Rautins, Thompson Sign With Tulsa 66ers
A pair of Thunder camp invitees, Andy Rautins and Hollis Thompson, have signed D-League contracts to join the Tulsa 66ers, reports Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman (via Twitter). Both players were released by the Thunder over the weekend, along with Daniel Orton, who is expected to re-sign with Oklahoma City.
Rautins, a second-round pick in 2010, has appeared in just five NBA games in his brief career, while Thompson, a Georgetown product, went undrafted in this year's draft despite having been ranked as a top-50 prospect by ESPN.com's Chad Ford.
Having carried Rautins and Thompson late into the preseason, the Thunder held their D-League rights, meaning the team will get a chance to develop the duo at its affiliate in Tulsa, which isn't shared with another NBA club. Another NBA team could sign either player away from the 66ers during the season, but the team would have to be willing to use a spot on its 15-man roster.
Jamario Moon Signs D-League Contract
Jamario Moon has signed with the D-League and will join the Los Angeles D-Fenders, according to agent Jared Karnes of A3 Athletics (Twitter link).
Moon spent part of last season playing for the Lakers' D-League affiliate, appearing in 12 games and posting averages of 17.7 PPG and 7.8 RPG in 37.8 minutes per contest. The 32-year-old hired Karnes as his agent earlier this month, in search of an NBA contract. While teams aren't currently rushing to add players to their rosters, having just made camp cuts, an impressive showing in the D-League could earn Moon another shot at the NBA.
Moon, a five-year veteran, appeared in eight games for the Bobcats in 2011/12, but didn't make the most of his limited minutes. Moon averaged just 2.3 PPG and 2.8 RPG in 15.4 MPG, shooting 29.2% from the floor.
International Notes: Ayon, D-League, China, Turkey
With three more NBA training camp invitees out of a job within the last 24 hours, we may soon be hearing about some familiar names winding up overseas. With the 2012/13 season under way in many leagues around the world, here's what's going on internationally.
- Emilio Duran, the agent for Magic center Gustavo Ayon, says FC Barcelona has acquired his client's Spanish league rights from Baloncesto Fuenlabrada, as had been rumored earlier this month, reports Rene Tovar of ESPNDeportes.com (translation via HoopsHype). The move only applies if and when Ayon decides to play outside of the NBA, and Duran said Ayon, whose NBA deal is guaranteed through the end of 2012/13, is content to remain stateside.
- The lure of more money from a team overseas was unusually attractive for D-League players last year because of the lockout, writes Gino Pilato of Ridiculous Upside.
- China and Turkey are becoming more attractive destinations as leagues in Italy, Spain and Greece struggle amid financial crisis in those countries, as Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype reports. The caliber of player who could once get $250K annually in the Spanish league is now drawing only $80K to $100K, agent Mark Bartelstein said. "There are no safe places in Europe anymore," according to agent Bill Neff. "FIBA may help but in many, if not most places in Europe, you now spend your time chasing your player's money instead of managing his career."
Odds & Ends: Nets, PEDs, Radmanovic, Invitees
Newsday's Roderick Boone says the Nets are a work in progress, but passes along praise from Celtics coach Doc Rivers. "It's like this is a whole new franchise," Rivers said. "It feels like they just plucked this team out of the space, and all of the sudden they've got a hell of a team in our division that wears black uniforms. It's unbelievable. I don't know if they could've done anything better. This is terrific." The Nets also drew admiration from Kevin Garnett, but Brooklyn coach Avery Johnson believes all the talk is just a psychological ploy from the team that's won the Atlantic Division five years in a row, calling it "a straight setup," as Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News documents (Sulia link). As the gamesmanship intensifies and the regular season draws closer, here's more from around the league.
- The head of the World Anti-Doping Agency called upon the NBA to institute testing for human growth hormone, and says there are "gaps" in the league's measures to prevent the use of performance-enhancing drugs, Henry Abbott of ESPN.com reports.
- Bulls offseason signee Vladimir Radmanovic is having trouble adjusting to the physical demands of playing for coach Tom Thibodeau, and might not be a part of the team's rotation come opening night, writes Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times.
- Eric Pincus of HoopsWorld sizes up the chances each team's training camp hopefuls have of making the opening-night roster.
- Micheal Eric and Kevin Jones haven't seen much playing time in preseason games, which makes practice all the more important for the pair, both of whom are trying to make the Cavaliers on non-guaranteed deals, as Mary Schmitt Boyer of The Plain Dealer chronicles.
- Vince Carter appears to be the favorite to assume the sixth-man role that Jason Terry played for the Mavericks before departing via free agency this past summer, according to Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News.
- Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside identifies six intriguing prospects who are likely to be available in the D-League draft, including Phil Jones, who was in camp with the Timberwolves earlier this month.
Odds & Ends: McGrady, Curry, Spurs, Vujacic
The Thunder, Lakers, Spurs, and Celtics are considered the most dangerous threats to the Heat this season, but ESPN.com's Tom Haberstroh thinks he's put together the team most capable of knocking off the defending champs. In an Insider-only piece, Haberstroh puts together a squad of "Heat Beaters" that adheres to the NBA's salary cap rules by surrounding a pair of superstars (Chris Paul and Dwight Howard) with a number of players on rookie-scale deals, including Serge Ibaka, Taj Gibson, Paul George, and Kawhi Leonard.
Here are a few other Thursday links from around the league:
- NBA commissioner David Stern and former teammate Shane Battier are among those applauding Tracy McGrady's decision to sign in China, according to Alastair Himmer of 560 WGAN.
- Though there's no real update on extension talks between Stephen Curry and the Warriors, both sides remain optimistic that a deal will be worked out by Halloween, says Sam Amick of SI.com (Sulia link). Amick adds that Curry's next contract is now being negotiated by Octagon's Jeff Austin after the point guard's previous agent, Lance Young, left Octagon.
- The battle for the Spurs' 15th roster spot is going down to the wire, according to Dan McCarney of the San Antonio Express-News, who breaks down the four candidates for the opening. McCarney believes the Spurs' decision will come down to Eddy Curry and Josh Powell.
- In an Insider-only piece, ESPN.com's Chad Ford names his top five 2013 draft prospects out of the Big 12.
- Sasha Vujacic says he'll consider returning to the NBA next summer, according to a Sport24.gr report (translation via HoopsHype).
- Gino Pilato of Ridiculous Upside previews the NBA D-League draft, which is set to take place on November 2nd.
Odds & Ends: Magic, Bucks, 2013 Draft, D-League
After rounding up a few stories out of the west this morning, let's turn our attention this afternoon to the Eastern Conference and to a pair of drafts….
- Competition for playing time and roster spots is still wide open, according to Magic coach Jacque Vaughn. "I am completely honest when I say I have not filled out my top 10, top nine, top 12 guys on the team yet," Vaughn told the media, including Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel, after last night's game. "And guys should take advantage of that, and tonight was a night that guys should’ve taken advantage of that opportunity."
- Coach Scott Skiles says the Bucks talked "many times" about how trading Andrew Bogut would impact their interior defense, and made it a priority this offseason to add size and length. Truman Reed of NBA.com has the details.
- In an Insider-only piece, ESPN.com's Chad Ford ranks the top prospects out of the Big East for next year's NBA draft. Meanwhile, Ford's No. 1 2013 prospect, Nerlens Noel, has been cleared by the NCAA to practice and play for the Kentucky Wildcats, according to a USA Today report.
- Speaking of drafts, the NBA D-League's 2012 draft will take place on the evening of November 2nd, according to the league's official Twitter account.
- The Cavs won't necessarily keep both Jeremy Pargo and Donald Sloan on their regular-season roster, but neither player has really pulled away as the favorite to earn a roster spot, says Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal.
Thunder Hire Darko Rajakovic To Coach 66ers
The Thunder have reached an agreement with Serbian coach Darko Rajakovic, hiring him to coach their D-League affiliate, the Tulsa 66ers, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Rajakovic still has to go through the immigration process, so his hiring has yet to become official, but when it does, he'll be the first European to coach an NBA or D-League franchise.
According to Wojnarowski, Thunder GM Sam Presti has a long relationship with Rajakovic, dating back to Presti's time with the Spurs. The GM targeted the 33-year-old Serbian out of a belief that he could develop the players that Oklahoma City sends to Tulsa for extra playing time.
Rajoakovic has coached Torrelodones in Spain for the last three seasons. He'll follow in the footsteps of two 66ers head coaches, Dale Osbourne and Nate Tibbetts, who have earned assistant coaching jobs for NBA teams since working in Tulsa.
Jeremy Lin Talks Knicks, D-League, Free Agency
The latest issue of GQ features a familiar face on its cover: Rockets guard Jeremy Lin. In the cover story for the November issue, GQ's Will Leitch profiles Lin, who spoke about playing in the D-League, his desire to finish his career with the Knicks, and a confusing summer in free agency. Here are a few of the highlights:
On wanting to remain in New York:
"You can't ask for a city or a fan base to embrace somebody more than they embraced me. I know it's kind of silly to talk about it with only two years under my belt in the league, but going in before free agency, I was like, 'I want to play in front of these fans for the rest of my career.' I really did. I really wanted to play in front of the Madison Square Garden fans for the rest of my career, because they're just unbelievable."
On his ascension from benchwarmer to star:
"I mean, to literally go from 'If I score two, three, or four points today, it's a good day' to setting the record for the most points scored in your first five starts of any NBA player, I'd be a huge liar if I told myself, 'I knew I could do that.' You know what I mean? That's not realistic. Let's just be honest. I had no idea I could play like that. It was as amazing to me as it was to everybody else."
On playing in the D-League prior to his breakout season:
"I'm going to be honest, playing in D-League games is tough. We got way more fans at Harvard games. It feels like a demotion, and it feels like if you have one bad game then the thought gets in your brain: I might get cut."
On whether he would have played overseas if he hadn't received a shot from an NBA team:
"I absolutely would not have liked playing in Spain or somewhere like that, so I was just gonna do it a year. Then I was gonna be done."
On the difficulty he had securing offers this offseason in free agency:
"[Rival teams] figured the Knicks were just going to match anyway, so there's no point. We couldn't get anybody. At one point in time I thought, 'Are we going to have zero contract offers?'…. The Rockets thought I was going to be a Knick. They told me when I signed there, 'We think it's an 80% to 95% chance of that happening.' That was consistent with what everyone was saying to me."
On whether he'd do anything differently in free agency:
"I might have been a lot more reserved about [seeking out offers] in free agency. But the thing about it is, there was no other way to handle the situation. I didn't get an offer from the Knicks, so I had to go test my market."
Odds & Ends: Chandler, Paul, Spurs, Jamison
Let's round up a few Wednesday odds and ends from around the Association….
- Although Wilson Chandler, who signed a five-year deal with the Nuggets earlier in 2012, tells Adrian Dater of the Denver Post that he wouldn't have done anything differently when it comes to playing last year in China, he's looking forward to a bounceback season with the Nuggets.
- Ramona Shelburne and Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com debate whether Chris Paul's impending free agency will become a distraction for the Clippers this season. For his part, Paul has said he doesn't expect to pay much attention to his contract situation until season's end.
- The Spurs are still seeking a permanent solution for backup point guard behind Tony Parker, writes Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News. Gary Neal currently has the leg up for the job, but Patrick Mills and Cory Joseph remain in the mix.
- Antawn Jamison spoke to Jeff Miller of the Orange County Register about his decision to sign with the Lakers after he received the OK from his family in North Carolina.
- In an Insider piece, ESPN.com's Chad Ford takes an early look at some of the top ACC prospects expected to be part of the 2013 draft class.
- The Santa Cruz Warriors are interested in selecting Japeth Aguilar of the Philippines in the D-League draft, according to Sid Ventura of Yahoo! Sports. Golden State's D-League affiliate officially received approval today to relocate to Santa Cruz for the 2012/13 season.
NBA D-League Approves Santa Cruz Warriors
The NBA D-League has formally approved the relocation of the Warriors' D-League affiliate from Dakota to Santa Cruz, according to a press release. The move had long been expected, since the Warriors bought the D-League franchise a year ago, but had required league approval before it became official. The former Dakota Wizards will play in Santa Cruz starting in the 2012/13 season.
"We’re excited to bring the NBA D-League brand of basketball to Santa Cruz and Northern California," said NBA D-League president Dan Reed in a statement. "The relocation of the team from Bismarck to Santa Cruz further demonstrates the Golden State Warriors’ commitment to developing top young NBA prospects in the NBA D-League. We thank the fans in Bismarck for their support of the team over the last six NBA D-League seasons."
As our list of D-League affiliates for 2012/13 shows, the Warriors are one of 11 NBA teams that has a one-on-one relationship with a D-League franchise for the coming year.