Pelicans Sign Jalen Jones To Two-Way Contract
AUGUST 2: The Pelicans have officially signed Jones to a two-way contract, the team announced today in a press release. The club recently reached an agreement with Charles Cooke for its other two-way spot.
JULY 25: The Pelicans are expected to sign former Texas A&M forward Jalen Jones, a source tells Orazio Cauchi of Sportando. Details of Jones’ potential deal aren’t known, but it would likely be a training camp invite without a full guarantee, assuming it’s not a two-way contract.
Jones, 24, went undrafted in 2016 but signed a training camp deal with the Celtics. Although the 6’7″ small forward didn’t earn a spot on Boston’s regular season roster, he became an affiliate player for the club after being waived, joining the G League’s Maine Red Claws.
Jones enjoyed an impressive 2016/17 campaign in Maine, averaging 21.0 PPG and 9.0 RPG — he was named to the All NBA G League Third Team. Jones further impressed the Pelicans in Summer League play this month, recording 13.3 PPG and 6.2 RPG in six games for the club.
Assuming he gets a camp deal from the Pelicans, Jones would join Jrue Holiday, Rajon Rondo, and Darius Miller as the free agents to sign NBA contracts with the franchise so far this offseason. New Orleans also added Frank Jackson in the draft.
Latest On NBA’s Summer Salary Guarantee Dates
The Heat didn’t make any roster moves with Rodney McGruder or Okaro White on Tuesday, ensuring that both players remain under contract and received partial guarantees on their contracts for 2017/18, writes Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel.
As Basketball Insiders details, McGruder and White are on minimum salary deals worth $1,312,611 for the coming season. By remaining with the Heat through August 1, both players are now in line for about $453K in guaranteed money. Their full salaries will become guaranteed if they stay under contract through the first game of the regular season.
Meanwhile, as we noted last night, the Hornets also kept Johnny O’Bryant on their roster beyond his August 1 salary guarantee deadline, making his $1,524,305 minimum salary fully guaranteed.
Other players, including Jordan Crawford of the Pelicans and Bryn Forbes of the Spurs, had August 1 salary guarantee deadlines in their contracts as well, per Basketball Insiders’ data. However, we haven’t received confirmation that their guarantees are locked in.
Neither Crawford nor Forbes was waived, but teams and players can sometimes agree to push back guarantee dates to create more flexibility for the club — the Trail Blazers recently did just that with Pat Connaughton, whose salary guarantee deadline is now August 31 instead of July 25.
For more details on which players have received salary guarantees this summer – as well as which players have been waived before those guarantees kicked in – be sure to check out our full breakdown.
And-Ones: Awards, Super Teams, Pelicans, Lawson
After his superstar player, James Harden, fell short of capturing the NBA Most Valuable Player award, Daryl Morey feels the league could do away with awards, the Rockets general manager said to Ben Golliver of The Crossover.
“I don’t know if this is a good process,” Morey said. “The ones that are decided by players or executives or media, they all have their strengths and weaknesses. I honestly don’t think there’s a good process. You could argue for eliminating the awards altogether. I don’t really see a good way to do it that doesn’t have major issues. I like clean answers. If there’s not going to be a set criteria and there’s going to be issues with how it’s structured, for me it might be better to not have it.”
Morey made frequent mention to the “criteria” used to select the NBA MVP. Whether it be personal success, a historically great season, or team performance, Morey believes it doesn’t lead to a uniform result. For instance, Stephen Curry won the MVP over Harden because the Warriors had a better record, and if the same guidelines were used, Harden should have won the award over Russell Westbrook this year.
In any case, Morey’s comments have been received negatively by most of the basketball world and players are still scheduled to be rewarded with hardware for having outstanding seasons.
Below you can find additional news from around the basketball world:
- Tom Haberstroh of ESPN examines nine different NBA teams that could be future super teams in a lengthy piece that well worth the read. Haberstroh compares super teams from years’ past, including the 2008 Celtics, 2011 Heat, and the 2014 Warriors and explains how teams can follow their blueprints to success.
- For ESPN Insider (subscription required and recommended), Kevin Pelton hands out grades to Western Conference teams for their transactions and transgressions this offseason.
- While an expansion with new teams added to the NBA is unlikely, Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders writes that relocation of current teams is more plausible. Kyler specifically mentions the Pelicans and how they could end up moving from New Orleans.
- Free agent point guard Ty Lawson has signed with veteran agent Larry Fox, per Liz Mullen of SportsBusiness Daily (via Twitter). Hoops Rumors previously noted that Fox was representing Lawson, who seemed bound for China at one point this offseason.
Details About Frank Jackson's Contract
- The majority of Frank Jackson‘s contract with the Pelicans is guaranteed, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets. Jackson’s first two seasons are guaranteed at the league minimum, as is $506K of his third season.
Community Shootaround: Pelicans’ Playoff Chances
Making the playoffs in the Western Conference was a challenging task last season and it should be an even harder feat after several teams improved this offseason.
The Warriors brought back their core in addition to bringing in Nick Young and they are likely to take home the conference’s top seed. The Spurs, Rockets, and Thunder should find themselves jocking for position behind them. The Clippers and Jazz each lost their best player in free agency, but both seem poised to reach the playoffs, albeit with a lower seed than they had last season. The Nuggets (adding Paul Millsap) and Wolves (trading for Jimmy Butler) made upgrades with the hopes of pushing the Grizzlies or Blazers for a playoff spot.
The Pelicans hope to surpass at least three of the aforementioned teams and sneak into the playoffs, but they might not have enough shooting or defense to reach that goal, as Thomas Rende of NBAMath explains. Rende notes that only 11 teams since the 2012/13 campaign have won more than 45 games (a number that should put a team in contention for a playoff birth) while ranking in the bottom third of the league in three-point percentage. Out of those teams, only two (the 2012/13 Nuggets and the 2014/15 Thunder) didn’t rank in the top 10 in points allowed per 100 possessions.
In his piece, which is a must read, Rende explains how New Orleans is ill-equipped to drastically improve its outside shooting, meaning a playoff birth appears unlikely.
What do you think? Can the Pelicans muster enough offense to make the playoffs in the ultra-competitive Western Conference or will their lack of shooting plague the team and relegate them to the lottery once again?
Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below. We look forward to what you have to say!
Southwest Notes: Davis, Irving, Melo, Mavericks
The Pelicans will enter the 2017/18 season with a rising superstar in Anthony Davis, prized acquisition DeMarcus Cousins, long-term investment Jrue Holiday, veteran Rajon Rondo and others ready to compete. Davis, in particular, is focused on turning the franchise’s fortunes around and proclaimed the team is “tired of losing,” per the Associated Press.
Davis, still just 24 years old, wants to lead New Orleans out of the Western Conference cellar into the playoff picture, which could prove difficult if the rest of the conference plays to its potential. However, Davis explained that the team is making efforts to improve and the talented roster must perform.
“We’re doing everything, whether it’s signing players, trading players … whatever it is to just try to make sure that we try to be a winning organization,” Davis said. “We have the tools right now to be successful. … Right now, I think we look good on paper. So we’ve just got to figure it out.”
Below are additional notes around the Southwest Division:
- As the Carmelo Anthony-to-the-Rockets rumors persist, Sean Deveney of the Sporting News examined Anthony’s play on Team USA during the Olympics. While Anthony is often viewed a “selfish” player focused on scoring, Deveney writes that his Olympic exploits show he’s a versatile player who can be effective as a number two or three option. If Anthony does end up in Houston, alongside James Harden and Chris Paul, that side of Anthony could prove to be effective.
- Newy Scruggs of Dallas Sports Day answered several fan questions, one of which involved Cavaliers star Kyrie Irving. Scruggs believes Irving is not ideal for the Mavericks, given the presence of Dennis Smith Jr. and Irving’s reported desire to be a No. 1 option.
- While 2017/18 may be Dirk Nowitzki‘s final season, Kevin Sherrington of Dallas Sports Day believes that “tanking” may not be the right word for the Mavericks‘ approach to the year. Sherrington writes that tanking is the fault of an organizational mindset and not the players; the team can be competitive with its current core, he adds.
Axel Toupane Will Play In Lithuania
Axel Toupane, who was waived Tuesday by the Pelicans, has signed with Zalgiris Kaunas in Lithuania, according to Dario Destri of Sportando.
The 6’7″ swingman agreed to a non-guaranteed minimum salary deal with New Orleans late last season and appeared in two games with the Pelicans. He also played two games for the Bucks on a 10-day contract in February. Toupane spent most of the season with Raptors 905, Toronto’s affiliate in the G League.
Tuesday was a salary guarantee date for Toupane, whose partial guarantee would have risen from $25K to $200K if he had been kept on the Pelicans’ roster.
Bulls, Blazers, Raptors Hold Largest Trade Exceptions
When an over-the-cap NBA team sends out more salary than it receives in a given trade, that team can generally create a traded player exception. As we explain in our glossary entry, a traded player exception serves as a way for a team to acquire talent without using cap room to do so.
Traded player exceptions last for one year from the time they’re created, and can be used to absorb a player’s contract in a trade without sending out any salary in return. Trade exceptions can’t be combined with another exception or another contract, but they have $100K worth of wiggle room. So, a team with a $9.9MM TPE could trade for a player earning $10MM without any outgoing salary involved in the deal.
In recent weeks, a handful of teams – including the Hornets, Clippers, and Cavaliers – have seen trade exceptions created last July expire without being used. However, none of those TPEs was substantial. All of this year’s biggest TPEs are still available, though some are more likely to be used than others.
Here’s the current list of the top 10 traded player exceptions available around the NBA, along with each TPE’s expiration date:
- Chicago Bulls: $15,311,329 (6/22/18)
- Portland Trail Blazers: $12,969,502 (7/25/18)
- Toronto Raptors: $11,800,000 (7/13/18)
- Toronto Raptors: $7,630,000 (7/14/18)
- Los Angeles Clippers: $7,273,631 (6/28/18)
- Milwaukee Bucks: $5,000,000 (2/23/18)
- Oklahoma City Thunder: $4,936,529 (11/1/17)
- Cleveland Cavaliers: $4,837,500 (1/7/18)
- New Orleans Pelicans: $3,517,200 (2/20/18)
- Oklahoma City Thunder: $2,550,000 (7/6/18)
While some of these TPEs are quite sizable, there’s a good chance that most of them will go unused. Many of the clubs on this list are near or above the luxury tax threshold, and will be reluctant to acquire an expensive player without dumping any salary as part of the deal.
The Blazers, Raptors, Clippers, Bucks, Thunder, and Cavaliers all fit that bill, though some of those clubs may be willing to bite the tax-penalty bullet, while others could wait until next July when some contracts expire to use their respective TPEs.
As for the Bulls, no team has a more significant TPE than the one Chicago created as part of June’s Jimmy Butler trade. But that exception is somewhat hollow at the moment — the Bulls only have $73.25MM in guaranteed salaries on their 2017/18 cap, so the club could actually create an even greater chunk of cap room by renouncing its trade exception, along with its other cap holds and exceptions. Still, there’s no reason to do that now. That TPE could come in handy later if the Bulls re-sign Nikola Mirotic and much of that potential cap space disappears.
The full list of current NBA trade exceptions can be found right here.
Pelicans Waive Quinn Cook, Axel Toupane
11:55am: Bobby Marks of ESPN suggests that Toupane also had a partial guarantee on his contract that would have increased from $25K to $200K if he hadn’t been cut today. By waiving both Toupane and Cook, the Pelicans will carry a total of $50K in dead money for the duo — that figure would’ve increased to $300K after today.
11:12am: The Pelicans have reduced their offseason roster by two players, announcing today in a press release that they’ve waived guard Quinn Cook and swingman Axel Toupane. Cook and Toupane will become unrestricted free agents later this week if and when they clears waivers.
Both Cook and Toupane had been on non-guaranteed minimum salary contracts in New Orleans. According to Basketball Insiders’ data, Cook’s salary became partially guaranteed for $25K earlier this month, and would have become guaranteed for another $75K if he had remained on the roster through July 25. As for Toupane, his deal was fully non-guaranteed until January.
Cook and Toupane both signed contracts with the Pelicans during the final days of the 2016/17 season, allowing the franchise to get a look at both players down the stretch and over the summer before making a determination on their status. Apparently, New Orleans decided that neither youngster was in the team’s 2017/18 plans. The Pelicans still have one player – Jordan Crawford – on a non-guaranteed contract.
Having played well in the G League over the last couple years, Cook and Toupane should be candidates for training camp invites or two-way contracts from other NBA teams once they clear waivers.
Pelicans Sign Darius Miller
JULY 24, 1:35pm: The Pelicans have officially signed Miller to a two-year deal with a second-year team option, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. David Pick adds (via Twitter) that – contrary to an earlier report – the deal is worth $4.3MM, which suggests New Orleans may have used a portion of its mid-level exception to complete the signing.
JULY 6, 3:19pm: Miller is expected to get a two-year deal worth more than $3MM, per Sportando (Twitter link). Of course, Miller’s minimum salary for 2017/18 is worth over $1.5MM, so this sounds like a minimum contract.
JULY 5, 5:23pm: The Pelicans have agreed to a deal with Darius Miller, according to international journalist David Pick (Twitter link). The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but it’s likely a minimum salary arrangement.
Miller, who won a championship at Kentucky alongside Anthony Davis, was selected in the second round of the 2012 draft by New Orleans. He spent three seasons with the team before being waived.
The small forward signed on with Brose Bamberg part way through the 2014/15 season and remained with German club through the end of last season. He thrived during his European opportunity, earning first-team honors this past season after winning the BBL Finals MVP during the 2016 postseason.