Cavs Sign Seth Curry, Release Shane Edwards
The Cavaliers have officially signed Seth Curry to a 10-day contract, the team announced. To make room, Cleveland terminated its 10-day deal with Shane Edwards, which was set to expire tonight. Curry, the 23-year-old former Duke shooting guard, appeared to have a deal with the Cavs earlier this week, but the team seemed to waffle and considered re-signing Edwards instead. The Cavs also apparently had their eyes on another player. Ultimately, the Cavs circled back to their original target. Curry, brother of Warriors star Stephen Curry, had a brief stint with the Grizzlies earlier this season after going undrafted this past summer.
Seth Curry was also in camp with the Warriors in the fall, but he failed to make the opening-night roster. He appeared in just one game for a four-minute stretch with the Grizzlies, who waived him in January shortly before his contract would have become guaranteed for the rest of the season. Memphis decided against bringing him back on a 10-day, and he’s been playing with the Warriors D-League affiliate ever since. The 6’2″ client of Jeff Austin is averaging 19.4 points and 5.9 assists in 35.3 minutes per game for the Santa Cruz Warriors.
Today’s moves leave Cleveland with 15 players, 14 of whom are on guaranteed contracts. Edwards appears to be headed back to the D-League affiliate of the Cavs, where he played before signing his 10-day deal.
Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group initially reported that Curry and the Cavs had a deal (Twitter link). Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal followed with a report that Curry, Edwards and another player were all in the mix to fill Cleveland’s open roster spot. Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio identified Edwards as the favorite and wrote that he’d head back to the D-League if he didn’t re-sign with the Cavs. The Plain Dealer followed with a report that Curry would sign, and Lloyd seconded that (Twitter link). The Plain Dealer’s Mary Schmitt Boyer followed up minutes later to note that Curry had put pen to paper on his contract.
Pacific Rumors: Sacre, Kings, White, Kuzmic
Although Robert Sacre isn’t likely to make any All-Star teams in the foreseeable future, Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni is happy to have the big man on his squad, according to Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times. “He works harder than anyone on the team, without a doubt, it’s not even close,” said D’Antoni. “In the weight room, on the floor, before practice, he’s trying to make himself into a player.” Sacre’s deal runs through the 2015/16 season, though his final year is non-guaranteed. Here’s more from the Pacific Division:
- Sacramento has received the legal OK to take possession of a former Macy’s store on the site of the planned Kings arena, eliminating one of the final hurdles to beginning construction, the team announced. Sacramento and the Kings must open the arena by 2017 to prevent the league from seizing control of the team and perhaps selling it to investors who’d move it to another city.
- Kings coach Mike Malone says Royce White might make his NBA debut as early as tomorrow night, reveals Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee. White is on his second 10-day deal with Sacramento and has played four games with their D-League affiliate, the Reno Bighorns. Apparently, White’s discussions with team GM Pete D’Alessandro have been positive, and White doesn’t have any doubts that the organization will work to properly handle his anxiety disorder that kept him from taking the court last season (All twitter links).
- The Warriors have recalled Ognjen Kuzmic from the D-League, the team announced. In 18 appearances for Golden State, Kuzmic has played just 61 minutes and averaged 0.5 PPG.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Eastern Rumors: ‘Melo, Billups, Allen, Heat
Carmelo Anthony is full of optimism about what Phil Jackson can do for the Knicks, as Ken Berger of CBSSports.com observes. ‘Melo is similarly enthusiastic about what he can learn from Jackson and is glad that the Zen Master wants him to stick around beyond this season.
“I was hoping that I would be part of the future plans,” Anthony said. “I never once said that I wanted to leave New York or anything like that. The only thing I said was I’m going to dabble and try the free agency out, that I was going to opt out and become a free agent. … I’m excited about the opportunity to hopefully work with Phil.”
Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- Chauncey Billups says he won’t necessarily retire at the end of the season, but teams have already gauged his interest in joining their front offices, Billups told reporters, including Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News. It’s unclear if the Pistons are one of those clubs, but Billups said he’d consider them if they offered a position. The 37-year-old would like to become a basketball executive at some point, adds Chris Dempsey of The Denver Post, who notes that Billups and Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars are close.
- Ray Allen, a free agent at season’s end, still has affection for Boston, and he’d like to see the Celtics retire his number, writes Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald.
- The Heat have assigned Justin Hamilton to the D-League, the team announced. The center will play in two games for the Sioux Falls Skyforce and return to the Heat after Saturday’s contest, according to Miami’s release.
And-Ones: Bucks, Dedmon, Gooden, Pelicans
A source tells Don Walker of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that Bucks owner Herb Kohl is receiving considerable nationwide interest from investors who’d like to buy at least a minority share of the team, and many of them are in close proximity to Milwaukee. Kohl is reportedly close to selling a majority stake in the franchise, but Walker hears that no deal is imminent. Sports business experts say the team would be more valuable in another market, Walker writes, but Kohl has been insistent that the team stay in Milwaukee. Here’s more from around the league:
- Dewayne Dedmon‘s latest contract with the Magic gives him the chance to make the team’s roster next season, writes Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel, so presumably that means the deal covers 2014/15 with a non-guaranteed salary.
- The Wizards didn’t bring Drew Gooden aboard until last month, but they’d been monitoring him since December, tweets J. Michael of CSNWashington.com. Gooden followed a pair of 10-day contracts with a deal Tuesday for the rest of the season.
- The Pelicans have more than $54MM in commitments for next season, and GM Dell Demps acknowledged that it’s unlikely the team will be a major player on the free agent market, as John Reid of The Times-Picayune observes. Demps also said he doesn’t regret last summer’s Jrue Holiday trade, even though there’s a strong chance it could cost them another lottery pick this year.
- The Bulls may have to make a few creative cap maneuvers to entice Nikola Mirotic to sign this summer, depending on the dollars-to-euros exchange rate and Real Madrid’s willingness to negotiate the amount of Mirotic’s buyout. Nate Duncan of Basketball Insiders has the details.
- Twelve-year NBA veteran Ricky Davis had been attempting a comeback with the D-League affiliate of the Knicks, but the Erie BayHawks announced that they have cut him loose.
And-Ones: Rookie Scale, Griffin, Coaches
Phil Jackson and the Knicks have dominated headlines today, but that’s not the only story in the NBA. Here’s the latest from around the league, with four weeks and a day to go before the end of the regular season:
- Grantland’s Zach Lowe noted earlier that there are several draft-related ideas the league is kicking around to remove the incentive teams have to tank, and another is increasing rookie scale salaries, Lowe adds via Twitter.
- Everyone who signed with the Clippers this year was banking on Blake Griffin developing into a top-five player, and Griffin has been validating their decisions, as Sports Illustrated’s Lee Jenkins writes.
- Precisely half of the league’s head coaches played primarily at point guard in the NBA, college or both, while three more played both guard positions, notes Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel, who examines why this is so.
- Warriors coach Mark Jackson is vilified for some of the same coaching traits that Phil Jackson drew adulation for, Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher opines.
- The Warriors have recalled Nemanja Nedovic and Ognjen Kuzmic from the D-League, the team announced via press release. Nedovic was in the D-League for the past six days, but Kuzmic returns after a stint that began February 21st.
- The Cavs have recalled Sergey Karasev from the D-League’s Canton Charge, the Charge announced via Twitter. The 19th overall pick in the 2013 draft has appeared in 18 D-League games this year, almost as many as the 20 he’s played for Cleveland.
Darius Morris To Play In D-League
Darius Morris has been acquired off waivers by the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA D-League, reports Gino Pilato of D-League Digest (Twitter link). The 23-year-old guard has played for three NBA teams already this season. He last played for Memphis on a 10-day contract that expired back on February 13th. He’s still free to sign with any NBA team that comes calling.
This season, Morris appeared in 10 games for the Clippers and averaged 0.9 PPG in 5.4 MPG. He then played in 12 games for the Sixers and averaged 6.9 PPG, and 2.6 APG in 16.1 MPG. His last action was with the Grizzlies where in five games he put up 3.0 PPG, and 1.6 APG in 13.2 minutes per contest.
Morris’ last stint in the D-League was during the 2012/13 season when he appeared in two games for Los Angeles, and he averaged 15.0 PPG, 6.0 RPG, and 5.5 APG in 35.0 minutes per contest.
West Notes: D’Antoni, Jackson, Blazers, Spurs
There are a lot of different takes on coach Mike D’Antoni within the Lakers organization, writes Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. One league source says the Lakers have not offered any indication D’Antoni’s job has become in jeopardy. Meanwhile, the Lakers don’t plan to evaluate him until after this season ends on April 16th and they may not decide definitely then, either. More out of the West..
- The Knicks’ hire of Phil Jackson puts pressure on Blazers owner Paul Allen and GM Neil Olshey, writes John Canzano of The Oregonian. If Jackson can pull the Knicks out of their mediocre spin and make a deep run in the playoffs before the Blazers do, it’s going to confirm what many have said all along – that Allen would be better off simply hiring good basketball people and getting out of the way.
- The Blazers announced (via Twitter) that they have recalled guard Allen Crabbe from the Idaho Stampede of the D-League. During Crabbe’s three-game stint in Idaho he averaged 16.7 points and 5.3 rebounds and shot 42.6 percent from the field and 27.8 percent from three-point range.
- The Spurs announced that they have recalled forward Austin Daye from the Austin Toros of the D-League. In Saturday night’s contest against the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Daye recorded 27 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocked shots in 40 total minutes. The California native has appeared in two games for the Spurs’ varsity squad, averaging 3.0 points in 1.5 minutes per contest.
And-Ones: Lottery, Jeter, Nash
With teams starting to be mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, more and more focus will be given to the talk about franchises “tanking” for a better lottery pick. Commissioner Adam Silver has denied that teams are losing on purpose, but that hasn’t quieted the chatter. There has been some talk of changing how the league determines draft order to combat this, but Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post doesn’t think the current system needs to be altered. Dempsey cites the fact that the team with the worst overall record rarely gets the top pick. In fact, since the lottery system began in 1985 only four teams have secured the first-overall pick, and none since 2004 when the Magic won the lottery and selected Dwight Howard. Dempsey also opines that losing now to try to secure a brighter future is a smart move, not one to be condemned.
More from around the league:
- Andrew Wiggins has reclaimed the top spot in the latest Draft Express rankings.
- Pooh Jeter said he is drawing interest from NBA teams for a possible 10-day contract in an interview with Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype.
- T.J. Simers of the Orange County Register analyzes the Lakers contract situation with Steve Nash in the wake of the player’s admission he will return in 2014/15 just because he wants to collect his salary. Nash is set to collect $9.7MM in the final year of his deal.
D-League Notes: Larkin, Mekel, Reed, Rice
Here’s a quick look at the latest news and notes out of the NBA D-League on Saturday afternoon:
- The Mavericks have recalled Shane Larkin from his D-League assignment, the team announced today in a press release. Gal Mekel will be sent down to take Larkin’s place on the Mavs’ D-League affiliate, the Texas Legends. It was a quick stint for Larkin, who appeared in just one D-League game after being sent down yesterday afternoon.
- The Sixers have assigned Arnett Moultrie to join the Delaware 87ers of the D-League, the team announced this afternoon. This confirms a report we heard last night speculating that Philly would make such a move.
- Willie Reed is working hard to put up big numbers in the D-League and hoping to catch an NBA club’s attention, writes Scott Rafferty of Ridiculous Upside. Reed was able to sign on with Memphis last April, but he never saw any action and was waived prior to the start of the 2013/14 season.
- J. Michael of CSNWashington.com examines Glen Rice Jr.‘s latest trip to the D-League and concludes Rice needs to focus on improving his shooting stroke. Through nine games for the Iowa Energy, Rice has averaged 18.9 points per contest, but he’s shooting just 44% from the floor and 30% from beyond the arc. The Wizards opted send Rice on a minor league assignment after the club inked a deal with Drew Gooden.
And-Ones: Harden, Collins, Daye, Williams
In a series of tweets, Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders says there was more to the Thunder‘s decision to trade James Harden before last season than money concerns. Coming off their Finals loss, Harden wanted an increased role on the team, believing himself to be the superstar talent we now know he is. Kyler says Harden wanted to stay, but the Thunder didn’t want to change their roster dynamics to accommodate his wishes. Here’s more from around the league:
- Jason Collins is happy stay with the Nets for the rest of the season, he tells Roderick Boone of Newsday. “Thank you to the Nets organization, coaches and players,” Collins said.“Our team is playing really well right now and I’m glad to continue to be here.”
- The Spurs have assigned Austin Daye to their D-League affiliate per a team release.
- After showing promise in some extended playing time with the Raptors, Ed Davis has struggled to see many minutes with the Grizzlies, writes Ryan Wolstat of The Toronto Sun. The lack of playing time has come because of a crowded frontcourt in Memphis, not a lack of skill on Davis’s part, says coach Dave Joerger. “It’s tough and he’s a similar style to the guys that are at that position,” said Joerger. “What his athleticism is, is a different look for us. But it’s tough with Marc [Gasol] and Zach [Randolph] in front of him.”
- Derrick Williams has been debated as a “true” small forward or power forward since coming into the league, but Kings coach Michael Malone tells Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee that Williams’ versatility is a good thing. “You go back to his days at Arizona, when he was the No. 2 pick, he played a lot of four (power forward),” Malone said. “I see in the NBA if a bigger guy is guarding him, he can take that guy out on the perimeter. If you play him at the small forward, you can post him up some. He’s got that versatility and athleticism that is very attractive. The league is getting a lot smaller it seems, and I think Derrick’s versatility is a real advantage when you play him at the four.” If small forward Rudy Gay picks up his $19.3MM player option in Sacramento for next season, Williams will likely have to establish his ability to thrive at the power forward spot.