Timofey Mozgov Suffers Groin Injury
With training camp a little more than a month away, one of the Lakers’ free agency additions has an injury that will force him to miss at least two international games, according to the team’s website. Russian center Timofey Mozgov, who received $64MM over four seasons to come to L.A., injured his groin Friday in a game against Ukraine.
Mozgov had an MRI today and will be held out of Russia’s next two games in a tournament in Tbilisi, Georgia, relays Lakers spokesman John Black. Mozgov will be re-evaluated in a few days, probably around mid-week. It is not known yet if the injury is something that will linger into training camp or the preseason.
The 30-year-old Mozgov is entering his seventh year in the NBA, and the Lakers are counting on him to provide stabillity at center. He appeared in 76 games for the Cavaliers last season, averaging 6.3 points and 4.4 rebounds per night.
Heat Notes: Bosh, Stoudemire, Stokes
It’s unlikely the Heat will use the stretch provision on Chris Bosh this year, writes Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. Teams face an August 31st deadline to trigger that option for the 2016/17 season, and Miami officials don’t appear ready to commit to such a move. The stretch provision is a relatively new rule that allows teams to ease the burden of an unwanted contract by waiving the player and stretching his cap hit for double the number of years left on his deal, plus one. Bosh has three years remaining at $75,868,170, so the Heat could choose to pay him $10,838,750 each year through 2022/23.
One consequence of using the stretch provision is it erases the possibility of a medical retirement, which could happen if an independent doctor rules that Bosh, whose past two seasons have been cut short by blood clots, cannot continue playing in the NBA. That must occur at least one year after a player’s final game, which in Bosh’s case was February 9th, 2016, and would take the entire remaining contract off the Heat’s cap.
There’s more news out of Miami:
- Bosh continues to send positive messages to teammates about resuming his career, Winderman notes in the same story. If the Heat decide to use the stretch provision on Bosh, he could immediately sign with any other team, most likely one with fewer objections than Miami about letting him play again.
- Amar’e Stoudemire would have preferred more time in the NBA before joining the Israeli team that he co-owns, Winderman adds in the same piece. Stoudemire appeared in 52 games for the Heat last year and became a regular starter by the end of the season. “I started 37, 38 of the last 40 [regular-season] games,” he said at a press conference in Jerusalem. “My stats were pretty good. But teams want to go younger and have a different mindset about basketball.”
- Jarnell Stokes, who appeared in five games for Miami last season, hired Priority Sports as his new agent and turned down offers in excess of $500K to play in Europe, tweets international basketball writer David Pick. The 6’9″ center/power forward was acquired in a trade with Memphis last November, but spent most of the season in the D-League, where he earned MVP honors. Miami traded him to New Orleans in February, and the Pelicans promptly released him. The Lokomotiv Kuban franchise in Russia is among the teams interested in signing Stokes, according to Sportando.
Ricky Ledo Will Play In Turkey
Former Mavericks and Knicks shooting guard Ricky Ledo, who spent last season in the D-League, will play in Turkey next season, according to Orazio Cauchi of Sportando. The announcement that he will join the Yesilgiresun franchise was made on social media this morning by Ledo’s agent, Misko Raznatovic (Twitter link).
The 23-year-old was waived by New York in July of 2015 and was picked up by the Reno Bighorns, Sacramento’s D-League affiliate. Ledo, who averaged 21.2 points per game, was a late addition to last season’s D-League All-Star Game. After the season ended, Ledo signed with Santeros de Aguada in Puerto Rico, where he spent two months before being waived.
Ledo was taken by the Bucks with the 43rd pick in the 2013 draft, but was traded to the Sixers and later the Mavericks. He played just 16 NBA games in nearly two seasons with Dallas, making frequent trips back and forth to the D-League. After the Mavericks waived him in February of 2015, he signed two 10-day contracts with the Knicks before inking a deal for the rest of the season. Ledo averaged 7.4 points in 12 games with New York.
Devyn Marble To Play In Greece
It has been an eventful summer so far for Devyn Marble, who has been involved in a handful transactions in the NBA and now overseas. According to international basketball reporter David Pick (Twitter link), Marble’s agent has confirmed that his client will head to Greece to join Aris Thessaloniki for the coming season.
A second-round pick in 2014, Marble was traded from the Nuggets to Orlando shortly after the ’14 draft. He spent two years with the Magic, but appeared in just 44 games, including 28 this past season. The former Iowa Hawkeye was sent to the Clippers last month in a deal for C.J. Wilcox, just before his 2016/17 salary became guaranteed. The Clips subsequently waived him, making him a free agent.
By signing with Aris Thessaloniki, Marble will join a team that last season featured American players such as former Marquette guard Jerel McNeal and former Florida State forward Okaro White. White has since signed with the Heat on a partially guaranteed contraact.
Eastern Notes: Gay, Ellington, Walker, Karasev
The Heat are among the preferred destinations for Kings small forward Rudy Gay, writes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Gay, who can opt out of his current deal next summer, denies asking Sacramento to trade him, but he made comments last month that show a clear unhappiness with the direction the team is taking. While it’s understandable why he might prefer Miami, the Heat are low on tradable assets after a flurry of moves this summer. The free agents the team added this summer are not eligible to be traded until December 15th.
There’s more news from the Eastern Conference:
- The Heat’s signing of Dion Waiters may push Wayne Ellington to the back of the rotation, Jackson writes in the same story. Ellington had a shot to start at shooting guard before the move, but now may be fighting for playing time in a crowded backcourt with Goran Dragic, Josh Richardson and Tyler Johnson. Ellington could see minutes at small forward if Chris Bosh remains sidelined with health problems and Justise Winslow is needed at power forward.
- Kemba Walker is optimistic about the new-look Hornets, but he hated to see Al Jefferson, Courtney Lee and Jeremy Lin leave in free agency, relays Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. “But that’s the business: You’re always going to play with some new guys every year,” Walker said. “You think about Big Al, who I wish we could have kept. He helped change this franchise around big time from the day he got here.” Charlotte tried to replace them by adding Ramon Sessions, Marco Belinelli and Roy Hibbert.
- Sergey Karasev will play in Russia next season, but he hasn’t ruled out the NBA, according to Eurohoops. Karasev, who spent the past two seasons with the Nets, says first he hopes to prove that he can lead a team. “Ι want to be one of the key persons in a team, not just go in for 10 minutes,” he said. “I hope that Zenit [in St. Petersburg] will be successful in VTB League and then it will be possible for me to go back to the NBA.”
Western Notes: Barnes, Bogut, Clippers
Harrison Barnes is competing in his first Olympics, but he had plenty of offseason excitement before the Summer Games started, writes Joe Rexrode of The Des Moines Register. After being a key part of a Warriors team that set a league record with 73 wins in a season, Barnes found himself cut free when Golden State needed his cap room to sign Kevin Durant. Barnes wound up inking a four-year $94MM deal with the Mavericks, who plan to make him one of the focal points of their offense. “I think Harrison wants an opportunity to go to a team and be the guy,” said fellow Team USA member and former Warriors teammate Draymond Green, “and he has that opportunity, which I’m not mad at him about. He already has a championship, and that’s what he’ll be remembered as. He’s a champion, and no one can ever take that away.”
There’s more from the Western Conference:
- The Mavericks didn’t try to stop newly acquired center Andrew Bogut from playing in the Olympics, according to Kareem Copeland of The Associated Press. Bogut, who came to Dallas in a trade last month, is still recovering from a hyperextended knee he suffered in Game 5 of the NBA Finals. At age 31, Bogut believes this is his last shot at the Olympics and he feared the Mavericks might ask him to sit out and rest the knee, but he said the team approved as long as he was healthy. “I was like, I don’t want it to end that way where I’m just sitting at home with ice on my knee if I can give it a crack,” Bogut said after leading Australia past France today. “I didn’t want it taken away that easily. I said I’ll give it a crack up until this day. If it wasn’t right yesterday, I’d put my hand up and I’m on a flight back home.”
- The Clippers became hard-capped over the summer, but were able to rebuild their bench by adding several veterans on team-friendly contracts, writes Bobby Marks of The Vertical. In his offseason review, Marks notes that Marreese Speights, Raymond Felton, Alan Anderson and Brandon Bass all signed with L.A. for the minimum, allowing the Clippers to add depth at an affordable price. The team is currently $1.4MM above the luxury tax with 15 guaranteed contracts and will face a repeater tax if doesn’t drop below the threshold by the season’s end.
Free Agent Notes: Gordon, T. Robinson, Spurs
Veteran guard Ben Gordon, who will suit up for Great Britain during the Eurobasket qualifiers in the coming weeks, tells Ian Begley of ESPN.com that he’s still looking for an opportunity to return to the NBA.
“I would definitely love to get back in the league after being out for a year,” Gordon said. “Just watching the way the game is being played, up and down. Obviously, the 3-point shot is always a big deal but it seems like just now, more than ever, that shot is being used more and more. So I feel like I can still play at a high level and shoot that 3-ball and add that kind of depth to a team that may be looking to fulfill that need. So yeah, I definitely have hopes of making a return with an NBA team or just playing period, wherever that may be.”
Here are a few more free agency notes and rumors from around the basketball world:
- According to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link), the Spurs have been the “most vocal” team when it comes to showing interest in free agent power forward Thomas Robinson. A former fifth overall pick, Robinson spoke to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders about the strides he feels he has made on and off the court since entering the league in 2012.
- The Rockets made Andrew Goudelock a free agent last month by waiving him before his 2016/17 salary became guaranteed, and the veteran point guard has since found a new home. According to international basketball journalist David Pick (Twitter link), Goudelock has agreed to a $1.2MM deal with Israeli team Maccabi Tel Aviv. Emiliano Carchia of Sportando had passed along a report on the agreement between the two sides earlier today. Meanwhile, Pick tweets that Goudelock turned down a slightly larger offer from Turkish team Galatasaray.
- LeBron James remains the top player who technically remains unsigned, but his free agency is such a non-story that Lee Jenkins’ latest piece on SI.com about the Finals MVP barely mentions it, with Jenkins noting that signing a new contract with the Cavaliers is merely a “formality.” Still, Jenkins’ story on LeBron is worth reading in full.
Jimmer Fredette To Play In China
6:21pm: Fredette’s deal is for one year and will pay him in excess of $1MM, Ian Begley of ESPN.com tweets.
2:20pm: Five years after being selected 10th overall in the 2011 draft, Jimmer Fredette appears set to take his talents overseas. According to international basketball journalist David Pick (Twitter link), Fredette has agreed to sign with the Shanghai Sharks, the Chinese team owned by former NBA star Yao Ming.
While Fredette’s deal with the Sharks is not yet official, it doesn’t come at a surprise that he has decided to explore international opportunities. After averaging 18.6 minutes per game in his rookie season with the Kings in 2011/12, Fredette has seen his playing time steadily decline since then, as he bounced around from Sacramento to Chicago to New Orleans to New York.
Last season, the former BYU star appeared in just six total games for the Pelicans and Knicks, playing a total of 18 minutes. By heading overseas, Fredette will have a chance to take on a more significant role for a club, rather than battling for a back-end roster spot with an NBA team.
In 235 career NBA games, Fredette has averaged 6.0 PPG and 1.4 APG, shooting a respectable 38.1% on three-point attempts.
Amar’e Stoudemire To Play In Israel
AUGUST 1, 8:50am: Stoudemire has officially signed a two-year deal with Hapoel Jerusalem, according to Pick (Twitter link). “I’m looking forward to help the team compete for titles,” Stoudemire said.
JULY 31, 10:01am: Amar’e Stoudemire, who announced his retirement on Tuesday, has signed to play in Israel next season, tweets international basketball writer David Pick. Stoudemire officially ended his NBA career at age 33 by signing a ceremonial contract with the Knicks, but he isn’t ready to give up the game completely.
Stoudemire will play for Hapoel Jerusalem, a team he partially owns along with several other investors. Pick notes that he will become the most famous former NBA star ever to play in Israel.
Stoudemire spent 14 years in the NBA, playing for the Suns, Knicks, Mavericks and Heat. He appeared in 52 games for Miami last season, starting 36, and averaged 5.8 points and 4.3 rebounds in nearly 15 minutes per night.
Stoudemire’s links to Israel are based in his embrace of Judaism. When he joined the Heat in 2015, he told Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel that he considers himself “culturally Jewish” and was planning to obtain Israeli citizenship.
“When I traveled to Israel for the first time, the world took hold of that and [the media] made it a big deal, and … it just kind of blew up from there,” he said. “But I was always this way, even when I was in Phoenix or even in high school here in Florida. But it just happened to become more visible when I traveled to Israel.”
Southwest Notes: Bogut, Simmons, Hield, Nowitzki
New Mavericks center Andrew Bogut was back on the court today for the first time since hurting his left knee in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, reports ESPN.com. Bogut played nine minutes for the Australian National Team in an Oympic tune-up against China. He wore a brace on his knee as he registered three rebounds and an assist. “I think his first game back from an injury is always difficult,” said Australian assistant coach Luc Longley. “We’re fairly happy with how he moved, how he looked on the court and will build from that.”
There’s more news from the Southwest Division:
- Jonathon Simmons‘ contract with the Spurs is now fully guaranteed for next season, relays Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. The second-year shooting guard will make $847,636 after the guarantee deadline passed Saturday.
- The Pelicans expect first-round pick Buddy Hield to have ups and downs during his rookie season, writes Ian Thomsen of NBA.com. Hield struggled with his shot in his first summer league experience, connecting on just 33% from the field and 23% from 3-point range. New Orleans is counting on Hield to replace Eric Gordon, who signed with the Rockets in free agency. “With him it’s never going to be about effort,” said Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry. “It’s just going to be about the experience of learning, and if that’s all you’ve got to worry about then I think he’s going to be a very good player. It’s going to be a roller coaster season for him. He’s going to have some 30-point games, he’s also going to have some 3-for-15 games. That’s all a part of learning as a rookie. But you tell me a rookie that’s come in this league that hasn’t done that.”
- After years of being paid below his market value, the Mavericks‘ Dirk Nowitzki deserves the two-year, $50MM deal he signed this summer, contends Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com. Nowitzki said he took less in previous years to help Dallas assemble the best possible team and noted that the Mavericks were able to trade for Tyson Chandler and sign Chandler Parsons because of it.