Clippers Re-Sign Dahntay Jones
SATURDAY, 2:35pm: The Clippers have signed Jones to a second 10-day contract, the team has announced.
FRIDAY, 8:26am: The Clippers will re-sign Dahntay Jones to another 10-day contract after his first one expires at the end of today, coach/executive Doc Rivers told reporters last night, including Dan Woike of the Orange County Register and Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter links). It’s the last 10-day contract the Mark Bartelstein client is eligible to sign this year with the Clippers, who must decide whether to keep him for the rest of the season or leave him in free agency once the deal is up.
The 11th-year veteran has seen his first regular season NBA action since the 2012/13 season while on his initial 10-day contract with the Clips, though the swingman’s playing time has been sparce. He’s scored four points in 23 minutes total across four appearances, but it seems the Clippers are content to keep the 34-year-old around, with chemistry a key factor, as Jill Painter Lopez of Fox Sports West details. He was averaging 14.4 points in 29.3 minutes per game for the D-League Fort Wayne Mad Ants this season after the Jazz cut him prior to opening night.
Jones occupies the 13th spot on the Clippers roster. Teams can drop down to 12 players for two weeks at a time, but they’re otherwise obligated to carry at least 13 men. Jordan Farmar‘s buyout left the Clippers a little more than $1.638MM shy of their hard cap, enough to sign multiple players to prorated minimum-salary contracts that cover the rest of the season. However, Rivers has said he expects to sign a pair of veterans next month, so it appears he’d like to maintain flexibility for the time being. Whether or not that means Jones will stick around once his second 10-day contract is up remains to be seen.
Pacific Notes: Bryant, Suns, Farmar
The results of an MRI exam performed earlier today showed that Lakers icon Kobe Bryant has suffered a torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder, the team has announced. Bryant will return to Los Angeles to be examined by team doctors on Friday, and an update will be given on his condition at that time. This marks the third season in a row that Bryant has suffered a significant injury.
Here’s more from the Pacific Division:
- Bryant didn’t appear too worried about his latest malady after Wednesday night’s game, the contest during which the injury had occurred, Baxter Holmes of ESPNLosAngeles.com writes. “I’ve played on a torn labrum before,” Bryant said. “I’m not too concerned about it.” Prior to receiving the MRI results, coach Byron Scott had stated that Bryant could potentially continue to play this season in spot duty and on a minutes limit, Holmes notes.
- The Suns have assigned Tyler Ennis and T.J. Warren to the Bakersfield Jam, their D-League affiliate, the team has announced. This will be the third trek to the D-League of the season for both players.
- Jordan Farmar relinquished $949,998 in his buyout deal with the Clippers, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). He’ll draw nearly $1.765MM of his $2.077MM salary this season, and the rest of his buyout fee is deducted from the more than $2.17MM he would have made if he’d exercised his player option for next season. The team used the stretch provision on Farmar’s remaining salary for next season, so it’ll be spread in equal amounts of about $511K each season from 2015/16 through 2017/18, as Pincus shows on the Basketball Insiders salary page for the Clips.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Wizards Most Aggressive Suitor For Ray Allen
The Wizards are making numerous calls on Ray Allen and they’ve been pushing the hardest to sign the 39-year-old free agent, reports Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter links). Allen is still unsure of what he’ll do this season, in spite of his hints earlier this week that he intends to return to the NBA, and while he’s working out at his home in Miami, he’s also enjoying time with his family, Kennedy cautions (on Twitter).
Washington has planned to keep up its pursuit until the Jim Tanner client gives the team a definite no, as J. Michael of CSNWashington.com wrote earlier this month. Michael described the team’s contact with Allen as “routine” and said that it was nonetheless a long shot that the sharpshooter would end up with the Wizards. Washington only has the prorated minimum salary to offer, and Allen has signaled a strong desire for more than that, but the Wizards do have an open roster spot.
LeBron James reportedly paid a recent visit to try to recruit Allen to the Cavs, who’ve seemingly been the front-runners to land him. Others from the Cavs organization have kept in contact with the league’s all-time leader in three-pointers made, too, as Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com wrote.
The Warriors appear to have ceased consideration of Allen, as Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group indicated overnight, but several other teams have been connected to Allen over the past several months. The Warriors were among the most recent teams to have been linked to him, a group that includes the Clippers and Grizzlies, and the Bulls and Spurs have reportedly been eyeing him, too.
Western Notes: Holiday, Aldridge, Goodwin
Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday is expected to miss two to four weeks of action after tests revealed that he has developed a stress reaction in his lower right leg, the team has announced. The injury is in the same leg that required surgery during the 2013/14 campaign. In 37 appearances this season, Holiday is averaging 15.2 points, 3.5 rebounds and 7.1 assists in 33.7 minutes per game.
Here’s more from the Western Conference:
- Josh Davis, who was in training camp this season with the Spurs, is leaving the D-League to sign a contract with the Meralco Bolts in the Philippines, Shams Charania of RealGM reports (Twitter link). Davis has appeared in 22 games for Austin, San Antonio’s D-League affiliate, averaging 13.8 points, 10.6 rebounds, and 2.1 assists in 34.0 minutes per contest.
- The Suns have informed inquiring teams that Archie Goodwin is a big part of the franchise’s future, Charania writes in a separate article. Goodwin’s comments about being frustrated with his playing time were taken out of context, according to his agent, Charles Briscoe, Charania notes. “Archie doesn’t want out of Phoenix,” Briscoe said. “His words have been twisted in a recent article: We’re willing to wait for Archie’s opportunity. Any player in the NBA wants to play immediately, but we understand that Phoenix is in a playoff push. If we have to wait for next year, we’re OK with that. We know he will get his opportunity, and he’ll be ready.”
- A number of league executives have brought up the possibility that LaMarcus Aldridge could sign with the Spurs this summer, something that Dan McCarney of The San Antonio Express-News thinks is highly unlikely to occur. Either Tim Duncan or Manu Ginobili would need to retire for San Antonio to free up enough cap space to sign Aldridge, and neither player is a safe bet to stop playing, McCarney notes.. Aldridge would also have to sacrifice roughly $30MM in salary to leave the Blazers, which is also improbable, McCarney adds.
- The Clippers have recalled C.J. Wilcox from the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the NBA D-League, the Mad Ants have announced. Wilcox has appeared in five games for Fort Wayne this season, averaging 13.2 points and 3.4 rebounds per contest.
Western Notes: Young, Clippers, Lin, Waiters
Nick Young wants to help the Lakers recruit marquee free agents this summer, but he was worried that there wouldn’t have been room for the club to re-sign him this past offseason if the Lakers had landed a star then, as he tells Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News.
“I didn’t know what was going to happen,” Young said. “I was nervous and scared. I wanted to be here, but I kept hearing all the Carmelo [Anthony] rumors and Kobe [Bryant] having dinner with Carmelo. I knew once they paid him all that money, there would be none for me.”
Young, who inked a four-year, $21.326MM deal with the Lakers in July, told Medina that the Pelicans, Mavs and Bulls also had interest in him, and agent Mark Bartelstein told Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com this summer that there had been contact with the Hawks. There’s more from L.A. amid the latest from the Western Conference:
- Clippers coach/executive Doc Rivers expects to use his pair of open roster spots on veterans next month, writes Arash Markazi of ESPN.com, suggesting that the team will again target the post-buyout market as it did last year.
- Dion Waiters, who’s up for a rookie scale extension this summer, says he “couldn’t ask for a better situation” than the one he finds himself in since the trade that sent him to the Thunder, as he tells The Oklahoman’s Darnell Mayberry. “They brought me in since Day One with love,” Waiters said of his new teammates. “It seems like I’ve been here forever. It seems like I’ve been playing with them forever, too. When I came here, we clicked right away.”
- Jeremy Lin has his moments for the Lakers, but he continues to struggle to live up to the backloaded three-year, $25.124MM deal he signed with the Rockets in 2012, much less his dazzling “Lin-sanity” run with the Knicks, as Bill Oram of the Orange County Register examines. Lin is set for free agency this summer.
Atlantic Notes: Knicks, Prince, Wroten
Despite the Knicks‘ playoff hopes being essentially non-existent at the halfway mark of the season, rookie coach Derek Fisher has no intention of allowing his team to tank for a shot at a higher lottery selection, Peter Botte of The New York Daily News writes. “I’ve only worked for one team in this capacity so I can’t get into what other teams may or may not feel,” Fisher said. “The only way I know how to approach a game is to try to win it every time. So I can’t read other people’s minds and what other organizations are trying to do. That’s not my job. You’re asking the wrong person about that. Maybe if you talk to them you can ask them. But there’s no interest in thinking about which pick we might get based on the way the ping pong [ball] bounces when we play Philadelphia Wednesday night.”
“There’s just no correlation in my mind,” Fisher continued. “Maybe some people see it differently. It’s the NBA. You always will get a chance to have good players. But will you have a foundation, a system, a way of playing that allows for the good players you have or the good players you eventually have in the future to be able to be successful?”
Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- Carmelo Anthony acknowledges that the Knicks‘ recent trades will mean tough times for the remainder of the season, but ‘Melo believes things will turn around for New York in the future, Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com writes.
- Celtics coach Brad Stevens called Tayshaun Prince a “good addition” to the team, and he hopes that the veteran will remain on the roster the rest of the season, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com writes. The Celtics are reportedly going to try to trade Prince or, failing that, discuss a buyout of his contract
- Tony Wroten will be out indefinitely with a sprained right knee, and the player will fly to California this week to consult a specialist about his injury, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports. The Sixers had reportedly discussed a potential deal with the Clippers for Wroten earlier this month, but with Los Angeles having recently acquired Austin Rivers, the chances of Wroten becoming a Clipper are likely nil this season. With Wroten having missed the last five contests, his trade value around the league will have taken a hit as well, though that is just my speculation.
Pacific Notes: Goodwin, Green, Jordan
Suns reserve shooting guard Archie Goodwin is frustrated with his lack of playing time amid Phoenix’s continued addition of guards, as he tells Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. Goodwin cautioned that he understands all the guys ahead of him on the team are talented players and that he wants to maintain a professional attitude. Still, the 20-year-old is putting up a strong performance while on D-League assignment, and he tells Deveney that he won’t tolerate a limited NBA role next season.
“I don’t know what they’re doing,” Goodwin said. “Honestly, I really don’t. I guess they know what they’re doing — I can just play ball and let them make the decisions. I don’t know what the purpose is for it, but there is nothing I can do about it.”
Indeed, there isn’t much recourse for Goodwin, since his rookie scale contract runs through 2016/17, but he’s not the only one dissatisfied in Phoenix, even as the Suns have won 13 out of their last 17. Here’s more from Phoenix and elsewhere in the Pacific Division:
- Gerald Green isn’t pleased with his decreased minutes this season for the Suns, as free agency looms in the summer, but there’s “no way” Phoenix will trade the swingman this year, sources tell Deveney for the same piece.
- J.J. Redick foresees a max contract for Clippers teammate DeAndre Jordan this summer, notes Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times. Jordan is No. 9 in the latest Hoops Rumors Free Agent Power Rankings.
- Shaun Livingston isn’t seeing nearly as much playing time with the Warriors this season as he did with the Nets last year, but the 29-year-old, who signed as a free agent with Golden State this past summer, prefers this year’s situation because it offers a legitimate chance at the title. Carl Steward of The Bay Area News Group has the details.
- Tony Mitchell, whom the Suns released to make room for Brandan Wright, is drawing offers from European teams, reports David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter link). Mitchell’s stay in Phoenix was brief, as he came over in last month’s Anthony Tolliver trade with the Pistons.
Pacific Notes: Rivers, Green, Lin, Boozer
The back-and-forth that preceded Doc Rivers‘ jump from the Celtics to the Clippers in 2013 was the product of a careful approach Rivers took to his Clippers contract, as Rivers tells Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald. The coach knew then-owner Donald Sterling had resisted paying guaranteed salary to coaches he’d fired in the past, as Bulpett details.
“That was the delay, the contract,” Rivers said. “People don’t realize it, but the deal could have been done three weeks before it happened. … It’s the longest written contract in coaching history. Five different lawyers had to look at it. Even my lawyer sent it to another lawyer. That tells you the hesitation in who I was going to be working for.”
Rivers is on a different contract with the Clippers now after striking a five-year deal worth more than $50MM with new owner Steve Ballmer. There’s more from Rivers and Bulpett amid the latest from the Pacific Division:
- Rivers, who also serves as president of basketball operations for the Clippers, won’t hesitate to admit a mistake and reverse course on a personnel move he’s made in the past if necessary, a lesson he learned from Danny Ainge, as Rivers says to Bulpett.
- All signs point to the Warriors matching offers this summer for soon-to-be restricted free agent Draymond Green, even if it means shelling out a little more than they’d like and crossing the luxury tax line, USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt and Sam Amick write.
- The Lakers probably won’t be re-signing offseason acquisitions Jeremy Lin and Carlos Boozer when both enter free agency this summer, according to Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times.
- Austin Rivers has split with agent David Falk, notes Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. Rivers, whom the Clippers acquired via trade last week, hits unrestricted free agency this summer.
Cavs Back Off Interest In Jordan Farmar
MONDAY, 5:07pm: The Cavs won’t pursue Farmar beyond their initial inquiry, Haynes tweets.
FRIDAY, 3:59pm: The Cavaliers have made inquiries about point guard Jordan Farmar, Chris Haynes of The Northeast Ohio Media Group reports. The talks were classified as a “feeling out process,” according to Haynes’ sources. Farmar reached a buyout agreement with the Clippers earlier today, and barring the unlikely event that another team claims him off waivers, then Farmar could sign a deal with a new team as early as Sunday. The Cavs have also been mentioned in connection with free agent Nate Robinson, who reached a buyout agreement of his own with the Celtics recently.
Cleveland is seeking to add a backup point guard, Haynes reports. A.J. Price, who was the team’s third point guard on its depth chart, was waived earlier this month, leaving Matthew Dellavedova the lone backup on the team. The Cavs roster currently stands at 14 players, which means no corresponding roster move would be needed in order to sign another player. “We’re at 14. We’d like to address something there at that position,” Cavs GM David Griffin said. The Cavaliers are not in a rush to fill that last roster spot, but at the opportune time, they plan to snag another playmaker, Haynes adds. According to Haynes’ sources, Cleveland will be extensively evaluating point guards who are on the verge of being waived or bought out.
Farmar, 28, has career averages of 7.7 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 2.9 assists over 490 games. His career shooting numbers are .423/.374/.734. In 36 appearances for the Clippers this season, he has logged 4.6 PPG and 1.9 APG in a career-low 14.7 minutes per game.
California Notes: Kobe, Green, Craft, Rivers
Although Kobe Bryant contends he’ll likely play through his current contract, which expires after the 2015/16 season, he admits that he’s at least considered hanging it up at the end of this year, relays Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times. “I’d be lying if I said that it hasn’t crossed my mind,” Bryant said of retiring. “Right now I doubt it … but anything’s possible… You have to find new challenges, not playing for a championship, it’s pretty tough.” The Lakers sit near the bottom of the Western Conference at 12-29, but Bryant says the team would never consider tanking, going as far as to call the practice “sacrilegious,” notes Plaschke.
There’s more form the California-based teams:
- Lessons that the Warriors‘ Draymond Green learned at Michigan State are going to lead to a huge contract this summer, suggests Diamond Leung of The Bay Area News Group. A second-round pick three years ago, Green has blossomed into one of Golden State’s leaders and will be a restricted free agent this summer. “The guy really is a coach’s dream,” said Warriors assistant Alvin Gentry. “You can’t place a value on that. Use every cliché you can. His teams always win. The squad you put him on in a scrimmage, his team is going to win.”
- Aaron Craft has generated a positive buzz as a result of his performance at the D-League showcase, observes Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com, who adds that the 23-year-old guard out of Ohio State is on NBA teams’ radars (Twitter link). Craft was cut from the Warriors out of training camp and currently suits up for the Santa Cruz Warriors, Golden State’s D-League affiliate.
- The Clippers‘ Doc Rivers and Austin Rivers are trying to downplay their father/son and coach/player relationship, reports Ben Bolch of The Los Angeles Times. “I’m over it,” Austin Rivers said. “[Friday] night was about the son thing and I’m done with that. Now it’s basketball for me.” Los Angeles acquired Rivers from the Celtics Thursday in a three-team deal involving the Suns. The younger Rivers “jumped at the opportunity” to join L.A., as he tells A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.
Arthur Hill contributed to this post.