Darnell Jackson

International Notes: Jackson, Mensah-Bonsu, Gaffney

Most international teams aren’t making many roster moves these days, but with a sudden glut of intriguing players hitting the free agent market due to NBA roster cuts, it’s reasonable to expect clubs overseas to take notice. Several NBA camp invitees have already landed with new teams, and more are likely to follow. Here are the latest noteworthy international signings:

  • After being waived by the Pacers, Darnell Jackson has signed with the Shanghai Sharks, according to Hoops Rumors contributor Mark Porcaro (via Twitter). Jackson joins Von Wafer, who signed with the Chinese club earlier this month.
  • Pops Mensah-Bonsu, who finished last season with Italy’s EA7 Milano and participated in camp with the Wizards, has signed with Galatasaray in Turkey, according to the team (hat tip to Sportando). Mensah-Bonsu had a successful stint in Turkey with Besiktas during the 2011/12 season, winning the Turkish Basketball League championship, the Turkish Cup, and the EuroChallenge title.
  • After being released by the Grizzlies, Tony Gaffney has agreed to rejoin Telekom Baskets Bonn, the German team he played for in 2011/12, tweets Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld. As our international player movement tracker shows, Gaffney finished last season with Joventut in Spain.
  • Interested in how your favorite NBA team’s draft-and-stash player is doing overseas? Mark Porcaro has you covered with a new piece at Secret Rival.

Pacers Waive Ron Howard, Darnell Jackson

The Pacers have released Ron Howard and Darnell Jackson, reducing their camp roster to 15 players, the team announced today in a press release. With 15 players now under contract, the team won’t necessarily have to make more cuts before opening night. However, according to Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star (via Twitter), coach Frank Vogel has indicated Indiana figures to start the year with a 13-man roster, so more moves are likely on the way.

The 6’5″ Howard was a D-League All-Star last season, averaging 19.1 PPG and recording an 18.2 PER for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. The 6’8″ Jackson, meanwhile, participated in Utah’s training camp last fall before joining the D-League’s Reno Bighorns. A second-round pick in the 2008 draft, Jackson has played for the Cavaliers, Bucks, and Kings in 138 total NBA contests. As Buckner notes (via Twitter), Howard and Jackson were the only two active Pacers players not to get into last night’s game against the Mavericks.

Assuming the Pacers make two more cuts before opening night, as planned, Hilton Armstrong and Rasual Butler are likely to be the odd men out. Both players are on fully non-guaranteed deals.

Pacers Sign Darnell Jackson

The Pacers announced a pair of signings in a press release today, as the team moves toward solidifying its roster for training camp. In addition to signing Ron Howard, whose agreement we heard about last month, Indiana also reached an agreement with Darnell Jackson, according to the release.

Jackson, 27, was selected in the second round of the 2008 draft, and has played for the Cavaliers, Bucks, and Kings in 138 total NBA contests. Since his last NBA action, which came for Sacramento in 2010/11, the 6'8" forward has played in Ukraine, China, and the D-League. In 19 games for the Reno Bighorns last season, Jackson averaged 13.8 PPG and 6.7 RPG. He participated in Utah's training camp last fall.

The signings of Howard and Jackson officially bring the Pacers' roster counts to 15 players, though our count has the team at 16, which includes a reported agreement with Rasual Butler. Although Indiana didn't announce Butler's deal today, there's no indication that it has fallen through. Assuming Jackson and Howard didn't receive any guaranteed salary, those two players, along with Butler, should compete in camp to earn a regular-season roster spot.

Jazz Waive Darnell Jackson, Chris Quinn

A week after waiving Trey Gilder and Brian Butch, the Jazz have made another pair of roster cuts, releasing Darnell Jackson and Chris Quinn after last night's game, tweets Steve Luhm of the Salt Lake Tribune. Luhm adds that Utah's roster now stands at 14 players, though that number doesn't include Raja Bell, who is technically still on the roster, albeit not with the team.

Jackson and Quinn had been the last two Jazz camp invitees on summer contracts, so the remaining 14 players under contract, not including Bell, appear to be safe. That includes Kevin Murphy, whose deal is guaranteed for just $200K.

Neither Jackson or Quinn made a huge impact for the Jazz in preseason action, but Utah star Al Jefferson had praise for Jackson, a former second round pick, as Bill Oram of the Salt Lake Tribune writes.

"He's always been a tough-nosed type of player," Jefferson said. "Go hard every time you step on the court. So when I found out he was in our camp, I knew it was going to be a very physical camp, that he was going to make you step up and play hard…. It's not my decision, but a guy like him, every team needs a guy like him on it."

Jazz Sign Quinn, Gilder, Jackson

10:16pm: The contract of second-round pick Kevin Murphy isn't guaranteed, Smith writes, so that means the Jazz only have 14 fully guaranteed contracts, including Raja Bell's. That provides a little extra room for one of the camp invitees to make the team.

8:54pm: The Jazz will bring point guard Chris Quinn to training camp, reports Brian T. Smith of The Salt Lake Tribune (Twitter link). The addition of Quinn, likely on a non-guaranteed, minimum-salary deal, brings the team's roster to 19 players. Quinn will likely compete for the final regular season roster spot with Trey Gilder, Darnell Jackson and Brian Butch, whose signings were officially announced via press release, as Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld notes via Twitter. Gilder and Jackson appeared close to invites earlier this month, while the signing of Butch was reportedly confirmed a few days ago. 

Quinn has spent parts of five seasons in the NBA, with the Heat, Nets and finally the Spurs, with whom he made his last NBA appearance in 2010/11. The 6'2" 29-year-old averaged 4.6 points and 1.9 assists in 13.8 minutes per game with a 12.5 PER over his NBA career. He spent last season with Khimki BC in Russia, and put up 7.3 PPG and 2.9 APG in 19.4 MPG.

The Jazz have 15 fully guaranteed contracts, though one of them belongs to Raja Bell, who is attempting to negotiate a buyout. If he's successful, that would leave a spot open for Quinn, Gilder, Jackson or Butch, Teams aren't obligated to carry more than 13 players, though, so all of the recent signees must impress in order to stick around.

Jazz Expected To Sign Darnell Jackson

The Jazz are expected to bring Darnell Jackson to training camp, tweets Brian T. Smith of The Salt Lake Tribune. The 6'9" Kansas product has spent parts of three seasons in the NBA, and last made an appearance with the Kings in 2010/11. He's likely to get a non-guaranteed deal at the minimum salary.

Jackson was taken 52nd overall in the 2008 draft by the Heat and traded to the Cavs on draft night. He signed a three-year deal with Cleveland, but was sent to the D-League four times during his abbreviated stint there before the team waived him in 2010. The Bucks claimed him off waivers, trading him a few months later to the Kings. He played in a career-high 59 games for Sacramento in 2010/11, but saw only 8.2 minutes per contest, averaging 3.2 points and 1.6 rebounds. He spent last season with the Ukrainian club BC Donetsk.

Once he gets to camp, he'll probably compete for the last roster spot with Trey Gilder, another 6'9" forward who received an invite from the team. The Jazz have 15 guaranteed contracts on the roster, but one of those belongs to Raja Bell, who is attempting to negotiate a buyout.