Perry Jones Drawing NBA Interest?
Russian team BC Khimki announced today (via Twitter) that they’ve used their option to release Perry Jones from their roster, making him a free agent able to sign with any team. Jones joined the club in August, and played in just one regular-season game before he was cut.
A former first-round pick, Jones spent three seasons with the Thunder from 2012 to 2015, averaging 3.4 PPG and 1.8 RPG in 143 regular-season contests. Oklahoma City sent him to the Celtics in a trade last July, but Boston waived him prior to the regular season. The 6’11” forward ultimately landed with the D-League’s Iowa Energy, but only appeared in five games for the team, recording 13.2 PPG and 7.4 RPG in those contests.
While Jones’ NBA track record wasn’t great, he has reportedly drawn some interest from clubs around the league. Sam Amico of AmicoHoops.net reports (via Twitter) that several teams, including the Nuggets, have been in touch with Jones’ agent. With the regular season just two weeks away, those clubs are likely just checking in on Jones’ health and perhaps his willingness to play for a D-League affiliate.
As Chris Reichert of Upside and Motor tweets, the Iowa Energy still hold Jones’ D-League rights — Iowa is the Grizzlies’ D-League affiliate.
Grizzlies Sign Vince Hunter To Training Camp Deal
After being waived by the Bulls on Tuesday, Vince Hunter has signed a training camp deal with the Grizzlies, tweets Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor. Terms of the contract for the 6’8″ forward have not been released, but he had a non-guaranteed deal with Chicago.
Memphis signed Hunter to give its front-line rotation a break until the season starts, tweets Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal. “We want to make sure we don’t overload our veteran bigs during the remainder of preseason,” said GM Chris Wallace. “He’s in shape. He’s an easy player to assimilate. We need to protect ourselves upfront.” (Twitter link).
Hunter played for the Grizzlies’ team in summer league, so he is familiar with their system. The 22-year-old didn’t see any action in Chicago’s first preseason game on Monday.
Hunter spent last season with the Kings’ D-League affiliate in Reno, as well as Panathinaikos in the Greek League. He was in training camp with Sacramento a year ago after going undrafted out of UTEP.
It’s the second move of the weekend for the Grizzlies, who waived guard Tony Wroten on Friday.
Grizzlies Waive Tony Wroten
Veteran point guard Tony Wroten finds his name on the NBA’s transaction wire once again, with the Grizzlies announcing today in a press release that they’ve waived him from their roster. It’s the third time since the end of the season that Wroten has been cut, including the second time by Memphis.
Wroten, the 25th overall pick in the 2012 draft, appeared in just eight games for the Sixers last season before Philadelphia waived him in December. The Knicks later signed Wroten to a two-year deal, minimum-salary deal that contained no guaranteed money for the 2016/17 campaign, but removed him from their roster in June when they acquired Derrick Rose from the Bulls. The Grizzlies claimed him off waivers at that point, cut him in July, and re-signed him in August.
When Memphis initially claimed, waived, and re-signed Wroten, it appeared the team just wanted to make sure he was under contract on modified terms, but it’s unlikely that’s the case this time around. The Grizzlies had guaranteed a small portion of the point guard’s salary for 2016/17, so the team will carry a cap hit of $25K after waiving Wroten, assuming he goes unclaimed.
With Wroten no longer on the roster, Wade Baldwin and Andrew Harrison will continue to vie for the backup point guard job behind Mike Conley. Check out the Grizzlies’ depth chart at RosterResource.com.
Zach Randolph Transitioning To Bench Role
JaMychal Green will start at the power forward position for the Grizzlies, nudging Zach Randolph to the bench, Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal reports (Twitter links). Green’s placement into the starting lineup almost surely indicates he will make the team. His contract is only partially guaranteed for $200K this season, but his whole salary worth roughly $980K will become guaranteed on January 1, according to Bobby Marks of The Vertical (Twitter link).
Randolph has been a regular starter for Memphis since coming to the team in 2009. The 35-year-old understands the change and is putting the team first, as Tillery passes along (Twitter links). “I’m fine with it. You know how I am. Whatever is best for the team,” Randolph said.
New Grizzlies head coach David Fizdale reportedly told Z-Bo that he’s not going to be paid to be a starter anymore, Tillery relays (Twitter link). “Let’s audition you for what you can be for the rest of your career,” Fizdale said. The power forward will make roughly $10.36MM in the last year of his deal before becoming eligible for free agency next summer. That figure is currently fourth on the team.
Randolph had a nice season last year, but the move is more about the evolving NBA than it is with the level of his play. Having two traditional big men on the floor for long stretches isn’t a recipe for success anymore.
The move is also about the Grizzlies trying to manufacture some offense out of their thin bench unit. Without plucking Randolph from the starting lineup, Memphis’ second unit could have been the worst of any team in the league with serious playoff aspirations. Rookie Wade Baldwin may not be ready to play meaningful minutes. New addition Troy Daniels should be solid, but can he be the team’s sixth man? Can a 39-year-old Vince Carter still make plays? How consistent will James Ennis be on a night-to-night basis? The team surely hopes a few contributors emerge in its second unit, but it doesn’t look all that dangerous on paper.
Moving Randolph to the second unit ensures the team will have a least one player on the court who can create some offense once the starters hit the pine. Randolph is willing to do whatever is takes to win. He’s a fan favorite in Memphis and part of the reason is his dedication to the team. “If Coach [Fizdale] wants me to play 10 minutes, I’ll come in and play the hardest 10 minutes,” Randolph said.
Fizdale Faced With Backup Point Guard Decision
- The decision on the Grizzlies‘ backup point guard will be one of the first real tests for new head coach David Fizdale, writes Ronald Tillery of The Memphis Commerical Appeal. Andrew Harrison and Wade Baldwin are battling for minutes behind Mike Conley.
Daniels Has Green Light From Fizdale
- Troy Daniels will have plenty of freedom to shoot from new Grizzlies coach David Fizdale, according to Ronald Tillery of The Memphis Commercial Appeal. Memphis picked up the sharpshooter in a sign-and-trade deal with the Hornets in July. The Grizzlies are Daniels’ fourth team as he enters his fourth NBA season, and Fizdale said the light for him to put up 3-point shots is “beyond green.” “I told him if you pass up a 3-pointer you’ll be sitting next to me,” Fizdale said. “I’d rather him shoot it and get it blocked or shoot an air ball before he passes up a 3.”
Contract Details: Brand, Rockets, Thunder, Pacers
With training camps underway, teams have now officially finalized the contract agreements with various camp invitees that had been reported over the past several weeks, meaning we have plenty of contract details to round up. As usual, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders has been busy reporting those details, updating his salary pages for teams around the NBA.
Because we have so many updates to pass along from Pincus, we’ll divide them up by players who received some guaranteed money from their teams, and those who didn’t. All of the links below point to the Basketball Insiders team salary pages, so be sure to click through for additional information.
Here are the latest salary updates from across the league, via Pincus:
Players receiving guaranteed money:
These players aren’t necessarily assured of regular-season roster spots. In fact, many of them likely received guarantees as an incentive to accept a D-League assignment. Still, for some players, larger guarantees should increase their odds of making 15-man rosters.
- Thomas Walkup (Bulls): One year, minimum salary. $69.5K guaranteed.
- Keith Benson (Heat): Two years, minimum salary. $75K guaranteed.
- Henry Sims (Jazz): One year, minimum salary. $75K guaranteed.
- Alex Poythress (Pacers): One year, minimum salary. $35,381 guaranteed.
- Kevin Seraphin (Pacers): Two years, $3.681MM. First year ($1.8MM) guaranteed.
- Julyan Stone (Pacers): One year, minimum salary. $50K guaranteed.
- Gary Payton II (Rockets): Two years, minimum salary. First year ($543,471) guaranteed.
- Isaiah Taylor (Rockets): Two years, minimum salary. $50K guaranteed.
- Kyle Wiltjer (Rockets): Two years, minimum salary. $275K guaranteed.
- Cat Barber (Sixers): One year, minimum salary. $50K guaranteed.
- Elton Brand (Sixers): One year, minimum salary. $1MM guaranteed.
- Derrick Jones (Suns): Three years, minimum salary. $42.5K guaranteed.
- Alex Caruso (Thunder): One year, minimum salary. $50K guaranteed.
- Kaleb Tarczewski (Thunder): One year, minimum salary. $75K guaranteed.
- Chris Wright (Thunder): One year, minimum salary. $100K guaranteed.
Players receiving no guaranteed money:
The following players all signed one-year, minimum salary contracts with no guaranteed money. Many of these deals are “summer contracts,” which won’t count against a team’s cap unless the player earns a spot on the 15-man roster.
- Jabari Brown and Jaleel Roberts (Bucks)
- Markel Brown, Dahntay Jones, Cory Jefferson, Eric Moreland, John Holland, and Jonathan Holmes (Cavaliers)
- Dorell Wright (Clippers)
- Chris Crawford (Grizzlies)
- Ryan Kelly, Will Bynum, and Richard Solomon (Hawks)
- Perry Ellis (Hornets)
- Eric Dawson (Jazz)
- Julian Jacobs and Travis Wear (Lakers)
- Quinn Cook (Pelicans)
- Joel Anthony and Nicolas Laprovittola (Spurs)
- Gracin Bakumanya, Derek Cooke, and Shaquille Harrison (Suns)
- Rasual Butler (Timberwolves)
Ennis Will Play Major Defensive Role
- New Grizzlies coach David Fizdale has big plans for small forward James Ennis, Ron Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal writes. Ennis was re-signed by the club this offseason on a two-year, $6MM contract and Fizdale sees him as a valuable rotation piece, Tillery continues. “He’s what today’s NBA is. He’s a Swiss Army knife,” Fizdale told Tillery. “He can guard a lot of different people. I’ve got him in a good place and he’s taking advantage of that.”
Grizzlies Sign Chris Crawford
The Grizzlies’ 20-man roster for training camp is set, the team announced over the weekend in a press release. In addition to the 19 players who started the offseason with the club, or whose deals were previously reported, Memphis has officially signed free agent guard Chris Crawford to fill out its roster.
Crawford was born in Memphis and played his college ball with the Tigers, so it’s a homecoming for the 23-year-old. Since going undrafted in 2014, the young guard has appeared in 64 games for the D-League’s Canton Charge, and has also spent some time in France with Rouen Métropole Basket.
The Grizzlies head into camp with just 13 players on guaranteed contracts, so it’s possible Crawford could land a regular-season roster spot with the club, but a return overseas or to the D-League seems more likely. Vince Carter, whose salary is partially guaranteed, figures to earn one of the two open roster spots in Memphis, with Tony Wroten, D.J. Stephens, Wayne Selden, Troy Williams, and JaMychal Green vying with Crawford for the other one.
Marc Gasol Cleared For Training Camp
Grizzlies center Marc Gasol, who missed the end of the 2015/16 season and the Olympics after breaking his foot in February, has been cleared to return to the court, reports Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal. According to Tillery, Gasol recently headed back to Memphis for strength and conditioning, and has been playing in some pickup games as he prepares for training camp.
As Tillery details, Gasol spent a good chunk of the offseason doing rehab work in his home country of Spain, though his regimen was monitored closely by the Grizzlies. The club took a cautious approach to the 31-year-old’s rehab and are “upbeat” about having a healthy and productive Gasol for the coming season, a source tells Tillery.
Although there’s “growing optimism” about Gasol’s recovery, Memphis will proceed with some caution, Tillery writes. Gasol suffered his fracture in the mid-foot area, which is a tough injury to recover from, so the Grizzlies may keep the two-time All-Star on a minutes limit to start the year.
Gasol, who ultimately missed 30 regular-season games and was out for the playoffs last season, will enter the second year of a five-year, maximum-salary contract in 2016/17. After a busy offseason, the Grizzlies will now have three players on max salaries, with Mike Conley and Chandler Parsons joining Gasol to combine for a total cap hit of nearly $70MM this season.