Grizzlies Sign Jamaal Franklin
FRIDAY, 12:07pm: The Grizzlies have officially signed Franklin, the team announced today in a press release.
THURSDAY, 4:12pm: The Grizzlies have reached agreement with Jamaal Franklin on a three-year deal, according to Sam Amick of USA Today (on Twitter). The third year of the deal will be a team option.
Memphis drafted the former San Diego State swingman with the 41st overall pick last month. The 22-year-old also drew interest from the Bulls, Knicks, Clippers, and Hawks and was thought by some to be a late-first round talent. In his final collegiate season, Franklin averaged 17 PPG, 9.5 RPG, and 3.3 APG.
Mike Miller To Sign With Grizzlies
Mike Miller has informed the Grizzlies that he will sign with them, according to a tweet from ESPN.com's Marc Stein.
Grizzlies Claim Josh Akognon Off Waivers
The Grizzlies have claimed Josh Akognon off waivers from the Mavericks, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Memphis assumes Akognon's minimum-salary contract as a result. Dallas decided this weekend to let go of Akognon to accomodate their deal with free agent Monta Ellis, whose three-year, $25.08MM deal became official yesterday, Stein also tweets. The team also has an outstanding agreement with Wayne Ellington, but presumably that will become official soon, too.
The same cap crunch also forced the team to waive Bernard James, but he went unclaimed and the Mavs re-signed him. Akognon originally joined the Mavs on a 10-day contract in April after putting up impressive scoring numbers in China. He put up 29.0 points per game this past season in the Chinese league and 28.2 in 2011/12, and while he was drawing heavy interest from China following the Mavs' decision to waive him, it appears he'll get his wish to remain in the NBA.
The Alpha Basketball Agency client was the Mavs' leading scorer in the Las Vegas Summer League at 17.5 PPG, and he shot 39.1% on 46 total attempts from behind the arc. The 5'11" guard may provide another outside shooter for the Grizzlies in case they miss out on their pursuit of Mike Miller. The claim probably won't affect the team's plans to chase Miller or another free agent, since the Grizzlies can absorb him using the minimum-salary exception. Indeed, Stein tweets that Akognon's pickup doesn't affect their pursuit of the former Heat sharpshooter, whom Memphis is pushing hard to sign.
Southwest Notes: Mavericks, Miller, Rockets, Grizzlies
Monta Ellis may not be the prized free agent that Mavericks fans wanted this summer, but he already has a spot in club history, writes Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com. “Possibly the fastest player ever to wear a Mavs uniform,” coach Rick Carlisle said via text message. “Scores, makes plays and is great in transition. We consider him a unique talent and look forward to integrating him into our team.” Here’s more out of the Southwest..
- The Rockets are inching up towards the Grizzlies and Thunder in the Mike Miller sweepstakes, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
- Brandan Wright decided to re-sign in Dallas in part because he wants to keep up the momentum that he has built with the Mavs, MacMahon writes. Wright will return to the Mavs on a two-year, $10MM deal that could pay an additional $1.1MM in incentives.
- Chandler Parsons is confident that the Rockets can contend after adding Dwight Howard in the middle and believes that the team is a perfect fit for the big man, writes Jabari Davis of HoopsWorld.
- Grizzlies guard Mike Conley is working hard to recruit Miller to Memphis and he went so far as to call the veteran and offer “golf on [him] every day”, tweets Stein.
Southwest Notes: Amundson, Mavs, Leuer
Here's a look at the Southwest Division..
- Former Pelicans forward Louis Amundson is talking to several teams, but he doesn't have an offer yet, a source tells Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com (via Twitter). Amundson had his rights renounced by New Orleans earlier this month. The UNLV product averaged 1.9 PPG in 9.5 minutes per contest for three teams last season.
- Mark Cuban's hiring of Gersson Rosas as the team's next GM is more than a change in the Mavericks' organization, it's an experiment in the world of bio-analytics, writes Jeff Caplan of NBA.com.
- ShamSports has the exact year-by-year breakdown on Jon Leuer's contract with the Grizzlies. The big man will make $900K in year one, $968K in 2014/15, and $1.035MM (non-guaranteed) in the final season.
Free Agent Rumors: Miller, Oden, Camby, Blair
Free agent rumors and rumblings have slowed down since the start of July, as most of the bigger names have come off the board. Still, even though not a ton of teams have significant cap space or exception money remaining, plenty of intriguing players remain on the market. We're entering the point in the summer where teams are hunting for bargains and value signings, so here's the latest on a few players who could fit that bill:
- Mike Miller is meeting face-to-face for a second time with both the Thunder and Grizzlies, who appear to be the two favorites for him, says Marc Stein of ESPN.com. The Rockets and Nuggets aren't out of the running yet, but Miller's choice will likely come down to OKC or Memphis (Twitter links).
- The Heat, Pelicans, and Kings will observe Greg Oden in person as he works out this week, according to Stein and Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com, though Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports says (via Twitter) it'll just be the Pelicans and Kings. The Spurs and Mavericks are still in the hunt as well, with Miami and San Antonio still viewed as the frontrunners for the former first overall pick.
- Marcus Camby is expected to make a decision on his next team within the next week, with the Rockets, Bulls, and Heat among the finalists, tweets Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
- According to Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com, DeJuan Blair's asking price is in the $3MM range, Lamar Odom is only interested in playing for a Los Angeles team, and Josh Akognon is drawing heavy interest from Chinese teams.
- Zwerling adds (via Twitter) that the Knicks have some interest in Ivan Johnson, but the big man is still seeking a mini mid-level deal.
- Prior to reaching an agreement with the Nuggets, Nate Robinson received serious interest from the Wizards, according to Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld (via Twitter). Washington had already used its mid-level and bi-annual exceptions, so making a competitive offer would have been tricky.
- Free agent point guard Delonte West spoke to Tzvi Twersky of SlamOnline.com about his desire to return to an NBA roster.
Grizzlies Acquire Nick Calathes From Mavs
The Grizzlies have officially acquired the rights to Nick Calathes from the Mavericks, Memphis announced today in a press release. ESPN.com's Marc Stein reported last night that the two sides were close to a deal.
According to the Grizzlies' press release, the 2016 second-round pick Memphis already owed the Mavs is now unprotected. It had previously been top-55 protected.
Calathes, a second-round pick in 2009, has spent the last several seasons playing overseas, most recently for Lokomotiv Kuban in Russia. The 24-year-old guard was named the 2012/13 EuroCup MVP after averaging 12.9 PPG, 5.9 RPG, and 6.7 APG while shooting 52.1% in 17 contests during the EuroCup competition.
Stein's original story suggested that although Calathes is under contract with Lokomotiv Kazan for the coming season, he has an NBA out clause in his deal, and is hoping to make the jump to the Association sooner rather than later.
Grizzlies Close To Acquiring Nick Calathes
The Mavericks are in advanced discussions on a trade with the Grizzlies that would send former second-round pick Nick Calathes to Memphis for future draft considerations, sources with knowledge of the deal tell Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Calathes, a 2009 second-round pick, has spent the last four seasons playing overseas
The Mavericks acknowledged in recent weeks that they were likely to deal the Florida product if they signed Israeli point guard Gal Mekel. Sources say that Dallas has since been in discussions with multiple teams, but it now appears that the pass-first point guard is Memphis-bound. The 24-year-old visited the Mavs in June to meet with team officials and audition for coach Rick Carlisle, but they apparently wanted Mekel more.
Calathes is under contract to his European club, Lokomotiv Kazan, for next season but has an NBA out clause in the deal.
Latest On Mike Miller
8:25pm: ESPN.com's Marc Stein reports that the Nuggets are now receiving strong consideration from Miller's camp along with Oklahoma City and Memphis.
5:36pm: Mark Berman of Fox 26 tweets that NBA sources have confirmed the Rockets' reported offer to Miller.
3:28pm: The Rockets have formally extended an offer, Stein tweets. Houston has the $2.652MM room exception available. Meanwhile, Marc Gasol has joined the Grizzlies contingent trying to persuade Miller to go to Memphis.
2:40pm: Stein mentions the Rockets as another team still in the running for Miller, while Kevin Durant is aggressively pitching Miller on Oklahoma City (Twitter link).
2:28pm: Miller and Thunder GM Sam Presti have had their scheduled meeting, and Miller sat down yesterday with Grizzlies owner Robert Pera and CEO Jason Levien, Stein reports (Twitter link).
1:59pm: The Thunder have spent the past couple of days as the apparent leaders in the race to sign Mike Miller, but Chris Tomasson of Fox Sports Florida tweets that they have company. The Grizzlies, along with the Thunder, are the front-runners, though Miller is still evaluating his options, Tomasson says. Marc Stein of ESPN.com hears the Nuggets are a threat as well, with plenty of playing time to offer following the departures of Andre Iguodala and Corey Brewer this summer (Twitter link).
The Spurs, Rockets and Warriors were also linked to Miller when he cleared amnesty waivers this week, but it's not clear whether those teams remain in the mix. The Cavs strongly considered claiming Miller while he was still on waivers, but they haven't been mentioned as a candidate to sign him outright. A report surfaced this week that Miller was considering fusion surgery on his back, which was giving pause to teams with thoughts of claiming him off waivers, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors speculated that the surgery news was leaked to dissuade the Cavs from claiming him, pointing out that Miller "made it clear to people around him" that he didn't want to play in Cleveland, as Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal tweeted.
The Thunder appear unwilling to go into luxury tax territory to bring Miller aboard, but they're reportedly willing to waive DeAndre Liggins or Daniel Orton to accomodate a minimum-salary contract for Miller. That may not be enough to corral the sharpshooter, as the Nuggets can use the bi-annual exception to sign him, and the Grizzlies have the bi-annual as well as the mid-level exception. The Thunder have both of those exceptions available, too, but using either of them would push the team above the $71.748MM tax threshold.
The 33-year-old Miller, coming off a pair of championships with the Heat, isn't ready to retire any time soon, saying last month that he felt he could play for four or five more years. He might not be ready to accept a minimum-salary deal, even though he'll still be getting the remaining $12.8MM from his contract with the Heat.
Southwest Rumors: Oden, Pelicans, Mavs, Miller
The Spurs made a valiant run in the NBA Finals, and the Rockets made the most impressive splash of the summer when they signed Dwight Howard. The other three teams in the Southwest Division have a lot of catching up to do, and there's news tonight on each of them:
- The Pelicans have been expected to make an offer to Greg Oden, but they haven't done so yet, according to John Reid of the The Times Picayune, who hears that the team will meet with the former No. 1 overall pick next week in Indianapolis. The Pelicans are willing to offer a one-year deal with incentives that could lift the value to $3MM, Reid hears, which jibes with a similar report earlier this week from Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.
- Dallas announced the signing of Samuel Dalembert tonight, but as expected, the Mavs are still in the market for Oden, tweets Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
- The Grizzlies have reached out to Mike Miller in an attempt to meet with the free agent sharpshooter, report Ron Higgins and Marlon W. Morgan of the Memphis Commercial Appeal. The Thunder appear to be in the lead for Miller.
- Austin Daye became an unrestricted free agent when the Grizzlies declined to make him a qualifying offer last month, and he tells Shams Charania of RealGM.com that he's been in talks with several teams. Daye says he hasn't worked out for any teams, but Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com reported yesterday that he'd worked out for the Knicks.