Odds & Ends: Billups, Jennings, Bobcats, Pelicans
- The Bucks and Jennings' camp both see a sign-and-trade as ideal, but it seems he's more likely to ink his qualifying offer, writes Michael Hunt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Hoops Rumors readers see a signed QO as the most likely outcome.
- Bobcats coach Steve Clifford wants the team to carry six big men and add a third point guard, notes Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer. There are six bigs on the roster, but Jeff Adrien's deal is non-guaranteed.
- Charlotte's name change from the Bobcats to the Hornets is set to receive official NBA approval Thursday, Bonnell notes in a separate piece. The switch will occur next summer.
- The Pelicans' offseason is a "game-changer" for Eric Gordon, writes Sam Amick of USA Today, as the team's moves have helped sculpt an intriguing core that figures to entice the once-disgruntled shooting guard to stay.
- Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee spoke with Kings minority owner John Kehriotis, who's in a somewhat awkward situation after making a play at the majority interest in the team that went to new principal owner Vivek Ranadive.
- Kurt Rambis made comments on ESPN last fall that reportedly prompted Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni to cross him off his list of potential assistants, but it appears D'Antoni has changed his mind, as Rambis is set to join his staff, notes Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. Johnny Davis will join him, along with fellow newcomers Mark Madsen and Larry Lewis.
- The Wizards will hire Frank Ross as director of player personnel, TNT's David Aldridge tweets. Ross has been serving as the Thunder's scouting director for the East Coast.
Odds & Ends: Oden, Henderson, Rockets, Raptors
Here are a few Wednesday odds and ends from around the Association:
- Although we'd previously heard that the Pelicans hoped to meet with Greg Oden this week, it now appears they'll do so next week, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.
- Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times (Twitter link) is hearing that Gerald Henderson is seeking something in the neighborhood of O.J. Mayo money ($8MM annually).
- The Rockets have some interest in the recently-released Mike Miller and Marcus Camby, tweets Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.
- Having amnestied Linas Kleiza and bought out Camby, the Raptors will likely use the rest of their mid-level exception ($2.15MM) to bring in another player, but will probably save their bi-annual exception for next year, says Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun (via Twitter).
- Pistons GM Joe Dumars recently denied a pair of trade rumors involving his club, but says the door will "continually stay open" on talks that could help improve the roster (link via Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News).
- Grantland's Zach Lowe spoke to new Suns head coach Jeff Hornacek about taking over a lottery team, playing two point guards at the same time, and how Michael Beasley can save his career.
Eastern Notes: Pistons, Hawks, Tyler, Adams
Various recent reports have suggested the Pistons are looking for an upgrade at point guard, linking the team to Rajon Rondo and Brandon Jennings. Speaking to reporters today, including David Mayo of MLive.com, GM Joe Dumars confirmed he'd talked to the Celtics about Rondo, but adamantly denied offering Brandon Knight to Boston, or having any talks with the Bucks about Jennings.
Here's more out of the Eastern Conference:
- According to Grantland's Zach Lowe, a few teams inquired on Greg Monroe's availability prior to the draft, but were given a flat "no" by the Pistons.
- Although there were several teams interested in Gigi Datome, the Pistons viewed the Heat as the biggest threat to nab the Italian sharpshooter, tweets Keith Langlois of Pistons.com.
- Even after reaching deals with Paul Millsap, DeMarre Carroll, and Elton Brand, the Hawks have interest in bringing back Ivan Johnson, tweets Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
- Jeff Teague spoke to Shams Charania of RealGM.com about the Hawks' decision to match his offer sheet with the Bucks, indicating that he's happy to be returning to Atlanta.
- Gabe Giordano, the agent for Jeremy Tyler, is hopeful that his client will be able to finalize a contract with the Knicks in the next few weeks that will at least earn him a training camp invite, as Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com writes.
- Former Bulls lead assistant Ron Adams will be joining the Celtics' coaching staff in a similar role, says Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe.
- George Hill of the Pacers and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist of the Bobcats have been added to the Team USA mini-camp roster, along with Oklahoma State's Marcus Smart, tweets Jeff Goodman of CBSSports.com. Kawhi Leonard will no longer participate due to a left knee injury.
Pistons Sign Chauncey Billups
JULY 16TH: The Pistons have made the Billups signing official, issuing a press release and (re-)introducing the veteran guard to Detroit media today.
JULY 11TH: The Pistons have reached a contract agreement with former NBA Finals MVP Chauncey Billups, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. According to Wojnarowski, the ex-Piston will return to Detroit on a two-year deal worth $5MM+. The second year will be a team option, tweets Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News.
Billups, 36, indicated last week that he hoped to play at least two more years in the NBA, so seeing him secure a multiyear deal, even if the second year isn't fully guaranteed, isn't a shock. In addition to the Pistons, the Cavaliers, Spurs, Mavericks, Knicks, Kings, Nets and Wolves all expressed some level of interest in the veteran guard.
The two years Billups spent with the Clippers only resulted in 44 total games, due mostly to a torn Achilles tendon suffered in February 2012. In the contests he did play with the club, he averaged 11.5 PPG and 3.1 APG in 24.4 minutes per game, while shooting 37.7% on three-pointers.
For the Pistons, the hope is that Billups will be solid as a backcourt rotation piece and will help mentor Brandon Knight. The team appears to be using either cap space or its $2.65MM room exception to fit Billups onto the roster.
Central Notes: Bucks, Jennings, Pistons, Bulls
Brandon Jennings remains under team control for the Bucks, but the standout guard reportedly doesn't want to return to Milwaukee. Jennings has had an up-and-down relationship with the Bucks over the years and it would appear that he's not so high on the club as it stands. The 23-year-old is also said to be seeking a deal with a $12MM average annual value, but if he really wants to escape Milwaukee, he just might sign the $4.53MM qualifying offer so that he can be an unrestricted free agent next summer. Here's more on Jennings and other items out of the Central Division..
- The Pistons and Bucks haven't had any conversation about a sign-and-trade involving Jennings, according to Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit Free Press (via Twitter).
- Lionel Hollins said that he thought he was bound for the Bucks before the club decided to tap former Hawks head man Larry Drew, tweets Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times.
- Marquis Teague thinks Bulls Summer League teammate Andrew Goudelock deserves a a job on an NBA roster this season, but it remains to be seen if a GM will agree, writes K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune.
Pistons Sign Gigi Datome
JULY 15TH, 10:50am: The Pistons have officially signed Datome, according to the team's official Twitter feed.
JULY 9TH, 10:54am: Datome's deal with the Pistons will be for two years and $3.5MM, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). That means he'll be signed using either cap space or a portion of the team's room exception.
10:42am: Italian forward Luigi "Gigi" Datome has announced via Facebook that he has decided to sign with the Pistons (hat tip to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando). It's not clear what the terms of the agreement are, but Vincent Ellis of the Detroit Free Press says the news is "legit," and suggests a two-year deal is likely (Twitter links). Here's Datome's Facebook post, converted to English via Google Translate, so there may be a few details lost in translation:
"I decided to become a player for the Detroit Pistons. I think it may be the right place for me to make a quantum leap in my career and to fulfill the dream of a lifetime. I am very excited to join the group of players in Detroit. I want to thank my family, the President Toti, all Virtus Roma and with it his fans for their continued support and wish to Virtus the best for the future."
Datome, 25, has spent the last several seasons playing for Virtus Roma in Italy. In 48 games during the 2012/13 season, the small forward averaged 16.4 PPG, 5.6 RPG, and shot 51.5% from the field, earning MVP honors in the Italian League.
Even after reaching agreements with Josh Smith and Will Bynum, the Pistons should still have some room under the cap, so I'd expect Datome to be signed using a portion of that space, rather than on a minimum-salary deal.
Pistons Re-Sign Will Bynum
JULY 15TH: The Pistons have made the Bynum signing official, the club announced today on Twitter.
JULY 8TH: The Pistons are set to re-sign Will Bynum, agent Mark Bartelstein tells Marc Stein of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The deal is worth $5.75MM in total over two seasons, according to David Aldridge of NBA.com (via Twitter).
Earlier today, we learned that Detroit put an offer out to the point guard and it would appear that both sides decided to move quickly towards an agreement. The 30-year-old has spent the last five years of his career with the Pistons and is coming off of a season in which he averaged 9.8 PPG and 3.6 APG in 18.8 minutes per contest.
Detroit has been targeting a number of free agent point guards, including Bynum, Jose Calderon (who has signed with the Mavs), and Chauncey Billups. The Knicks were also eyeing Bynum, but they'll have to look elsewhere for a one guard.
Pistons Trying To Land Rajon Rondo
The Pistons are interested in acquiring Rajon Rondo, and they'd like to package Brandon Knight and an expiring contract in a deal with the Celtics to get him, as Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe writes in his weekly league roundup. Still, that offer wouldn't come close to prying the point guard from Boston, Washburn notes.
It's not the first time we've heard the Pistons connected to Rondo. Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News said earler this month that the team would likely be at the front of the line if Boston makes its All-Star available, echoing a report from Ken Berger of CBSSports.com that the Pistons have made their interest clear. Celtics GM Danny Ainge insists he won't move Rondo this summer in spite of the departure of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and coach Doc Rivers, the team's other cornerstones.
Rondo, 27, is recovering from a torn ACL he suffered in late January, and he seems likely to miss the early portion of this coming season. He's locked up through 2015 on a team-friendly contract that will pay him $11,954,545 in 2013/14. Knight is entering the third season of his rookie-scale contract, and the Pistons have a pair of sizable expiring deals to pair with him. Charlie Villanueva and Rodney Stuckey are set to make about $8.5MM each. Detroit isn't planning on using the amnesty clause to get rid of Villanueva, which would allow the team to use him as a trade chip this season.
The Celtics acquired three first-round picks in their trade with the Nets, but Washburn writes that the Pistons couldn't add to Boston's haul of first-rounders. Detroit owes the Bobcats a first-round pick, and the protection attached to it extends through 2016. The Ted Stepien Rule, which prevents teams from trading first-round picks in consecutive seasons, would prevent the Pistons from sending out a first-rounder in one of the next few drafts, but I think they could give up a 2018 or 2019 first-round pick, if the Celtics are interested.
Odds & Ends: Clippers, Heat, Blazers, Pistons
Here’s today’s look around the Association..
- Eric Patten of NBA.com sat down with colleague Scott Howard-Cooper and chatted about the Clippers. So far, Howard-Cooper gives the club high marks for the offseason that they’ve had. Their sole objective this summer was to retain Chris Paul, and they got him to sign by landing Doc Rivers as coach. While J.J. Redick is getting a lot of attention, he also notes that Darren Collison is a smart signing at a very reasonable price.
- Even though the Heat say that they don’t plan to use the amnesty clause on anyone, their stated openness to using the taxpayer mid-level exception makes Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel think that they might amnesty someone. Adding a player at the taxpayer midlevel right now would cost around $15MM total for next season, so they’d likely look to ease their tax bill if they went that route.
- Trail Blazers General Manager Neil Olshey told reporters that Dorell Wright was the top wing the team targeted in free agency, writes Mike Richman of OregonLive.com. Portland signed Wright to a two-year, $6MM deal earlier this month.
- The Pistons wisely showed restraint during this summer’s free agent frenzy, writes Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press.
Pistons Release Kim English
The Pistons have released second-year guard Kim English, tweets Vincent Ellis of the Detroit Free Press. Detroit reached an agreement with Chauncey Billups earlier today, further maxing out the roster and making English the odd man out.
A 24-year-old Missouri product, English played 41 games for the Pistons last season and also spent some time in the D-League. Overall, he averaged 2.9 PPG over 9.9 minutes. English was drafted a year ago by Detroit with the 14th pick of the second round, which made the second year of his deal unguaranteed.
The 2013/14 season on English's contract would have become fully guaranteed had he not been waived on or before July 12th. Assuming he clears waivers, he'll become an unrestricted free agent.