Western Notes: Dejean-Jones, D-League, Walton
Bryce Dejean-Jones, whom the Pelicans recently inked to a three-year pact, has been diagnosed with a fractured right wrist after having an MRI today and he will undergo surgery on Friday morning to repair the damage, the team announced. No official timetable has been announced for Dejean-Jones’ recovery, but Scott Kushner of The New Orleans Advocate relays that the guard will likely miss six to eight weeks of action as a result of the injury (Twitter link). Dejean-Jones has appeared in 14 games for the Pelicans this season and is averaging 5.6 points and 3.4 rebounds in 19.9 minutes per contest.
Here’s more from out West:
- While Warriors assistant coach Luke Walton will certainly be a hot name this offseason for any potential coaching vacancies, a number of GMs around the league have expressed trepidation at the prospect of giving Walton a head coaching position, Sean Deveney of The Sporting News writes. “I think Luke has a chance to be a good coach; he knows the game, but I would be worried that he’s not ready for that job yet,” a league executive told Deveney. “You’d have to worried about that. The thing is, if your owner has been hearing Warriors, Warriors, Warriors for the last two years, and he sees Luke Walton setting records, you’re probably going to hear something like, ‘Why can’t we get a coach like that?’ And so you wind up taking a chance even if he does not have the experience level you’re looking for.”
- The Grizzlies assigned power forward Jarell Martin to their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This will be Martin’s sixth trek to Iowa this season. He is averaging 13.6 points and 6.3 rebounds in 30.6 minutes over seven D-League contests.
- Power forward Duje Dukan has been assigned by the Kings to their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This marks Dukan’s sixth sojourn of the season to Reno.
Central Notes: Kidd, Motiejunas, Hoiberg
Bucks coach Jason Kidd appears to be losing his influence with team ownership after a number of personnel decisions have gone awry or have met with disapproval, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports relays (video link). Kidd, who holds sway over the team’s basketball operations, was the engineer of the trade that shipped out Brandon Knight in exchange for point guard Michael Carter-Williams, which, according to Wojnarowski, has upset team management in the wake of his disappointing play.
The scribe also relays that ownership nixed a potential deadline trade with the Pelicans this year that Kidd was spearheading, though the players involved were not named in the report. The team is also showing increased reluctance to allow Kidd a say in personnel matters, which may become an issue for the coach, considering Kidd reportedly wants to move into a front office position that would allow him even more power, Wojnarowski adds.
Here’s more from the Central Division:
- The Pistons may have dodged a bullet when the three-team trade that would have landed Donatas Motiejunas was nixed over medical concerns regarding the power forward, David Mayo of MLive writes. The Pistons now retain their 2016 first round pick and will still have the opportunity to pursue Motiejunas this summer when he becomes a free agent, though doing so may raise some eyebrows around the league after the team pulled out of the trade, Mayo adds.
- Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg lacks the fiery outward demeanor of his predecessor Tom Thibodeau, but he scoffs at the notion he isn’t tough on his players, K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune writes. “We’ve had some pretty heated conversations over the course of the year,” Hoiberg said. “If we need a little kick in the butt, you get on them and hopefully they respond. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t.” Chicago has been criticized this season for lacking toughness and Hoiberg wonders if that can be altered this late in the season, Johnson adds. “I just look at the different ebbs and flows,” Hoiberg said. “If you look before January 1st, we were winning a lot of these battles. We were fourth in the league in defense and doing a lot of really good things on that end of the floor. It was winning games for us when our offense wasn’t very good. We’ve slipped. Some of it has to do with some of the bodies we don’t have. But guys have to give effort. In this league, if you don’t make first contact, you’re going to get hit.”
- Longtime Cavaliers center Anderson Varejao wasn’t taking a shot at his former club when he announced upon arriving in Golden State that he was glad to come to a locker room where the players love each other. He was merely expressing his excitement at joining the Warriors, Terry Pluto of The Plain Dealer writes. Varejao signed with the Warriors after being waived by the Blazers, who acquired him from the Cavs in a deadline deal. When initially informed of Varejao’s comments, LeBron James responded, “I would hope if you’re 50-5 that everyone loves each other. … What else do you want at that point? … Duh,” Pluto notes.
Southeast Notes: Bazemore, Richardson, Booker
The presence of Kent Bazemore was one reason why the Hawks let DeMarre Carroll walk in free agency this past summer, according to Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and over the first half of the season, Bazemore delivered on the team’s faith in him. However, Bazemore has slumped of late, as Vivlamore details. The fourth-year veteran heads into his own free agency July 1st, the same day he turns 27, with projections for next season’s salary varying widely between the mid-level and $12MM. Celtics coach Brad Stevens was the first to call him when he last became a free agent, in 2014, notes Shams Charania of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports. That came on the heels of Bazemore’s first significant minutes in the NBA down the stretch of the 2013/14 with the Lakers, who had acquired him via trade from the Warriors at the deadline that season, and he’s grateful for the swap, cognizant that if he was ever to carve out a substantive role for himself in the NBA, he’d have to leave Golden State, Charania writes. See more on Bazemore’s current team amid news from the Southeast Division:
- Bazemore’s slump, Kyle Korver‘s advancing age and the underwhelming impact of trade acquisition Tim Hardaway are among the reasons the Hawks have regressed this season, as Lang Greene of Basketball Insiders examines. Greene also wonders how much the looming specter of Al Horford‘s free agency and the unsettled situation at point guard, where Dennis Schröder‘s performance has pushed Jeff Teague for playing time amid trade rumors involving both, have also played into the team’s decline in play. Atlanta is 31-27 after going 60-22 a year ago.
- The defensive versatility of Josh Richardson, who can guard every position but center, figures to come in handy for the Heat down the stretch this season, as Manny Navarro of the Miami Herald wrote Monday, and that’s doubly so in the wake of Tuesday’s news that backup point guard Beno Udrih is likely done for the year. A utility role isn’t new for this year’s 40th overall pick. “I was like that in college all four years,” Richardson said, according to Navarro. “It’s not any different now.”
- The Wizards may well have been better served re-signing Trevor Booker in 2014 instead of signing-and-trading for Kris Humphries instead, given the team’s change of styles since then, observes J. Michael of CSN Mid-Atlantic. Booker instead signed with the Jazz, while Washington traded Humphries along with DeJuan Blair and a protected first-rounder for Markieff Morris, creating a roster spot that the team is poised to fill with fellow power forward J.J. Hickson.
And-Ones: Bargnani, Draft, Leonard
Andrea Bargnani has received a contract offer from the Greek club Olympiacos, Nikos Varlas of Eurohoops.net reports. The power forward is not eager to head overseas to finish out the season, Varlas notes, but the team will require a definitive answer from Bargnani prior to Wednesday’s Euroleague transfer deadline. Bargnani was recently waived by the Nets in an apparent buyout arrangement. Also on Olympiacos’ radar is former Warriors big man Jason Thompson, who was waived via the stretch provision by Golden State in order to clear a roster spot for the newly signed Anderson Varejao.
Here’s more from around the league:
- Trail Blazers big man Meyers Leonard has had a tough season thus far dealing with injuries as well as a significantly reduced role for the team and he is trying to remain positive throughout it all, Joe Freeman of The Oregonian writes. “As a competitor, it’s a bit frustrating,” Leonard said. “I want to be out there. I want to help the team win. I’ve said it before and I truly believe this: I’m a starter, talent-wise. But sometimes you have to be willing to sacrifice for the team, which I am. That’s just the kind of guy I am. So I have to keep working hard. I have to keep being a good teammate.“
- Heat executive Andy Elisburg noted that the front office was under no specific directive from ownership to get itself out of the luxury tax this trade deadline and stressed that the deals the team did make in no way compromised its playoff chances this season, Couper Moorhead of NBA.com relays. “There was never a mandate to get out of the tax,” Elisburg said. “We always look at the basketball and business benefits of every trade we make or choose not to make. Sometimes you make a trade to open up a roster spot. Sometimes you don’t make a trade because you like the players you have more than the players you may be acquiring. Once we determined that we did not have another trade to make, we chose to move forward with the opportunity to get under the tax.“
- The Wasserman Media Group has officially renamed itself the Wasserman agency, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today relays (via Twitter).
- A number of highly-touted freshman continue to fall in the latest 2016 mock draft from Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress, Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv notes. Kentucky center Skal Labissiere, UNLV big man Stephen Zimmerman and Kansas small forward Cheick Diallo are some of the players who have fallen out of the projected draft lottery picks since the college season began, Zagoria writes.
Eastern Notes: Anthony, Beasley, Varejao
Knicks small forward Carmelo Anthony, who has been through four coaches and three general managers since being acquired from Denver five years ago, admits that he is growing frustrated with the franchise’s continued struggles, Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.com writes. “It’s been tough. It’s challenging,” Anthony said. “It’s challenging to kind of stay strong and positive through all this. You can’t control that. When you look at it, how many different coaches? Four different coaches. [A lot of] different players. I mean, that’s a lot to go through.” Several teams reportedly believe that if New York doesn’t make much progress in their rebuilding by the middle of July, Anthony would be willing to waive his no-trade clause for a better chance at competing for an NBA title with another franchise.
Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- Knicks interim coach Kurt Rambis isn’t upset with Anthony publicly voicing his displeasure, believing that the veteran has the proper attitude regarding the team’s losing ways, Barbara Barker of Newsday writes. “I want the players to be angry. I want the players to be frustrated,” Rambis said. “That’s the right attitude to have. If guys aren’t playing, they should be frustrated that they are not playing. We’re not winning right now, so they have to be believing in their hearts and minds that [they] could be doing a better job out there on the court. Those are the kind of players you want on your team. You don’t want guys that just roll over and accept this losing.”
- Anderson Varejao signing with the Warriors sets up a potential NBA Finals matchup against the Cavaliers, something his former teammates don’t hold against him, Chris Haynes of The Northeast Ohio Media Group writes. “It’s a business,” Tristan Thompson said regarding Varejao. “He wants to keep playing ball, so whatever is the best fit for him and whatever he’s looking for, you have to be happy for him. Andy was more than just a teammate; he was a friend, a big brother, and so wherever he can go to keep playing, I’m happy for him, even with him being with the Warriors.“
- The Heat are not among the teams reportedly thinking about signing former NBA player Michael Beasley, whose season in the Chinese Basketball Association recently ended, Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel relays (Twitter link). Beasley has spent four of his seven NBA seasons as a member of the Heat, including 24 appearances for the franchise last season.
Pacific Notes: Varejao, Teletovic, Booker, Karl
Leandro Barbosa helped recruit fellow Brazilian Anderson Varejao to the Warriors, Varejao said, adding that his familiarity with former teammates Shaun Livingston, Marreese Speights and Luke Walton and respect for Golden State’s stars also helped persuade him to sign with the team, observes Monte Poole of CSNBayArea.com. Varejao’s agency confirmed the Hawks, Spurs, Thunder and Mavericks were his other suitors, while Marc Stein of ESPN.com also heard the Clippers made an offer.
“I’m glad I came here [to Oakland], because I can tell they love each other,” Varejao said, according to Poole. “That’s what it’s about. When you want to win, you have to be like they are. Friends that have fun out there, have fun in the locker room. I’ve been here for a couple hours, but I can tell. I can tell this group, they love each other.”
See more from the Pacific Division:
- Mirza Teletovic is on a one-year contract and was reportedly the subject of trade talk between the Suns and Bucks, but he said he’d like to stay in Phoenix as long as possible, notes Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic.
- Rookie Devin Booker is the top scorer remaining on the Suns in the wake of injuries to others and the Markieff Morris trade, but while Booker manages the difficulty of having become the focal point for opposing defenses, the Suns want him to work on his defensive development, Coro writes in a separate piece. “His major, major growth opportunities are on defense,” Suns interim coach Earl Watson said. “We don’t care about offense and averaging 20 points a game. We care about defensively being accountable, getting stops, being in the right position, helping your team.”
- The Kings have been unfair to George Karl, argues Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post, who believes that the coach has much too long a track record of success to put up with the turmoil in Sacramento. Still, Dempsey can’t envision Karl quitting and walking away from the money the team owes him.
And-Ones: Durant, Cap, Beasley, Agents
Some within the Warriors brass aren’t entirely sold on the idea of making significant changes to bring aboard Kevin Durant this summer, reports Zach Lowe of ESPN.com. The team’s primary scenario would involve sign-and-trades that send Harrison Barnes out and Durant in, but that’s a long shot because of all the variables involved, Lowe writes. Signing Durant outright would come at the cost of Barnes and at least two of Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston, Andrew Bogut and Festus Ezeli in cap-clearing moves, Lowe surmises, adding that the team worries it might have to give up as many as two first-round picks to entice other teams to take salary off their hands. The Warriors are reportedly well out in front as Durant’s top choice should he leave the Thunder, but he’s offered few hints about what he’ll do in free agency. He and Russell Westbrook have minor disagreements about who gets the ball, but no personal tension exists between then, Lowe hears. See more from around the NBA:
- The league’s official cap projection for next season has grown to $90MM, up slightly from $89MM, sources tell Lowe for the same piece. Some apparently see it creeping into the $92-$95MM range.
- Former No. 2 overall pick Michael Beasley is drawing the eye of multiple NBA teams, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (ESPN Now link). Beasley can return stateside now that Shandong, the Chinese team he signed with this past summer, is out of the Chinese Basketball Association playoffs. The combo forward averaged 31.9 points in 36.5 minutes per game with 37.1% 3-point shooting against relatively weak competition this season.
- The players union’s executive committee unanimously approved stiffer enforcement of a rule banning agents from representing both coaches and players, a practice that’s been commonplace in spite of regulations against it, reports Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. A grace period runs through August 22nd before the new policy kicks in, and violators face fines up to $100K after that, Berger notes. Agencies, but not individual agents, are still allowed to work with both coaches and players, as long as they make those relationships known to the players they represent, according to Berger.
- The union also passed other rules for agents, including increased dues and requirements that agents pass a written test on the collective bargaining agreement and maintain at least one NBA client over a period of five years, as Berger rounds up in the same piece.
And-Ones: Conley, Thompson, Dekker
Former Grizzlies and Nets coach Lionel Hollins said in a SiriusXM NBA Radio interview that Mike Conley will seek the best offer on the free-agent market, Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News writes. Hollins doubts the Grizzlies point guard will accept a hometown discount to stay in Memphis, Bondy continues. The Knicks are among the teams expected to pursue Conley, the top guard on the Hoops Rumors Free Agent Power Rankings. “You have the hammer in your hand and you have to wield it because you may never get it again,” Hollins said in the interview. “The reality is you have to do what’s best for your family and the future. And if somebody comes around and offers Michael $18MM and Memphis can’t match, I think you have to make those decisions from that perspective.”
In other news around the league:
- Jason Thompson‘s struggle to grasp the complexities of the Warriors’ schemes was a major factor why he was waived, according to Ethan Sherwood Strauss of ESPN.com. Thompson lost his roster spot in favor of center Anderson Varejao, who was signed on Monday. The team needed more depth in the middle because of injury concerns, but Strauss also believes Thompson’s lack of an advanced feel for the game made him the odd man out.
- The Rockets recalled rookie small forward Sam Dekker from the D-League’s Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the team tweets. Dekker, who underwent back surgery three months ago, made his season debut with the Vipers on Friday night, as Adam Johnson of the D-League Digest details. Dekker’s recall was simply to participate in a practice, as he will return to play a few more games with the Vipers, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle reports (Twitter link).
- Center Tibor Pleiss was recalled by the Jazz from the D-League’s Idaho Stampede on Monday, according to the team’s website. Pleiss, a 7’3” center, has appeared in 12 games with the Jazz and 15 more for the Stampede this season.
- Point guard Dwight Buycks will join the Thunder’s D-League affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blue, international journalist David Pick tweets. Buycks signed with Fujian Sturgeons in the Chinese Basketball Association in September and was among the league leaders in assists, Pick adds. Buycks played 14 games with the Raptors during the 2013/14 season and six more with the Lakers last season after signing a 10-day contract in April. He was also on the Lakers’ summer-league squad.
Warriors Sign Anderson Varejao
MONDAY, 6:07pm: The team officially announced the signing via press release.
SUNDAY, 8:32pm: The Warriors have signed Anderson Varejao, according to Shams Charania of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). The team has yet to make an official announcement, but Charania indicates the two sides have reached an agreement. Varejao signed at the veteran’s minimum for the rest of the season, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports tweets.
Marc Stein of ESPN.com first reported earlier today that Golden State was the front-runner to sign Varejao, with the Spurs also reportedly having had mutual interest. The minimum salary for Varejao will be prorated. So, if he were to officially sign Monday on a deal that covers only the rest of the season, he would receive $458,575, with $289,755 coming from the Warriors and the NBA picking up the rest. Golden State, which is between $10MM and $15MM above the luxury tax threshold, would be in line to pay an additional $724,388 in taxes for the Varejao deal, making the total cost, in combined payroll and taxes, a projected $1,014,143. That number would go down slightly each day the Warriors wait to formally make the signing.
Golden State is currently carrying 15 players on its roster with each contract being fully guaranteed, so a subsequent move will be needed. The Warriors have a need in the frontcourt with Festus Ezeli still out because of arthroscopic knee surgery and Andrew Bogut nursing an Achilles injury.
The Blazers waived the 33-year-old Varejao after acquiring him from the Cavs in a deadline-day trade. He told Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group and Cleveland Plain Dealer that he has no hard feelings toward the Cavs and is excited to join the Warriors (Twitter link). Varejao, who has never played for any other team aside from the Cavs, is averaging 2.6 points and 2.9 rebounds per game.
Pacific Notes: Green, Varejao, Dawson
Clippers coach/executive Doc Rivers reportedly plans to try to re-sign Jeff Green this summer, and he’s glad to be reunited with his former Celtics player for several reasons. Rivers was effusive in his praise of Green to Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com, calling him one of the best NBA people ever (Twitter link), and he’s also a fan of what the combo forward can do on the court, as Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee details.
“I really wanted more length,” Rivers said of his goals going into the trade deadline, according to Jones. “When you look at the teams we have to beat, we need to get longer, more athletic, and we need to increase our shooting. And I think with Jeff we did all three of those things. … I thought of all the things that were offered, he was the best available for us.”
- The Hawks were among a group of interested teams otherwise composed of the Spurs, Thunder and Mavericks that fell short to the Warriors in the competition for Anderson Varejao, his agency says, according to Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group (on Twitter). The Relativity Sports client is reportedly poised to sign with Golden State, which already released Jason Thompson to clear a roster spot.
- The Clippers decided to sign power forward Alex Stepheson to a 10-day contract when the market didn’t bear a defensive guard, Rivers said, according to Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times.
- Branden Dawson, last year’s 56th overall pick, is headed to the D-League affiliate of the Magic on assignment from the Clippers, as the Clippers announced via press release. It’s the fourth time Dawson has gone to the D-League, and the Grand Rapids Drive are the third D-League team to have taken him in. The Clips are without their own affiliate.
- Kings affiliate player Vince Hunter left Sacramento’s D-League team to sign with Panathinaikos of Greece, the European club announced (Twitter link; translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). The Kings affiliate received a $45K buyout as part of the move, according to international journalist David Pick (on Twitter).