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Clippers Notes: Rivers, Stephenson, Smith

September 30th, 2015 at 1:39pm CST by Chuck Myron

The specter of the Donald Sterling saga hurt the Clippers in free agency last summer, Doc Rivers says, but after this past offseason, one in which Rivers had owner Steve Ballmer behind him, the onus is on Rivers the coach to deliver on what Rivers the executive set up, writes Helene Elliott of the Los Angeles Times.

“The first summer was tough. We didn’t have an owner in place. Recruiting was near-impossible,” Rivers said. “You go in and talk to free agents and their agent would say, ‘Well, we don’t even know who’s going to own your team. Why would we commit to you guys?’ That was a hard summer for us.”

Ballmer’s riches didn’t play too much of a role this year, since Paul Pierce taxpayer’s mid-level exception deal was the only outside signing for more than the minimum that salary cap rules allowed the Clippers to make, but Rivers also made noise via trade, as we examine more closely amid the latest on the Clips:

Rivers still held out hope that his Spencer Hawes signing from 2014 would pan out and didn’t want to mess with his team’s strong play at the time when he passed on a deal that would have brought in Lance Stephenson midway through last season, according to Dan Woike of the Orange County Register. Rivers ultimately traded Hawes in this summer’s deal for Stephenson.
Clippers offseason signee Josh Smith is enthusiastic about what Stephenson can do for the team, calling him a “walking triple-double” who was simply misplaced in Charlotte, as Woike notes in the same piece. “I think it was the wrong fit,” Smith said of Stephenson on the Hornets. “It’s all about a player being comfortable and happy in a situation. Me in Detroit, it was kind of a similar situation. I think he looks at this as a breath of fresh air.”
The Clippers were the first team to contact Smith in free agency this summer, and that helped impress upon him that the Clippers wanted him more than the Rockets, who also made an offer, Smith said, according to Rowan Kavner of Clippers.com. Persistence from GM Dave Wohl also paid dividends, according to Rivers. “I give Dave credit,” Rivers said. “He didn’t stop. He called every single day, like 21 days in a row. He kept calling, and Josh called Dave and said, ‘I’m coming.’ Then Dave called me. That’s how we got the news. I just think the opportunity, he looked at our team and what we had, and I think that’s what sold him.”

Southwest Notes: Matthews, Jones, West

September 29th, 2015 at 10:28pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Mavs coach Rick Carlisle has already reportedly ruled out Wesley Matthews for the team’s opener, but the swingman has designs on proving his new coach wrong, Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com writes. “I’m trying to be ready by opening day,” Matthews said. “Whether I can play in it or not, I can’t really control that. But my goal is to [be] ready and available opening day.”

Matthews doesn’t think it relevant to compare how long it has taken other players who have had similar injuries to his own to recover, MacMahon adds. “I don’t really pay too much attention to that because if I paid attention to people that were in my situation before me, then I wouldn’t be up here standing and talking to you guys,” Matthews said, “because I can’t think of too many undrafted free agents that have done what I’ve done.”

Here’s more from the Southwest Division:

Rockets forward Terrence Jones enters the 2015/16 season with a different, more mature outlook, Jenny Dial Creech of The Houston Chronicle writes. “I felt like I really needed to grow as a person,” Jones said. “I think I am a lot more mature this year.” Jones is eligible to ink a contract extension with Houston prior to the deadline on November 2nd.
David West said that the Spurs‘ signing of LaMarcus Aldridge was the deciding factor for him to join the team as an unrestricted free agent this summer, Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express News tweets.
Despite concerns regarding his agility and foot speed, the Spurs‘ signing of center Boban Marjanovic is exactly what the team needed to help offset the free agent losses of Aron Baynes and Tiago Splitter, writes Dan McCarney of The San Antonio Express-News. McCarney notes that Marjanovic’s ample size (7’3″), as well as his inexpensive contract, make the 27-year-old a wise pickup.
Pelicans star big man Anthony Davis is hoping that the additional 15 pounds of muscle he added from working out over the summer will make him an even more dominant player, Brett Martel of The Associated Press relays. “I feel great right now. Even just working out, I feel explosive. I feel quick,” Davis said. “When you start actually going against people and all that, it’s a lot different. So I’m going to see how it is during training camp and preseason and go from there.“
Despite the expectations that arrived in San Antonio along with him, Aldridge is doing his best to fit in and adapt to the way the Spurs organization handles its business, Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News writes. “It’s never been about one guy here,” said Aldridge. “It’s always been about the team. So it’s not about me.”
After missing the end of the 2014/15 regular season and the playoffs, Rockets guard Patrick Beverley is itching to get back on the court, Creech writes in a separate piece. “Six months, nine days,” Beverley said. “That’s the longest I have ever been out and away from basketball. Injuries aren’t something you can control, but I am ready to get back, ready to play and get this thing started.”

Southwest Rumors: Parsons, Lawson, Spurs

September 28th, 2015 at 8:12pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Mavericks small forward Chandler Parsons had a “minor hybrid” microfracture operation on his right knee, sources told Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com. Parsons confirmed the procedure during the team’s media day session on Monday, MacMahon tweets. Parsons has not been fully cleared for the beginning of training camp but coach Rick Carlisle said he might be ready for the opener, Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News tweets. Wesley Matthews, who is recovering from a torn Achilles tendon, might be ready by Christmas, Townsend reported in the same tweet. Matthews has already been ruled out for the opener by Carlisle, MacMahon adds (Twitter link).

In other news around the Southwest Division:

Ty Lawson knows this season with the Rockets will be a pivotal one in his career, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle tweets. Lawson was dealt by the Nuggets after he was arrested twice on DUI charges this year. “This is like a turning point. What kind of career are you going to have?” Lawson told Feigen.
New Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry plans to install an up-tempo offense focused on spacing, ball movement and quick-strike scoring, John Reid of NOLA.com reports. Gentry believes he has the personnel to play that style, Reid adds. ”I think it’s going to be an exciting brand of basketball,” Gentry told Reid. “We’re going to try and get the ball up and down the floor.”
Tim Duncan doubted that the Spurs would land free agent prize and power forward LaMarcus Aldridge, Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News tweets. “Honestly, I was betting against us … right up to the end,” Duncan told McDonald.
Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich admitted the team needed to trade center Tiago Splitter to create financial flexibility, according to Jabari Young of the San Antonio Express-News (Twitter link). Splitter, who has two year and $17.35MM remaining on his contract, was shipped to the Hawks in July. “We knew if we wanted to change the team and add talent, [trading Tiago] was something we had to do,” Popovich said during the team’s media day.

Southwest Notes: Rockets, Motiejunas, Spurs, Mavs

September 27th, 2015 at 11:01am CST by Arthur Hill

Daryl Morey, who has established a reputation for big deals during his eight years as Rockets GM, sounds content with his current roster, writes Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Morey picked up another star over the summer, sending four players to the Nuggets in exchange for Ty Lawson. The GM compares the Rockets’ current situation to that of the champion Warriors last offseason when they kept their roster mostly intact and added a point guard in Shaun Livingston. “This is the first time I feel like, without any changes, we’re good enough to win it,” Morey said.

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

Extension candidate Donatas Motiejunas will not be ready for the start of training camp, and his status for the start of the season is uncertain, Feigen reports in the same story. The Lithuanian forward missed the end of last season after undergoing back surgery. Dwight Howard, who had a problem with fluid in his knee last season, will be ready for camp but will be rested at times during the year. Howard can opt out of his current deal and become a free agent next summer.
The addition of LaMarcus Aldridge and David West will require Gregg Popovich’s third major revision of how the Spurs play, according to Buck Harvey of The Express-News. Recent San Antonio teams have embraced the modern philosophy that emphasizes three-pointers and layups, but Harvey contends the team will have to adapt because of the effective midrange game possessed by both Aldridge and West.
Wesley Matthews was the Mavericks‘ best offseason addition, according to Cody Taylor of Basketball Insiders. Taylor notes that the max deal given to Matthews is somewhat of a gamble because of concerns over his Achilles rupture, but argues that when healthy he is one of the NBA’s best two-way guards. The contributors to the site’s season preview agree that Dallas lost a major asset when DeAndre Jordan backed out of his free agent commitment.

Rockets To Sign Jeremy Tyler

September 25th, 2015 at 6:36pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Rockets have agreed to a deal with unrestricted free agent power forward Jeremy Tyler, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports reports (Twitter link). The length and terms of the pact are unknown, though Wojnarowski does refer to it as a training camp deal, meaning it likely is for the minimum salary and includes little or no guaranteed money. The addition of Tyler gives Houston a roster count of 19 players, including 14 with fully guaranteed deals.

The 24-year-old’s last NBA regular season action came during the 2013/14 campaign when he played in 41 contests for the Knicks, averaging 3.6 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 0.5 blocks in 9.7 minutes per outing. The Lakers signed him for the preseason last fall, waiving him shortly before opening night. His career numbers through 104 regular season games are 3.6 PPG, 2.6 RPG, and 0.4 BPG to accompany a slash line of .450/.000/.557. Tyler was the No. 39 overall pick back in 2011.

Tyler played for the Mavericks’ entry in the Las Vegas Summer League this year, notching averages of 11.8 PPG, 8.3 RPG, and 1.8 SPG in six contests. He reportedly worked out for the Lakers back in August, but no deal was struck.

Wizards Officially Sign Five For Camp

September 25th, 2015 at 2:13pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Wizards have officially signed Josh Harrellson, Jaron Johnson, Toure’ Murry, Jaleel Roberts and Ish Smith, the team announced. All five moves were expected, and none of them have any guaranteed salary, according to reports. The Wizards already have 15 fully guaranteed deals, so it would be tough for today’s camp additions to stick for opening night. All except Johnson are known to be on one-year contracts for the minimum, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders, though it would be surprising if Johnson signed for terms that were any different.

Harrellson, a three-year veteran big man, is returning to the NBA after sitting out last season as he recovered from back surgery. Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports first reported the deal with the 26-year-old.

Charania also revealed that Johnson, a 23-year-old shooting guard, would attend Wizards camp. Johnson spent last season with the D-League affiliate of the Rockets after going undrafted out of Louisiana Tech in 2014.

The Wizards are familiar with Murry from his time on a pair of 10-day contracts with the team last season. J. Michael of CSN Mid-Atlantic reported the deal between the Wizards and the 25-year-old combo guard.

Roberts is poised to celebrate his 23rd birthday next month in Wizards camp. Charania reported that the center who went undrafted out of UNC-Asheville this year would head to Washington.

Four teams had Smith at one point or another in 2014/15, and though he had a strong finishing kick with the Sixers, the 27-year-old point guard will have to fight to stay on the roster in Washington. Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post reported Smith’s deal with the Wizards.

Which Wizards camp invitee has the greatest potential to surprise and remain on the roster for the start of the regular season? Leave a comment to tell us.

Wizards To Sign Jaron Johnson For Camp

September 24th, 2015 at 1:11pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Wizards and 23-year-old shooting guard Jaron Johnson have agreed to a non-guaranteed deal for training camp, reports Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). Johnson went undrafted out of Louisiana Tech in 2014 and spent last season with the D-League affiliate of the Rockets. Houston also had Johnson on its summer league team this year. Washington already has 15 fully guaranteed contracts plus four additional pacts for camp, so presumably Johnson will round out the team’s training camp roster.

Johnson averaged more minutes per game in the D-League this past season than he did in his final collegiate year, as he put up 15.1 points and 4.5 rebounds with 37.2% three-point shooting in 29.9 MPG for the D-League Rio Grande Valley Vipers. He didn’t shoot as well across the small sample size of five summer league contests, but he was nonetheless a more efficient per-minute scorer than he had been in college.

The Wizards reportedly have two other guards, Ish Smith and Toure’ Murry, on camp deals, along with big men Josh Harrellson and Jaleel Roberts. Washington is without a D-League affiliate, so Johnson wouldn’t have a way to stay in the team’s system if the Wizards cut him at the end of the preseason, which seems likely.

Rockets Sign Joshua Smith

September 21st, 2015 at 6:16pm CST by Eddie Scarito

MONDAY, 6:16pm: The Rockets have formally announced the signing on Twitter.

FRIDAY, 7:14pm: The signing is official, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets. The deal is a one-year, minimum salary arrangement that includes no guaranteed money, Pincus adds.

THURSDAY, 4:45pm: The Rockets and unrestricted free agent center Joshua Smith have reached an agreement on a contract, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel reports (via Twitter). The length and terms of the agreement are not yet known, though it is most likely a minimum salary training camp deal. The Heat also reportedly expressed interest in the big man.

Smith, 23, finished his NCAA career at Georgetown this spring after spending his first two seasons at UCLA, and he appeared in 33 games as a senior, averaging 10.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in 20.5 minutes per night. His career collegiate numbers overall were 10.4 PPG, 5.3 RPG, and 0.7 assists, and his career slash line was .591/.000/.613. Smith played summer league ball for the Heat this offseason, appearing in nine contests, where he averaged 5.0 PPG and 4.0 RPG.

The addition of Smith will give the Rockets a roster count of 19 players, including 14 with fully guaranteed pacts. However, Houston is a bit thin at the pivot as far as depth goes, which could give Smith a chance to make the regular season roster with a strong preseason showing.

Rockets Sign Cummings, Livingston, Walker

September 21st, 2015 at 6:15pm CST by Chuck Myron

SEPTEMBER 21ST, 6:15pm: The Rockets formally announced the signings of Cummings, Livingston and Walker (Twitter link). Houston waived Yusuf on Friday without ever formally recognizing his signing.

SEPTEMBER 9TH, 6:59pm: Walker has officially been signed, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reports (Twitter link).

SEPTEMBER 5TH, 8:10am: Cummings and Livingston have signed contracts with the Rockets, according to the RealGM.com transactions log.

12:09pm: The signing of Yusuf has taken place, and it’s a non-guaranteed contract worth the rookie minimum salary, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). That means it wouldn’t count against the hard cap the Rockets would impose upon themselves if they signed No. 32 pick Montrezl Harrell for more than the minimum or for longer than two years, as I explained earlier.

11:24am: Feigen has corrected his earlier report, omitting Wood’s name from his revised list (Twitter links). Wood’s status with the Rockets thus appears unclear.

SEPTEMBER 3RD, 11:00am: The Rockets are close to signing Denzel Livingston, Will Cummings, Christian Wood, Remi Yusuf and Chris Walker for training camp, a source tells Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). A deal with Wood, who went undrafted out of UNLV this year, has apparently been in place since June Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports reported that the Rockets had agreed to sign him, but the other four names appear to be new additions for Houston.

Livingston, a 6’4″ combo guard who played his college ball at Incarnate Word, also went undrafted this year. He saw a smidgen of playing time with Houston’s summer league squad, averaging 2.0 points in 7.5 minutes per contest across three appearances. Cummings, a point guard from Temple, was another college senior passed up in the draft this June. He saw more extensive time for the Rockets in summer league, compiling 10.0 PPG in 22.8 MPG, though his 3.3 assists against 2.8 turnovers per game isn’t an encouraging ratio.

Walker, a once-heralded prospect whose stock plummeted at Florida, put up 4.2 PPG in 8.8 MPG for the summer Rockets. The forward/center declared for this year’s draft after his sophomore season with the Gators. Yusuf is a somewhat more surprising addition, since he didn’t play NBA summer league ball. The guard, a native of Nigeria, played at Texas A&M-Kingsville before going undrafted in 2006, and he spent time last season playing with SKP Banska Bystrica in Slovakia.

Rockets Sign Montrezl Harrell To Three-Year Deal

September 19th, 2015 at 11:19am CST by Chuck Myron

SATURDAY, 11:19am: The Rockets have formally announced the signing (on Twitter).

2:35pm: Rockets GM Daryl Morey took to Twitter to welcome Harrell to the Rockets, so presumably that means he’s signed.

FRIDAY, 9:46am: The Rockets will sign Harrell to a contract worth $3.1MM over three years today, a source tells Feigen (Twitter link). It’ll include no option years or non-guaranteed salary, Feigen also hears. Still unclear is what Harrell will make this coming season, a figure that will determine how much the Rockets have left beneath their hard cap.

WEDNESDAY, 7:37am: Harrell is close to signing, but the sides are still hammering out some details, in spite of what McHale said, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). They do have agreement on the main parts of the deal, Feigen adds.

10:45pm: Rockets coach Kevin McHale said Harrell has signed with the team, Mark Berman of Fox 26 tweets.

11:45am: The sides have reached an agreement in principle, sources tell Spears (Twitter link).

TUESDAY, 11:02am: The Rockets and No. 32 overall pick Montrezl Harrell are finalizing a three-year deal, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). The three-year length means the team is using its mid-level exception and will be hard-capped, as I explained in detail earlier. Houston won’t be able to carry a payroll of more than $88.74MM at any point this season once the deal with the Rich Paul client becomes official. The team already has $86,180,389 in guaranteed salary, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders. It’s not immediately clear how much more the deal for Harrell will add to the total, but regardless, the Rockets won’t have much breathing room beneath the hard cap.

No. 31 pick Cedi Osman, the top pick of the second round, is unsigned, while No. 33 pick Jordan Mickey will receive a guarantee of nearly $1.171MM this season in the first year of the four-year contract he signed with the Celtics. No. 30 pick Kevon Looney will make a guaranteed $1,131,960 this season, though his salary was determined by the rookie scale that applies to first-rounders but not second-rounders. So, it would seem that Harrell is in range for a salary of around $1.1MM to $1.2MM, leaving as little as about $1.36MM beneath that hard cap for the Rockets.

Negotiations between the Rockets and Harrell’s camp have largely been quiet, with a late-August dispatch from Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com indicating the sides were talking the only substantive update since the draft in June. Still, it seemed the Rockets were doing what they could to clear the decks for a Harrell signing, breaking off their deal with Chuck Hayes, who later signed with the Clippers, and apparently also having undone their agreement to sign undrafted power forward Christian Wood, who inked with the Sixers instead. Both Hayes and Wood were to receive partial guarantees from the Rockets that would have counted against a hard cap.

Houston could have signed Harrell using the minimum salary exception and avoided the hard cap, but that would have entailed a salary of just $525,093 this season, one that Harrell and Paul were unlikely to have accepted, unless it came in the form of a one-year deal. The Rockets had to make a tender of a non-guaranteed one-year contract for the minimum salary by September 5th, and while signing that would have meant a short-term financial sacrifice for Harrell, he would have hit restricted free agency next summer just as K.J. McDaniels, last year’s No. 32 overall pick, did this year. McDaniels wound up re-signing with the Rockets on a deal worth $10MM over three years, the sort of price Houston probably wants to avoid paying to keep Harrell.

The Rockets instead appear to have averted that scenario at the cost of flexibility for this season. Harrell will presumably become the team’s 14th player with a fully guaranteed deal. Four others are on non-guaranteed deals, as our roster count shows, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see Houston elect not to carry 15 players for opening night, given the team’s financial squeeze. Teams can have between 13 and 15 players during the regular season.

Do you think the Rockets made the right decision to control Harrell for three years and hard cap themselves for this season? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.