NBA Hopefuls: Graham, Carr, Addison, D-League
As we creep closer to the time when NBA teams begin to whittle down their rosters, let’s take a look at some NBA hopefuls, current and future, that are presently making news:
- Stephen Graham, currently in camp with the Bucks, is determined to land a contract that keeps him in the NBA this season after floating between the D-League and overseas since the NBA lockout, writes Shams Charania of RealGM, who adds that Milwaukee already has 15 players on guaranteed deals. While he never found a permanent home in the NBA, Graham did spend time on seven teams in six seasons in the NBA before the Nets waived him in 2011.
- Aquille Carr, the 20-year-old phenom from Baltimore who was previously playing in China, has signed a D-League contract for this season in an attempt to prepare himself for the 2014 NBA Draft, writes Gino Pilato of the D-League Digest. As Pilato notes, Carr is following in the footsteps of Glen Rice Jr., who spent a season in the D-League after getting booted from Georgia Tech’s basketball team and ended up being drafted 35th and traded to the Wizards. Commissioner David Stern recently boasted of the improvement of the D-League when it comes to developing young players.
- Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside takes a look at 26-year-old Brian Addison, who was one of a handful of players that stood out to the Knicks at last month’s tryout for their D-League affiliate, the Erie Bayhawks. Addison, who went to Buffalo University, has played professionally in Portugal, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
- In a separate post, Schlosser reports the names of five players who are set to enter next month’s D-League Draft: Kyle Hunt, Orion Outerbridge, Jamine Peterson, Akeem Ellis and Derick Beltran. Schlosser also mentions Dami Sapara and Ahmad Aasiya-Bey as two talented prospects who have already stated their intentions to join the league.
Odds & Ends: Tanner, Wizards, Teague, Heat
Agent Jim Tanner, who had previously been a partner at Williams & Connolly LLP, is opening up his own sports and entertainment management business, according to Scott Soshnick of Bloomberg Sports. Tanner will be taking all of his clients, including Tim Duncan, Ray Allen, and Jeremy Lin, with him to the newly-created Tandem Sports & Entertainment. You can view our full list of the new agency’s clients right here.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the NBA:
- There hasn’t been much playing time available for the Wizards‘ camp invitees in the preseason, writes J. Michael of CSNWashington.com. Considering Washington already has 15 players on guaranteed contracts, the team’s non-guaranteed players will likely just be waived before opening night.
- Following up on a report that the Timberwolves had shown interest in Marquis Teague, Darren Wolfson of ESPN 1500 Twin Cities tweets that David Kahn may have had interest in the young point guard, but Flip Saunders hasn’t inquired with the Bulls.
- The Heat‘s opening night roster may look fairly set, but Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel cautions that the team usually keeps its options open for at least one meaningful in-season move.
- Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside has the details on a handful of prospects set to enter the D-League’s draft.
NBA Signees With D-League Experience
The D-League is certainly not a basketball destination of riches, with the highest salaries in the league last season topping out at $26K, according to Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress (Twitter link). Of course, some NBA players spend time on assignment in the D-League, and when they do, they receive their full NBA salaries. In most cases, a player on D-League assignment is making a rookie or minimum salary, and a D-League stint is usually a sign that the player isn’t performing well enough to earn NBA minutes. With NBA minutes comes NBA money, and spending time in the D-League doesn’t portend well for a player’s bank account.
Martell Webster is the exception. He appeared in eight games for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants in 2005/06, on assignment from the Trail Blazers, who’d drafted him directly out of high school the previous summer. That D-League experience was a distant memory when he signed a four-year, $21.991MM deal with the Wizards for the full amount of the mid-level exception this past offseason. Matt Barnes is the only other player with D-League experience to have signed a seven-figure NBA contract this year.
Teams around the NBA have just recently begun to realize the potential of the D-League, and many are taking advantage of new rules that allow them to more liberally assign their players. Nearly half the teams in the NBA have a one-to-one affiliation with a D-League team, furthering the player development relationship. More lucrative contracts could find their way into the hands of D-League alums in the years ahead, but this year’s free agent crop shows no sign of that happening yet. Here’s every player with D-League experience to sign a free agent contract with an NBA team this offseason. Non-guaranteed contracts that cover just one season at the minimum salary — mere invitations to training camp — are not included.
- Martell Webster — four years, $21.991MM
- Matt Barnes — three years, $10.189MM
- Earl Clark — two years, $8.5MM
- Chris Copeland — two years, $6.135MM
- Dorell Wright — two years, $6.135MM
- Will Bynum — two years, $5.75MM
- Josh McRoberts — two years, $5.423MM
- DeMarre Carroll — two years, $5MM
- Darius Morris — four years, $4.2MM
- C.J. Watson — two years, $4.093MM
- Gani Lawal — four years, $3.736MM
- Chris Andersen — two years, $3.434MM
- John Lucas III — two years, $3.2MM
- Jon Leuer — three years, $2.902MM
- Robert Sacre — three years, $2.685MM
- Greg Stiemsma — one year, $2.676MM
- Andray Blatche — two years, $2.183MM
- Alan Anderson — two years, $2.011MM
- Byron Mullens — two years, $2.011MM
- Reggie Williams — two years, $2.011MM
- Donald Sloan — two years, $1.832MM
- Lance Thomas — two years, $1.832MM
- Jeremy Tyler — two years, $1.832MM
- Dwight Buycks — two years, $1.516MM
- Shaun Livingston — one year, $1.272MM
- Ryan Hollins — one year, $1.186MM
- Jordan Farmar — one year, $1.107MM
- Aaron Brooks — one year, $1.027MM
- Anthony Tolliver — one year, $1.027MM
- Garrett Temple — one year, $916K
The Hoops Rumors Free Agent Tracker was used in the creation of this post.
Winderman On Stoudemire, Bosh, D-League
The Knicks aren’t drawing much attention as a potential landing spot for LeBron James next summer, unlike in 2010, when New York cleared cap space for LeBron and wound up signing Amar’e Stoudemire instead. But Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel believes that if Stoudemire musters a bounce-back season, the Knicks have at least a slight chance of trading his hefty contract and again opening up room for LeBron. It would be a shock if the Knicks found a taker for Stoudemire, whom they owe more money than anyone else on their roster, but considering the Hawks unloaded Joe Johnson last year with nearly $90MM left on his deal, you never know. Here’s more from Winderman:
- Many NBA players in Chris Bosh‘s circumstances would see next summer’s potential free agency as a chance to bolt and become a team’s No. 1 option, but Bosh is comfortable as the third man in the Heat‘s hierarchy. “The thing I like about this, is, of course I’m not the guy, I’m not the number-one option,” Bosh said. “That gives me creativity to be able to take my position and mold it into what I want to do.”
- If the Magic establish a D-League team in Jacksonville or another location close to Orlando, it could make it easier for the Heat to move their affiliate from Sioux Falls to Estero, Fla., where a D-League-caliber arena already exists.
- Michael Beasley‘s casual approach turned off many around the NBA, but he insists he’s taking his current opportunity with the Heat more seriously than when he joined the team as the No. 2 overall pick in 2008, as Winderman notes in a separate piece.
Eastern Notes: Mason, Irving, Cavs, Magic
It took a while for Roger Mason Jr. to land with an NBA team this offseason, as Mason didn’t sign with the Heat until late September. However, that doesn’t mean there was no other interest in the veteran shooter. According to Ethan J. Skolnick of Bleacher Report (via Twitter), Mason had also been considering the Bulls before a 45-minute conversation with Ray Allen sold him on Miami.
Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:
- When asked by a young fan at a community event if he’d leave Cleveland like LeBron James did, Kyrie Irving said he wouldn’t, as Sean Highkin of USA Today details. While we probably shouldn’t assume that’s set in stone, it’ll likely be a while before the Cavs guard hits the open market anyway. Irving still has two seasons remaining on his rookie contract and will be a strong candidate for a long-term extension a year from now.
- While some observers believe that DeSagana Diop has the inside track on securing a reserve roster spot with the Cavs, Kenny Kadji is making a pretty strong case for the job, writes Bob Finnan of The Plain Dealer (Sulia link). We heard yesterday from another Cleveland scribe, Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal, that Henry Sims may be Kadji’s primary competition for a roster spot.
- The Magic see Jacksonville as a good location for a potential D-League affiliate, but it’s not the only possibility, writes Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. The Magic’s D-League affiliate for the 2013/14 season is the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, a team they share with the Bobcats, Pistons, Pacers, Grizzlies, and Bucks.
- New Celtics big man Vitor Faverani isn’t the most verbose guy in the league, but he offers Boston a lot in the way of physical play and pick and rolls, according to Ben Rohrbach of WEEI.com.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Eastern Notes: Rondo, Heat, Ivey, Magic
The Western Conference looks like it’ll be wide open this season, as the results from last night’s poll show. However, the same can’t be said for the Eastern Conference. Online sportsbook Bovada.lv gives the Heat even odds to come out of the East in 2014 for the fourth straight year. As we look forward to Miami getting its title defense underway, let’s round up a few notes from around the conference….
- While the Celtics finally got the rebuilding process underway this summer by dealing Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Jason Terry to the Nets, Rajon Rondo isn’t looking for an escape route of his own, as he tells Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. “This is my team; why would I want to leave?” Rondo said. “Why would I want out? I’ve never really backed away from a challenge.”
- Asked about the possibility of Eric Griffin earning a spot on the Heat‘s regular-season roster, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel echoes something we heard from Joseph Goodman of the Miami Herald yesterday, predicting that Michael Beasley and Roger Mason Jr. will grab the last two openings.
- Royal Ivey‘s short-term goal involves landing a roster spot with the Hawks, but he hopes to transition into coaching in the not-too-distant future, writes Lang Greene of HoopsWorld.
“I see a couple more years and then I want to do other ventures,” Ivey said. “I think I have a chance to coach and I’m definitely going to take heed to that.”
- 14 NBA teams currently have one-on-one relationships with their D-League affiliates, and the Magic are hoping to become No. 15, writes Don Coble at Jacksonville.com. Magic CEO Alex Martins tells Coble that the team has “made it clear” to the NBA that it would like to set up a D-League squad in Jacksonville, rather than share the Fort Wayne Mad Ants with five other NBA clubs.
Odds & Ends: Pistons, Budinger, Hardaway, Kings
The Pistons have engaged in discussions about acquiring exclusive control of an NBA D-League team, writes David Mayo of MLive.com. The Pistons' share their current affiliate, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, with the Bobcats, Pacers, Grizzlies, Bucks, and Magic. Here's more from around the Association..
- It looks like Chase Budinger's left knee issue isn't as bad as initially thought, according to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN (via Twitter). Meanwhile, the T'Wolves are getting calls from representatives about the likes of Mickael Pietrus and DeShawn Stevenson. They'll decide on signing a free agent over the next week or so.
- Of the current 547 NBA players under contract, 398 played in the NBA last year, 62 come from NCAA teams, and 28 are from the D-League, according to Mark Porcaro of Secret Rival (via Twitter). Porcaro and Hoops Rumors teamed up in September to launch the Hoops Rumors International Player Movement Tracker.
- Tim Hardaway Jr. is showing great poise and professionalism as a rookie,writes Fred Kerber of the New York Post.
- The Kings are loaded with guards, but Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee wants to see Jimmer Fredette get another opportunity to step up.
Spurs Notes: Leonard, Carter, 15th Man
As Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and the Spurs prepare to begin defending their Western Conference title, let's round up a few items out of San Antonio….
- The Spurs were "scared to death" when they traded George Hill for Kawhi Leonard in 2011, head coach Gregg Popovich tells Yannis Koutroupis of HoopsWorld. However, Leonard has developed exactly as the team hoped, and Popovich expects the young forward to "take over as the star of the show as time goes on." As I noted earlier today, Leonard will be eligible for a rookie-scale extension a year from now, and a big season could push him into the max-contract conversation.
- Veteran point guard Anthony Carter, who was with the Nuggets in camp a year ago, has been hired as an assistant coach by the Spurs' D-League affiliate, the Austin Toros, the team announced in a press release.
- Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News takes a look at the players vying for the Spurs' final roster spot this month. With 14 players on guaranteed contracts, one of the other six camp invitees – Marcus Cousin, Courtney Fells, Myck Kabongo, Corey Maggette, Daniel Nwaelele, or Sam Young – should end up being the 15th man.
Grant Jerrett To Sign With D-League
Grant Jerrett is the highest remaining unsigned draft pick from this year's draft, but it appears he'll soon be under contract with a D-League team. Jerrett, whose NBA rights are held by the Thunder, is expected to join the Oklahoma City's D-League affiliate, reports Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman. Players who aren't under contract with an NBA club, as is the case with Jerrett, usually have to enter the D-League draft before they can hook up with a specific D-League team, so it's not entirely certain that he'll be with the Tulsa 66ers, who are OKC's affiliate. In any case, the Thunder will retain his NBA rights while he plays in the D-League, making him something of a domestic "draft-and-stash" player.
Jerrett played one collegiate season at Arizona before the Blazers took him in the draft and promptly traded him to Oklahoma City. The 6'10" power forward saw just 17.8 minutes a game for the Wildcats, averaging 5.2 points and 3.6 rebounds, but he worked out for several teams prior to the draft and saw more action for the Thunder's summer-league team, notching 10.8 PPG and 3.5 RPG in 28.6 MPG.
The Thunder have just 17 players under contract and 12 fully guaranteed deals, so it isn't a numbers crunch that prevented the team from signing him for camp. Instead, it seems like the club views him as a project, and is content to watch him develop in the D-League for now.
Eastern Notes: Juwan Howard, Pistons, Sixers
Juwan Howard has been on the Heat's roster for parts of the last three seasons, but each year, he returns in a more diminished role. In 2013/13, the veteran big man appeared in only seven regular-season games, essentially acting as a player-coach on the bench. For the coming season, it appears that Miami will finally make that transition to coach official for Howard.
According to Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel (via Twitter), Howard is among those expected to join Erik Spoelstra's staff with the Heat. We'll have to wait for further confirmation from Howard and the team, but it appears that, after winning rings in each of the last two seasons, the 40-year-old's playing career may finally be coming to an end.
Here's more from around the East:
- Dan Craig is also expected to be hired to Spoelstra's staff, while Keith Askins will likely assume a non-coaching role for the Heat, adds Winderman (via Twitter).
- Anthony Mason Jr., the son of the former Knicks and Hornets forward, appears set to play for the Knicks' D-League affiliate, the Erie BayHawks. Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside has the details, via St. John's basketball.
- David Mayo of MLive.com figures that it would take "multiple pieces" in return to prompt the Pistons to trade Greg Monroe, as he writes in his latest mailbag. Monroe is entering the final year of his rookie contract, which will make him eligible for restricted free agency next summer if he's not extended next month.
- Former Villanova standout Curtis Sumpter appears to be in line to join the Sixers' coaching staff, writes Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer.