an 18.8 PER for a Nets team that went to the conference semifinals. He’s an unrestricted free agent, without the encumbrance of restricted free agency that’s holding up deals for Eric Bledsoe and Greg Monroe and without the strong leads on a job that Shawn Marion has. He’s not considering retirement like Ray Allen. There are questions about his character, dating back to his pre-amnesty days with the Wizards and reverberating most recently in a report about the Heat’s longstanding reservations about his maturity and behavior. Another dispatch asserted that Blatche’s midseason absence this past year was a de facto suspension meted out by then-coach Jason Kidd, a punishment that left Nets management impressed with the coach. But such trouble has not kept lesser players out of the league.
There could easily be more than meets the eye to Blatche’s locker room issues, but those reports may also be the extent of it. His continued free agency might stem simply from a demand for more money than the market is bearing. He turned down a player option to stay with the Nets for a salary of nearly $1.438MM, slightly more than the minimum, so he probably envisioned a raise, which wouldn’t be easy to find at this stage of free agency. He’s been linked to a few teams in some form or fashion this summer, dating back to a mid-June report that he and the Pelicans had mutual interest, though a follow-up indicated that Blatche was the only party eyeing such an arrangement. Around the start of July, Blatche had apparently been telling many around the league that he would end up in New Orleans, but there’s been no movement toward that end.
The Raptors were reportedly to have met with Blatche about a week or so into free agency, but Toronto appears to have moved on. There was a report that he would work out along with a few other big men of note for the Clippers, but agent Andy Miller quickly dismissed that as false. Whether or not the Clippers enter the picture legitimately at any point, it seems a reunion with the Nets isn’t forthcoming. Blatche was the only one of the team’s free agents to whom GM Billy King declined to reach out at the start of free agency, a strong signal that there’s little, if any, interest from the club.
That might have more to do with the emergence of Mason Plumlee and the expected return to health of Brook Lopez than any shortcoming of Blatche’s. Kidd is gone, having jumped ship to Milwaukee, so any clash between Blatche and his coach is no longer germane. Brooklyn had its greatest success last season playing small ball, so an abundance of big men probably isn’t what the team has in mind.
Blatche’s minutes and production increased slightly this past season over 2012/13, his first in Brooklyn, though his PER and per-minute output went a hair in the other direction. He’s still at an age that suggests he’s entering his prime, if he’s not already there, and he still has a few more years before any precipitous decline should start to set in. He’s not the shot blocker he was in his early 20s, swatting fewer shots per game last season than he did in any season except for when he only saw 6.0 MPG as a rookie. Still, his defensive win shares have exceeded his offensive win shares every season of his career, demonstrating his impact when the other team has the ball. The Nets were slightly better defensively when Blatche was off the court than when he was on it in each of the past two seasons in terms of points allowed per 100 possessions, according to NBA.com, but each year the team’s net rating went up when he played.
The 49th overall pick from 2005 seems to be a plus on the floor, so unless teams have universally decided his off-court reputation is simply too much to bear, which doesn’t seem likely, there are certain to be NBA teams in touch with Miller as the summer wanes. The Lakers joined a list of 11 other teams I recently outlined as being limited to paying the minimum salary for this coming season, but while Blatche’s options for a non-minimum deal are dwindling, they aren’t gone yet.
There’s no urgency for either Blatche or teams to come to an agreement with training camp still about six weeks off, and as the Paul George injury showed, a need could crop up at any time to spur the market for someone who can fill it. The unresolved situations of Bledsoe and — for Blatche in particular — Monroe loom over part of the landscape. So, perhaps a team like the Hawks, who have cap space and have been linked to Monroe, could look to Blatche should the Pistons big man end up elsewhere. It was a little surprising to see his agent so quickly deny the Clippers rumor, so maybe there’s traction with other teams that such news would jeopardize, though that’s just my speculation. In any case, Blatche probably would find a guaranteed minimum-salary deal to sign this week if he wanted to, but he’s probably best advised to continue to wait until the pace of the market quickens and teams are more aggressively filling their rosters for the season ahead.
And-Ones: Cavs, Wiggins, Embiid, Nets
Despite what you may think, Barry Tramel of The Oklahoman reminds us that building superteams in the NBA is not some new fad. The “Thunder Way” involves growing your own superstars, but the Cavs‘ route of building a superteam is not unlike what others have done in years past. The Lakers have been collecting All-Stars for decades and the 76ers build a superteam in the 1970s with ABA stars George McGinnis and Julius Erving. At the end of the day, Tramel writes, both ways work and some franchises never get to make a stab at either gameplan. Here’s tonight’s look around the league..
- Wolves president and coach Flip Saunders did well for himself in the proposed Kevin Love trade, writes Chip Scoggins of the Star Tribune. Considering the general lack of leverage that Minnesota had, the Wolves did well by landing this year’s No. 1 overall pick and more. Ultimately, however, the deal will be judged on how well Saunders can mold the young talent he’s receiving.
- Kansas will have a lot of work to do without stars Andrew Wiggins and Joel Embiid, but don’t go crying for them just yet. Yannis Koutroupis of Basketball Insiders looks at the players who will be fueling KU this season – five-star prospects Kelly Oubre and Cliff Alexander. Oubre is a 6’6 small forward who is explosive offensively and an elite-level athlete. Alexander is a rugged big man who thrives with contact and plays with an extremely high motor. Both players are projected as lottery picks in the 2015 NBA Draft.
- Following a successful season in the D-League, Scott Rafferty of Ridiculous Upside looks at what kind of impact Robert Covington could have on the Rockets next season.
- Bojan Bogdanović expects to play a key role for the Nets next season, writes Sportando’s Hrvoje Vujanic.
Trade Retrospective: Kevin Garnett To Celtics
The trade that will send Kevin Love to the Cavaliers for Andrew Wiggins, Anthony Bennett, and a future first round draft choice cannot be made official for another two weeks. That is when the 30-day required time period from when Wiggins inked his deal expires.
In light of the Timberwolves deciding to part with their franchise player, I’ve been taking a look back at past blockbuster deals to see how each team involved fared after these trades. So far I’ve looked at the deal that sent Dwight Howard from the Magic to the Lakers, and the trade that saw Deron Williams go from the Jazz to the Nets. Neither of those trades has worked out especially well for any of the franchises involved.
The next one I’ll be revisiting is the 2007 trade that saw the Wolves ship Kevin Garnett to the Celtics. Let’s start by looking at the players and assets that changed hands.
- The Celtics received Garnett.
- The Timberwolves received Ryan Gomes; Gerald Green; Al Jefferson; Theo Ratliff; Sebastian Telfair; the Celtics 2009 first-rounder (used to select Wayne Ellington at No. 28); the return of the Wolves’ 2009 first-round pick that was sent to Celtics as part of the Ricky Davis—Wally Szczerbiak trade (used to select Jonny Flynn at No. 6); and cash considerations.
I’ll begin with the Celtics’ end of the deal, which worked out as well as anyone in Boston could have hoped. The Celtics record the year prior to the trade was 24-58, and the franchise had not been to the playoffs since the 2004/05 season. In Garnett’s first year in Boston, he earned Defensive Player of the Year honors, and helped the franchise capture their first NBA title in 22 years. During Garnett’s six seasons in Boston, the franchise’s cumulative record was 314-161.
Garnett’s season averages were:
- 2007/08=18.8 PPG, 9.2 RPG, and 3.4 APG. His slash line was .539/.000/.801.
- 2008/09=15.8 PPG, 8.5 RPG, and 2.5 APG. His slash line was .531/.250/.841.
- 2009/10=14.3 PPG, 7.3 RPG, and 2.7 APG. His slash line was .521/.200/.837.
- 2010/11=14.9 PPG, 8.9 RPG, and 2.4 APG. His slash line was .528/.200/.862.
- 2011/12=15.8 PPG, 8.2 RPG, and 2.9 APG. His slash line was .503/.333/.857.
- 2012/13=14.8 PPG, 7.8 RPG, and 2.3 APG. His slash line was .496/.125/.786.
Garnett was the heart and soul of the Celtics during his tenure, and I don’t think anyone can make an argument that the trade wasn’t an enormous success for the franchise. His time with Boston came to an end in June of 2013 when Garnett was traded to the Nets.
That deal saw the Nets receive Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Jason Terry. The Celtics in return received Kris Humphries, Gerald Wallace, MarShon Brooks, Kris Joseph, Keith Bogans, and 2014 (James Young), 2016, and 2018 first-round picks. The Celtics also have the ability to swap first-rounders with Brooklyn in 2017.
From the Timberwolves’ perspective, this deal hasn’t worked out very well for the franchise, and just might be a harbinger of things to come once Love finally dons a Cleveland jersey. The franchise’s record since the trade has been a dismal 135-341, with zero playoff appearances.
One telling fact about how poorly the trade worked out for Minnesota, is that not one of the original players or draftees are still with the team. Let’s take a look at what each player provided the Wolves and where they ended up.
Ryan Gomes spent three seasons in Minnesota, where he was primarily a starter. His season averages were:
- 2007/08=12.6 PPG, 5.8 RPG, and 1.8 APG. His slash line was .457/.330/.830.
- 2008/09=13.3 PPG, 4.8 RPG, and 1.6 APG. His slash line was .431/.372/.807.
- 2009/10=10.9 PPG, 4.6 RPG, and 1.6 APG. His slash line was .447/.372/.825.
In June of 2010, Gomes was traded to the Trail Blazers along with the draft rights to Luke Babbitt for Martell Webster. Gomes was subsequently waived by Portland. In his two seasons in Minnesota, Webster averaged 8.3 PPG and 3.4 RPG.
Theo Ratliff didn’t provide much for the Wolves, appearing in only ten games during the 2007/08 season, averaging 6.3 PPG and 3.9 RPG. Ratliff was waived in February of 2008 and then finished that season with the Pistons.
The Wolves used the 2009 first rounder they acquired from Boston to select Wayne Ellington with the No. 28 pick. Ellington never developed into the scoring threat the team had hoped he’d become. His season averages with Minnesota were:
- 2009/10=6.6 PPG, 2.1 RPG, and 1.0 APG. His slash line was .424/.395/.871.
- 2010/11=6.6 PPG, 1.7 RPG, and 1.2 APG. His slash line was .403/.397/.792.
- 2011/12=6.1 PPG, 1.9 RPG, and 0.6 APG. His slash line was .404/.324/.800.
Ellington’s time in Minnesota came to an end when he was dealt to the Grizzlies for Dante Cunningham, in July of 2012. In two seasons with the Wolves, Cunningham has averaged 7.5 PPG.
Sebastian Telfair had his two best seasons as a pro while with the Wolves. Telfair had entered the NBA out of high school, and never realized his potential. He was one of the pieces Minnesota had hoped would energize the franchise, but poor shooting and on-court decision-making have always hampered his game. Telfair then became a part of the revolving door of point guards the Wolves have either drafted or traded for since the Garnett deal. Telfair’s season averages in Minnesota were:
- 2007/08=9.3 PPG, 2.3 RPG, and 5.9 APG. His slash line was .401/.281/.743.
- 2008/09=9.8 PPG, 1.7 RPG, and 4.6 APG. His slash line was .383/.346/.819.
The Wolves re-signed Telfair to a three-year, $7.5MM deal after the 2007/08 season, but then Minnesota selected both Jonny Flynn and Ricky Rubio in the 2009 NBA Draft, thus making Telfair expendable. He was dealt along with Craig Smith and Mark Madsen to the Clippers, in return Minnesota received Quentin Richardson. A few weeks later, Richardson was dealt to the Heat for Mark Blount. Blount never played a game for Minnesota, and was waived the following March.
The selection of Jonny Flynn with the No. 6 pick in the 2009 NBA Draft was a head-scratcher for many. Not because of Flynn’s talent level, but because the Wolves had just selected Ricky Rubio with the No. 5 pick. The franchise knew there was a better than average chance that it would be a few seasons before Rubio would make the jump from international competition to the NBA, but when selecting that high, redundancies can severely hinder a franchise.
At the risk of making Timberwolves fans even more upset, look at who they passed on to select Flynn. Available at the time were Stephen Curry, Jrue Holiday, Ty Lawson, Jeff Teague, Brandon Jennings, and Darren Collison. All have had better career numbers than Flynn.
Here’s what Flynn provided during his two seasons in Minnesota:
- 2009/10=13.5 PPG, 2.4 RPG, and 4.4 APG. His shooting numbers were .417/.358/.826.
- 2010/11=5.3 PPG, 1.5 RPG, and 3.4 APG. His slash line was .365/.310/.762.
Flynn’s tenure came to an end with a trade during the 2011 NBA Draft. This transaction is a bit complicated to break down since it set off a number of subsequent deals. Here’s the chain of events that resulted:
- Flynn was traded to the Rockets along with the rights to Donatas Motiejunas for Brad Miller; the rights to No. 23 pick Nikola Mirotic; a second-rounder (No. 38); and a 2013 first round pick (Andre Roberson). The Rockets would later buy back the No.38 pick from the Wolves. And whom did they select with that pick? Chandler Parsons. Ouch!
- The Wolves then dealt the rights to Mirotic to the Bulls for the rights to No. 28 pick Norris Cole and the No. 43 pick in the draft (Malcolm Lee).
- Then Minnesota dealt Cole to the Heat for the No. 31 pick (Bojan Bogdanovic); a future second-rounder; and cash.
- Bogdanovic was later traded to the Nets for a 2013 second-rounder (Lorenzo Brown) and cash.
Gerald Green was another player who entered the league right out of high school. He has always had amazing athletic ability, but hasn’t been able to translate that into the production expected of him, with the exception of the 2013/14 campaign he spent with the Suns.
Green found himself buried on the bench behind numerous players, and only appeared in 29 games for the Wolves during the 2007/08 season, averaging 5.1 PPG on 33.1% shooting. He asked for a trade via his agent, which the Wolves granted.
On February 21, 2008, Green was dealt to the Rockets for Kirk Snyder; a 2010 second-rounder (used to select Paulao Prestes); and cash. Prestes never played in the NBA, and Snyder spent one season in Minnesota, averaging 8.4 PPG and 4.2 RPG. That was Snyder’s last year in the NBA, and he’s been playing overseas since then.
Lastly, I come to Al Jefferson, who was the most productive player that Minnesota acquired. Jefferson passed up the chance to test out restricted free agency, and in November 2007, he inked a five-year, $65MM extension with the Wolves. While it didn’t translate into wins, Jefferson did provide the franchise with some excellent numbers.
- 2007/08=21.0 PPG, 11.1 RPG, and 1.5 BPG. His slash line was .500/.000/.721.
- 2008/09=23.1 PPG, 11.0 RPG, and 1.7 BPG. His slash line was .497/.000/.738.
- 2009/10=17.1 PPG, 9.3 RPG, and 1.3 BPG. His slash line was .498/.000/.680.
It could be argued that based on pure stats, Jefferson almost made up for Garnett’s departure offensively. But on the defensive, intangibles, and leadership fronts, it wasn’t possible to recoup what “The Big Ticket” provided.
Jefferson’s tenure in Minnesota came to an end on July 13, 2010, when he was dealt to the Jazz for Kosta Koufos; a 2011 first rounder (used to select Motiejunas) and a 2012 first round pick. The 2012 first-rounder was subsequently traded to the Rockets for Chase Budinger and the rights to Lior Eliyahu, and Houston used the pick to select Terrence Jones. Eliyahu has never played in the league, and in two seasons with Minnesota, Budinger has averaged 8.0 PPG.
That was a whole lot of player movement to track. I think it illustrates quite well the dangers involved with trading away a franchise player, and it’s a situation the Wolves are facing yet again with Love.
The biggest difference this time out for Minnesota is in what they are getting in return. The biggest piece they acquired for Garnett was Jefferson, who while productive, has never been thought of as an anchor-type player who can carry a franchise to a title. While it may be a bittersweet consolation to the franchise’s fans, I think the Love trade has the potential to work out slightly better.
Wiggins has superstar potential, and Bennett looked much improved in Summer League play. If both players can reach their ceilings in the next few seasons, and if they do in fact obtain Thaddeus Young from the Sixers, then there is a chance the Wolves can break their run of missing the playoffs. Cleveland, though, might follow Boston’s lead and use the trade to capture an NBA title. Time will certainly tell.
Trade Retrospective: Deron Williams To Nets
The soon-to-be blockbuster trade that will send Kevin Love to the Cavaliers for Andrew Wiggins, Anthony Bennett, and a future first-rounder, is just awaiting the 30-day moratorium from the date that Wiggins signed his contract to pass before the trade can become official. While the Timberwolves have no choice but to trade their star player, lest they risk losing him in free agency for nothing after the season, there is always a danger in dealing away a player of Love’s talent.
I’ve begun looking back at past trades involving big name superstars being dealt, and the results of these deals for all parties involved. Previously I had examined the four-team trade which sent Dwight Howard to the Lakers, and the outcomes for all the teams involved turned out to be less than stellar.
The next trade that I’ll be looking back at is the February 2011 deal that sent Deron Williams from the Jazz to the Nets. Let’s first recap the pieces that changed hands:
- The Nets received Williams.
- The Jazz received Derrick Favors; Devin Harris; a 2011 first-round pick (used to select Enes Kanter); a 2013 first-round pick (which was later traded along with Utah’s No. 14 overall pick for the rights to Trey Burke); and $3MM.
Note: The Nets also traded forward Troy Murphy and a 2012 second-round pick to the Warriors for center Dan Gadzuric and forward Brandan Wright the same day. This deal was announced at the same time, but wasn’t part of the Jazz-Nets transaction.
This deal came together after Williams had expressed his displeasure with playing in Utah, and his season-long friction with then coach Jerry Sloan, which had a direct influence on Sloan resigning from his long-time position with the team. The Nets made this deal after being unsuccessful in their numerous attempts to land Carmelo Anthony from the Nuggets, who forced his way into being traded to the Knicks instead.
From the Nets’ perspective, it would be safe to say that this trade hasn’t quite worked out for the franchise as planned. Williams has been hobbled by injuries for much of his time in New Jersey/Brooklyn, and his production hasn’t quite been worth the assets surrendered, nor the subsequent 5-year, $98MM extension he signed with the team in July of 2012.
Let’s look at Williams’ numbers since joining the Nets:
- In 2011/12, Williams averaged 21.0 PPG, 3.3 RPG, and 8.7 APG. He appeared in 55 games that year, and his slash line was .407/.336/.843.
- In 2012/13, he appeared in 78 games, averaging 18.9 PPG, 3.0 RPG, and 7.7 APG. His slash line was .440/.378/.859.
- In 2013/14, Williams played in 64 contests, putting up 14.3 PPG, 2.6 RPG, and 6.1 APG. His shooting numbers were .450/.366/.801.
His numbers the first two seasons were very respectable, but arguably not in line with the level of his contract, nor the perception of him being a franchise player. Injuries have had much to do with this, and he underwent surgery this May on both of his ankles. Both the Nets and Williams hope this will alleviate the pain he was forced to play through, and perhaps help him regain some of the explosiveness that he has lost since his days in Utah. Williams still has three years and $63.1MM remaining on his contract, so Brooklyn certainly hopes it helps.
From Utah’s perspective, the trade looks better every time Williams hobbles up and down the court, and I’m sure they’re happy not having to pay max-level money for his decline years. But the deal hasn’t helped them advance in the standings. Since dealing Williams, the Jazz have gone 104-126, and have made it to the postseason just once, and were ousted in the first round by the Spurs that year. During the same time period, Brooklyn sits at an even 115-115, with two playoff appearances.
As for the players they received in return, the results have been mixed. Both Favors and Kanter have improved with each season, and have the potential to anchor a productive frontcourt for years to come. But neither player has performed at an All-Star level. Let’s look at their numbers since arriving in Utah.
Favors:
- During the 2011/12 season, Favors averaged 8.8 PPG, 6.5 RPG, and 1.0 BPG. His slash line was .499/.000/.649.
- In 2012/13 he averaged 9.4 PPG, 7.1 RPG, and 1.7 BPG, while shooting .482/.000/.688.
- Last season, Favors put up 13.3 PPG, 8.7 RPG, and 1.5 BPG. His slash line was .522/.000/.669.
Kanter:
- Back in 2011/12, as a rookie he put up 4.6 PPG, 4.2 RPG, and 0.3 BPG. His slash line was .496/.000/.667.
- During the 2012/13 campaign, Kanter provided 7.2 PPG, 4.3 RPG, and 0.5 BPG. His shooting numbers were .544/1.000/.795.
- Last year’s numbers were 12.3 PPG, 7.5 RPG, and 0.5 BPG. Kanter’s slash line was .491/.000/.730.
Harris played one full season in Utah, and averaged 11.3 PPG, 1.8 RPG, and 5.0 APG. He was then traded during the offseason to the Hawks for forward Marvin Williams. Williams was a productive rotation piece for the Jazz, averaging 7.2 PPG and 3.6 RPG during the 2012/13 season, and 9.1 PPG and 5.1 RPG last year. Williams signed a two-year, $14MM deal with the Hornets this offseason.
The last piece of the deal for the Jazz was the 2013 first-rounder they received, which ended up being the No. 21 overall pick. Utah packaged that selection along with their own first-rounder (No. 14) in a draft night trade with the Timberwolves. The Jazz received the rights to point guard Trey Burke, whom Minnesota had taken 9th overall.
The Wolves used those selections to take Shabazz Muhammad (No. 14) and Gorgui Dieng (No. 21). Nether of those players have set the league on fire, but Dieng has showed flashes of potential and could become a productive rotation player in Minnesota. Muhammad has been a bust thus far, displaying maturity issues, and his offensive game hasn’t developed as hoped.
Burke has easily been the most productive player involved in that deal. In his rookie season, he averaged 12.8 PPG, 3.0 RPG, and 5.7 APG. His slash line was .380/.330/.903. Burke’s shooting was abysmal, but he displayed some improvement towards the end of the season. He also brings a number of intangibles to the table, which can’t be discounted. He is a high-character player, who outperforms his athletic ability.
His role as a starter could be in jeopardy though, seeing as the Jazz picked Dante Exum with the 5th overall selection in this year’s draft. Exum will likely begin his career as a shooting guard, pairing with Burke in the backcourt, but Exum views himself as a point guard, and if he develops quickly, could push Burke into a role off the bench.
As with the Howard trade, this is another example of neither franchise “winning” the deal. If Williams had remained healthy, and put up similar numbers to his days in Utah, then the Nets would have come out on top. A star player in the NBA is worth far more than a number of good rotation pieces.
But in light of Williams’ injury issues, and him being unlikely to regain his past explosiveness at the age of 30, coupled with his enormous contract and resulting cap hit, Utah did reasonably well here. Kanter and Favors could anchor a solid, if unspectacular frontcourt for the next few seasons, and if Burke can improve his outside shooting and keep Exum at shooting guard, then this trade will look much better from the Jazz’s perspective.
That’s a lot of ifs, and it only serves to illustrate the risks involved when franchises deal away their star players. Like the Jazz had with Williams, Minnesota has very little choice but to deal away Love, lest they risk getting nothing to show for their troubles. But while they might acquire some pieces that can help, even acquiring a player of Wiggins’ potential doesn’t mean they’ll be selling playoff tickets any time soon.
Xavier Thames Signs With Spanish Team
The 59th pick in this year’s NBA draft is headed overseas, as Xavier Thames has inked a deal with Baloncesto Sevilla of Spain, the team announced (translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). It’s not clear how long the contract is for or whether there’s a buyout involved that would allow him to join the Nets, who acquired his NBA rights in a draft-night trade with the Raptors.
The 6’3″ shooting guard had a breakout year as a senior at San Diego State, upping his scoring from 9.5 points per game to 17.6 PPG. It was nonetheless a mild surprise to see Thames sneak into the back end of the draft, since Chad Ford of ESPN.com ranked him as only the 76th-best prospect while Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress pegged him 85th.
The 23-year-old is the only one of Brooklyn’s three second-rounders not to sign with the Nets this summer. Markel Brown, the 44th overall pick, and No. 60 selection Cory Jefferson are set to play with the Nets come fall, as our table of draft pick signings shows. Thames will team with potential 2015 top-10 pick Kristaps Porzingis on Sevilla, as well as head coach Scott Roth, who was an assistant for the Pistons this past season.
And-Ones: Union, Douglas, Nets, Moreland
The contracts for six NBA players will become fully guaranteed if their teams don’t waive them by the end of Friday, and two more players will earn partial guarantees if they avoid getting cut. Draymond Green and Khris Middleton almost certainly won’t be cast aside between now and that deadline, but for the rest, the summer temperatures won’t be the only reason to sweat out the next few days. Here’s more from the NBA:
- Players association VP Roger Mason Jr. insists that union leadership addressed concerns from membership regarding the hiring process for a new executive director and the departure of search committee leader Kevin Johnson, as Mason tells Bleacher Report’s Jared Zwerling. Discord had marked the union’s Monday meeting in which Michele Roberts handily won a vote to fill the executive director vacancy.
- The Bulls had been targeting free agent Toney Douglas, but they’ve abandoned their pursuit after signing Aaron Brooks, according to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune.
- Former NBA head coach Paul Westphal highlights the assistant coaching hires that the Nets officially announced today. Brooklyn also brought on Joe Wolf, Jay Humphries and Mavs assistant Tony Brown. John Welch and Jim Sann are the only holdovers from last season.
- The Warriors and Knicks were interested in undrafted forward/center Eric Moreland, according to Shams Charania of RealGM. Charania reported Tuesday that Moreland had agreed to join the Kings instead.
- The Hawks invited summer league guard Stephen Holt to fall training camp, but he instead signed a deal with a German team, reports Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Contract Details: Brooks, Bairstow, Brown
As free agent transactions around the league become official, so do the monetary specifics of their contract agreements. Here’s a round up of the latest contract details to come to light this evening:
- The minimum salary contract Aaron Brooks signed with the Bulls is for one year, as Mark Deeks of ShamSports reveals on his updated Bulls salary page.
- Cameron Bairstow‘s three-year contract with the Bulls is guaranteed for $425K in year two and otherwise non-guaranteed past the first season, Deeks also reports.
- Markel Brown‘s two-year deal with the Nets is fully guaranteed in year one, with a series of guarantee dates for the second season, as Deeks shows.
- The two-year deal the Nets gave Cory Jefferson is similar, except it’s only guaranteed for $75K this year, Deeks also notes.
- The Nets gave Bojan Bogdanovic a 15% trade kicker on his three-year deal rather than the player option that he initially appeared to be getting, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reports on his Nets salary page.
- Robbie Hummel‘s deal with the Timberwolves is fully-guaranteed for $880K for the upcoming season, reports Pincus. It was originally reported to be worth $900K. Pincus adds that the deal allows Hummel to block any trade Minnesota may try to include him in (Twitter links).
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Nets Sign Markel Brown
WEDNESDAY, 9:49pm: The deal is official, the team announced via press release. It’s a multiyear contract, the Nets revealed in their statement.
TUESDAY, 7:27pm: The Nets will sign Markel Brown, league sources tell Tim Bontemps of the New York Post (via Twitter). Brown was selected 44th overall by the Timberwolves last month before Brooklyn acquired his draft rights via trade.
It was somewhat of surprise that the Oklahoma State shooting guard went so highly in last month’s draft, since Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress ranked him as the 55th best prospect and Chad Ford of ESPN.com had him down at No. 61. He averaged 17.2 points and 5.3 rebounds in 35.3 minutes per game this past season as part of a backcourt tandem with point guard Marcus Smart, this year’s sixth overall pick.
Brown will face stiff competition to make the Nets opening night roster, especially if his deal isn’t fully guaranteed for this coming season. Brooklyn agreed to a deal No. 60 pick Cory Jefferson earlier tonight and also possesses the rights to Xavier Thames, the 59th overall selection. The Nets signed highly touted European draft-and-stash prospect Bojan Bogdanovic this afternoon, so it’s shaping up as a battle between this year’s second-rounders, camp invitee Michael Jenkins and any players the club adds from here for no more than two open roster spots.
Nets Sign Cory Jefferson
WEDNESDAY, 9:47am: The Nets have officially announced the signing, via press release. It’s a multiyear contract, according to the statement.
TUESDAY, 5:53pm: Rookie forward Cory Jefferson announced his contract signing with the Nets through his personal Instagram account (hat tip to Tim Bontemps of the New York Post via Twitter). The Nets traded for Jefferson’s rights on draft night after the former Baylor forward was selected 60th overall by the Spurs. The terms of the deal aren’t immediately clear.
The 6’9″ Jefferson put up 13.7 points and 8.2 rebounds in 29.0 minutes per game this past season as a senior for the Bears, numbers striking similar to what he produced in his junior year, when he first emerged as a standout. He was the 66th-best prospect in both Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress rankings and the listing that Chad Ford of ESPN.com compiles.
The last two 60th overall picks to follow through and sign NBA contracts were Isaiah Thomas and Robert Sacre, so Jefferson will look to duplicate their success.