- Anthony Morrow will officially come off the market shortly, having reached an agreement with the Trail Blazers. Before striking a deal with Portland though, Morrow also received interest from several teams, including the Timberwolves, Bucks, Pelicans, and Bulls, reports Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders.
SEPTEMBER 14: Jones’ deal with the Pelicans has been finalized, per RealGM’s official log of NBA transactions.
SEPTEMBER 11: Forward Perry Jones has agreed to a training camp deal with the Pelicans, league sources told Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).
Jones, 25, has not appeared in an NBA game since the 2014/15 season. The Thunder used a late 2012 first-round selection on him and he remained on their roster for three seasons. He played 143 games for Oklahoma City, averaging 3.4 PPG and 1.8 RPG in 14.7 MPG.
He played in Russia and the G-League last season. He appeared in 24 games with the Iowa Energy, posting averages of 6.9 PPG, 3.0 RPG and 1.8 APG in 21.8 MPG while shooting just 31.3% from the field.
Jones faces an uphill battle in making the roster, even though forward Solomon Hill could miss most of the season with a hamstring tear. The Pelicans are reportedly finalizing a contract with veteran swingman Tony Allen.
The Shreveport City Council voted on Tuesday against moving forward with the plan to invest $30MM into building an arena capable of housing a G League franchise for the Pelicans, according to William Guillory of The Times-Picayune. As we heard last month, Shreveport and Pensacola, Florida are considered the two finalists for the Pelicans’ G League affiliate.
A new facility in Shreveport would likely have made the Louisiana the strong favorite to become the home of the Pelicans’ G League squad, which is expected to begin play in 2018/19. However, even with the city reluctant to commit financially to the project, Shreveport remains in the conversation, per Pelicans VP of communications Greg Bensel.
“We are still moving in the process,” Bensel said, per Guillory. “Shreveport is part of our Saints and Pelicans family and we value that market and both teams will continue to promote our community outreach efforts throughout the area.”
- After winning a title with the Warriors last season, Ian Clark is looking forward to a new challenge – and a potentially larger role – with the Pelicans in 2017/18. Jim Eichenhofer of Pelicans.com has the story on Clark, who explains why he decided to sign a one-year contract with New Orleans this summer.
- The Pelicans have renounced their draft rights to 2011 second-rounder Ater Majok, according to RealGM’s log of official NBA transactions. New Orleans now holds the draft rights to just one non-NBA player — big man Latavious Williams.
SEPTEMBER 13, 10:39am: The Timberwolves are putting the “full-court press” on Cunningham in the hopes of bringing him back to Minnesota, tweets Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press.
SEPTEMBER 12, 7:56pm: After agreeing to terms with Shabazz Muhammad earlier today, the Timberwolves continue to scour the free agent market for veteran additions, and they’d “very much welcome” forward Dante Cunningham, per Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News (Twitter link). Wolfson, who tweeted on Monday about the “buzz” on Muhammad and the Wolves, suggests there’s a comparable buzz now on Minnesota’s chances for Cunningham.
As we’ve written several times over the last few weeks, the Timberwolves have been on the lookout for two wings and a point guard to fill out their roster. With Muhammad set to finalize a new contract, that leaves a wing and a point guard on Minnesota’s shopping list. Cunningham is more of a power forward, but has added a three-point shot to his arsenal and has seen plenty of minutes at small forward in past seasons.
We heard nearly two weeks ago that the Pelicans and Bucks are in play for Cunningham as well, in addition to the Wolves. New Orleans and Milwaukee are hovering around luxury tax territory and Minnesota has used its cap space and room exception, so a minimum salary deal appears likely for Cunningham when he eventually strikes a deal.
The Wolves have brought in a number of veteran free agents for workouts this month, with Anthony Morrow, Alan Anderson, Isaiah Canaan, and Thomas Robinson among the players to get a look last week. Jason Terry and Marcus Thornton are reportedly visiting Minnesota this week, though Wolfson suggests (via Twitter) that Terry is more likely to end up with the Bucks than the Wolves. Wolfson also adds another name to the list of veterans drawing interest from Minnesota, tweeting that free agent swingman Gerald Green is in town this week.
The Pelicans aren’t finished with roster moves after the reported additions of Tony Allen and Perry Jones, tweets Scott Kushner of The Advocate. Dante Cunningham, who declined his player option in April, remains a possibility, along with other players who can defend both forward positions.
The 30-year-old Cunningham spent the past three seasons in New Orleans, serving as a part-time starter. He averaged 6.6 points and 4.2 rebounds in 66 games last year, 35 in the starting lineup. Cunningham opted out of a $3.1MM salary for 2017/18, but may have to settle for less now that training camps are just two weeks away.
There’s more today out of New Orleans:
- With significant roster turnover during the past two seasons, the Pelicans are focused on building team chemistry before the start of camp, writes Jim Eichenhofer of NBA.com. One of the organizers of a voluntary team gathering last month at the University of Kentucky was newly signed point guard Rajon Rondo, who got the idea from Kevin Garnett in Boston. “One of the things [Rondo] brings to a team is he makes players understand that we are in this together,” said Jordan Crawford, who joined the Pelicans in March. “You might think of it as a defiant attitude or something like that, but it’s really [having the perspective] that the coaches are part of this team, but they’re not going to be on the court with us.”
- Allen personified the “Grit and Grind” era in Memphis and should bring the same toughness to New Orleans, writes Chris Herrington of the Memphis Commercial Appeal. Herrington recounts some of the defensive specialist’s highlights with the Grizzlies and says games this year won’t be the same without him.
- The expected signing of Allen leaves the Pelicans $3.27MM under the luxury tax and $3.85MM away from a hard cap, according to Bobby Marks on ESPN Now. The team is up to 13 fully guaranteed contracts, with Crawford, who has a $250K guarantee, expected to fill another roster spot. The additions of Allen and Jones give New Orleans 17 players for camp, with three slots still open.
- We’ve written about how the Pelicans have at least a passing interest in Iman Shumpert. Bryan Kalbrosky of Hoops Hype has taken things one step further, amalgamating various hypothetical deals that could unfold between the Pels and Cavaliers. It’s unlikely that a Shumpert trade would escalate to the point of DeMarcus Cousins and the Brooklyn first-rounder changing hands but there’s at least some merit to the speculation.
The Pelicans have an interest in Iman Shumpert, Cody Taylor of Basketball Insiders writes. The news comes a week after there were conflicting reports about the swingman requesting a deal.
Regardless of whether Shumpert has specifically sought a move or not, the Cavaliers can afford to lose him after trading for Jae Crowder in the now-official Kyrie Irving deal. Shumpert, an acute perimeter defender, represents a need of the Pelicans franchise given their dearth of healthy wings.
Just what a deal between the two franchises would entail, however, is a different story. Considering that both Cleveland and the Pelicans are over the cap, the Cavs would need to take back salary equal to Shumpert’s $10.3MM deal and that’s where things get tricky.
Given Cleveland’s mandate to win now while maintaining a modicum of agility and flexibility should LeBron James leave next summer, it’s unlikely that the club would accept what the Pelicans could offer under the cap.
Neither the $25.9MM guaranteed to E’Twaun Moore through 2019/20 nor the prospect of adding Pelicans center Omer Asik to the frontcourt mix are presumed to inspire much enthusiasm in Koby Altman‘s front office, leaving us little choice but to speculate that the Pelicans will need to fill their perimeter holes elsewhere.
- The Pelicans were limited in what they could do to their roster this offseason, Shaun Powell of NBA.com. The team will have to hope that the superstar duo of Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins is enough to lead them to the postseason.
SEPTEMBER 1, 2:55pm: The deal is now official, the Pelicans announced in a press release.
In exchange for Pondexter, a 2018 second-rounder, and cash, the Bulls are sending the Pelicans the draft rights to Ater Majok, according to Brett Martel of The Associated Press (Twitter link). Majok, a 2011 pick who is currently playing in Lebanon, had his rights traded from the Lakers to Chicago in last summer’s Jose Calderon swap.
AUGUST 31, 4:52pm: There has been a clarification regarding the trade courtesy of CSN Chicago’s Vincent Goodwill. The Bulls will receive Pondexter and a 2018 second-pick, as well as cash.
4:44pm: The Bulls and Pelicans are finalizing a trade that would send Quincy Pondexter to Chicago for a second-round draft pick, Shams Charania of The Vertical tweets. An update, however, suggests that it will be New Orleans giving up the pick in addition to Pondexter.
Pondexter hasn’t seen NBA action since 2014/15 when he started 28 games for the Pelicans and 30 contests total. Since then, he’s struggled through a particularly troublesome knee injury, his health remaining in limbo ahead of the 2017/18 season.
While the Bulls may end up ultimately waiving Pondexter, the second-round pick will serve them well as they navigate a long anticipated rebuild. The addition of Pondexter’s $3.9MM contract will presumably be absorbed into Chicago’s $15.3MM trade exception, Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets.
Considering New Orleans’ need for a perimeter threat in light of Solomon Hill‘s long-term hamstring injury, the 29-year-old Pondexter would be an extremely valuable asset for the franchise if there was any sense of optimism that he could be healthy for the upcoming campaign. In June, however, general manager Dell Demps spoke about how uncertain the forward’s status was.
We had previously identified Pondexter as a candidate to be waived and stretched before the August 31 deadline, particularly given New Orleans’ proximity to the tax line. However, by finding a trade partner for the veteran swingman, the Pelicans will avoid carrying his cap hit in 2017/18 or stretching it across the next three seasons.
When top college prospects like Markelle Fultz or Lonzo Ball are drafted, there’s virtually no doubt that their next step will involve signing an NBA contract. However, that’s not the case for every player who is selected in the NBA draft, particularly for international prospects and second-round picks.
When an NBA team uses a draft pick on a player, it gains his NBA rights, but that doesn’t mean the player will sign an NBA contract right away. International prospects will often remain with their professional team overseas for at least one more year to develop their game further, becoming “draft-and-stash” prospects. Nikola Mirotic, Dario Saric, and Bogdan Bogdanovic are among the more notable players to fit this bill in recent years.
However, draft-and-stash players can be former NCAA standouts too. Sometimes a college prospect selected with a late second round pick will end up playing overseas or in the G League for a year or two if there’s no space available on his NBA team’s 15-man roster.
While these players sometimes make their way to their NBA teams, others never do. Many clubs around the NBA currently hold the rights to international players who have remained overseas for their entire professional careers and are no longer viewed as top prospects. Those players may never come stateside, but there’s often no reason for NBA teams to renounce their rights — those rights can sometimes be used as placeholders in trades.
For instance, earlier this summer, the Pacers and Raptors agreed to a trade that sent Cory Joseph to Indiana. Toronto was happy to move Joseph’s salary and didn’t necessarily need anything in return, but the Pacers had to send something in the deal. Rather than including an NBA player or a draft pick, Indiana sent Toronto the draft rights to Emir Preldzic, the 57th overall pick in the 2009 draft.
Preldzic is currently playing for Galatasaray in Turkey, and at this point appears unlikely to ever come to the NBA, but his draft rights have been a useful trade chip over the years — the Pacers/Raptors swap represented the fourth time since 2010 that Preldzic’s NBA rights have been included in a trade.
This week, we’re taking a closer look at the players whose draft rights NBA teams currently hold, sorting them by division. These players may eventually arrive in America and join their respective NBA teams, but many will end up like Preldzic, plying their trade overseas and having their draft rights used as pawns in NBA trades.
Here’s a breakdown of the draft rights held by Southwest teams:
Dallas Mavericks
- Petteri Koponen, G (2007; No. 30): Playing in Spain.
- Stanko Barac, C (2007; No. 39): Last played in Italy.
- Renaldas Seibutis, G (2007; No. 50): Playing in Lithuania.
- Satnam Singh, C (2015; No. 52): Playing in G League (Texas Legends).
Houston Rockets
- Venson Hamilton, F (1999; No. 50): Retired.
- Serhiy Lishchuk, F/C (2004; No. 49): Last played in Spain.
- Axel Hervelle, F (2005; No. 52): Playing in Spain.
- Sergio Llull, G (2009; No. 34): Playing in Spain.
- Jon Diebler, G (2011; No. 51): Playing in Turkey.
- Marko Todorovic, F/C (2013; No. 45): Playing in Russia.
- Alessandro Gentile, G/F (2014; No. 53): Playing in Italy.
- Isaiah Hartenstein, F/C (2017; No. 43): Playing in G League.
Memphis Grizzlies
- Wang Zhelin, C (2016; No. 57): Playing in China.
New Orleans Pelicans
- Latavious Williams, F/C (2010; No. 48): Playing in Spain.
San Antonio Spurs
- Robertas Javtokas, C (2001; No. 55): Retired.
- Viktor Sanikidze, F (2004; No. 42): Last played in Greece.
- Sergei Karaulov, C (2004; No. 57): Playing in Russia.
- Erazem Lorbek, F/C (2005; No. 46): Last played in Italy.
- Giorgos Printezis, F (2007; No. 58): Playing in Greece.
- Adam Hanga, G/F (2011; No. 59): Playing in Spain.
- Nemanja Dangubic, F (2014; No. 54): Playing in Serbia.
- Nikola Milutinov, C (2015; No. 26): Playing in Greece.
- Olivier Hanlan, G (2015; No. 42): Playing in G League.
- Cady Lalanne, F/C (2015; No. 55): Playing in Italy.
- Jaron Blossomgame, F (2017; No. 59): Playing in G League.
Previously:
Information from Mark Porcaro and Basketball Insiders was used in the creation of this post.