Pelicans Waive Justin Hamilton
5:08pm: New Orleans has waived Hamilton, the team announced in a press release.
3:06pm: The Pelicans are expected to waive Justin Hamilton, league sources tell John Reid of The Times-Picayune (Twitter link). Reid reported minutes earlier that the Pels are expected to sign Elliot Williams to a 10-day contract, but New Orleans doesn’t have to make a corresponding move, since it has an open roster spot. In any case, it appears the team is parting with the big man it acquired from the Heat in a three-team deadline-day trade with Phoenix. Hamilton would be ineligible to appear in the playoffs for another team if he indeed hits waivers, and the Pelicans would be on the hook for his entire minimum salary of more than $816K unless another team puts in a waiver claim.
The 24-year-old had yet to appear in a game for the Pelicans since the trade after averaging 12.0 minutes per contest in 24 appearances, five of them starts, for the banged-up Heat. Still, he had a marginal impact for Miami, averaging just 2.8 points and 2.0 rebounds. The contract that he signed with Miami toward the end of last season had a series of dates that triggered partially guaranteed salary, and he remained on the roster past them all, as well as the leaguewide guarantee date in January that locked in his full salary.
The Heat first acquired Hamilton on draft night in 2012 and twice signed him to deals, but Miami can’t re-sign him until July because the league prohibits teams from re-signing players they trade for one year, or until the end of the traded contract, whichever is sooner. Hamilton was also with Charlotte last season on a 10-day contract.
Nuggets Likely To Target D’Antoni, Gentry, Others
3:38pm: Denver is expected to make former Bulls and Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro a candidate for the job, and according to Ken Berger of CBSSports.com, who also hears mention of ex-Kings coach Michael Malone. Berger hints that’s true of Pelicans assistant Bryan Gates, Pacers assistant Nate McMillan and Celtics assistant Jay Larranaga, too, though that’s not entirely clear. In any case, the Nuggets will likely give Gentry “heavy consideration,” Berger writes.
1:10pm: The Nuggets have yet to any consider long-term candidates, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
1:01pm: Former Warriors coach Mark Jackson, current Warriors assistant coach Alvin Gentry and Bulls assistant Adrian Griffin are believed to be likely candidates to replace the fired Brian Shaw as Nuggets head coach, according to USA Today’s Sam Amick. One-time Mavs and Nets coach Avery Johnson and former Nuggets, Suns, Knicks and Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni are other likely candidates, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com, and a source who knows D’Antoni’s thinking told Amick that he would certainly be interested in the job. Still, the Nuggets indicated when they announced Shaw’s firing that Melvin Hunt would remain as interim coach through season’s end and that they would begin a search for a more permanent replacement after that. Sources confirm to Stein that the Nuggets will take a “long-term view” on their search (Twitter link).
D’Antoni recently suggested in a radio appearance with Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck and Ethan Skolnick that he had interest in returning to coach in the NBA (Twitlonger link; Twitter link). That was before Shaw’s firing, Beck cautions (on Twitter). D’Antoni resigned as Lakers coach last spring, and he got his start as an NBA coach with the 1999 Nuggets.
Jackson also coached as recently as last season, though his three-year Warriors stint is his only head coaching experience. Still, his name was linked to both the Magic and Kings openings earlier this season. Gentry has spent parts of 12 seasons as an NBA head coach, the last coming in 2012/13 with the Suns. That was Johnson’s last year of coaching, too, though he was only in charge of the Nets for the first 28 games that season. Johnson had more success in Dallas, where he took the team to the 2006 NBA Finals and won 67 games in 2006/07. Griffin has so far only served as an assistant coach with the Bucks and Bulls since the 2008/09 season, but Chicago promoted him before this season to lead assistant.
Southwest Notes: Morey, Stoudemire, Spurs
Rockets GM Daryl Morey would like to see some changes to the NBA’s trade rules, reports Dan Feldman of Pro Basketball Talk. Morey said teams should be able to link options with incentives and have traded picks adjusted based on the performance of the players who were received in return. “I think that could allow teams to not ever have fear,” Morey said. “Like if that Harden trade had, oh, if he becomes an All-Star, you have to send yet another future first-round pick. Or if he fails, we get back a pick. I think that would grease a lot of deals.”
There’s more news from the Southwest Division:
- Amar’e Stoudemire said he has no regrets about how things worked out in New York, writes Tim Bontemps of The New York Post. Stoudemire joined the Mavericks last month after agreeing to a buyout with the Knicks. He had been expected to become the cornerstone of the New York franchise when he signed a five-year, $100MM contract nearly five years ago. “I can’t control how my body reacts to certain things,” he said, referring to recurring knee problems. “But, other than that, I have no regrets.”
- Coach Gregg Popovich didn’t sound impressed after the Spurs won the top award at this year’s Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, according to Jeff McDonald of The Express-News. San Antonio was recognized as “Analytics Organization of the Year” at the annual gathering at MIT in Boston. Informed of the news before Saturday’s game in Phoenix, Popovich responded, “I had no idea there was such a conference or such an award.”
- “March Madness” isn’t just for the collegians, writes Jimmy Smith of The Times-Picayune, who says the Pelicans are heading into a crucial stretch for their postseason hopes. Still, coach Monty Williams doesn’t want scoreboard watching to dominate the locker room. “It’s not that I don’t recognize the big picture, I just don’t talk about it a lot,” Williams said. “… I think it allows us to focus on what’s important right now and I think everything else will take care of itself.”
And-Ones: Jennings, Wizards, Jerebko
Brandon Jennings might not have been thrilled the Pistons traded for another point guard but after meeting with coach and president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy, he understands why the move was made, according to David Mayo of MLive.com. Jennings, who suffered a season-ending torn left Achilles tendon January 24th at Milwaukee, could wind up sharing time with recently-acquired Reggie Jackson next season if Jackson signs with the club as a restricted free agent, Mayo continues. Jennings, who has one year and approximately $8.34MM remaining on his contract, will be tough to trade this summer as he tries to return from the injury, Mayo adds.
In other news around the league:
- The Wizards indeed used part of their Trevor Ariza trade exception to absorb Ramon Sessions‘ salary in last week’s trade, allowing them to create a new $4.625MM trade exception equivalent to Andre Miller‘s salary, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). There had been conflicting estimates about how the Wizards handled the exceptions, as I noted earlier this week. The Ariza exception is now worth $2,252,089.
- The Pacers, Knicks and Lakers are eyeing 28-year-old Lithuanian shooting guard Mantas Kalnietis, with Indiana showing the most interest, agent Tadas Bulotas tells Lithuania’s Sport 1 (YouTube link; transcription via TalkBasket.net). Kalnietis went undrafted in 2008, so no NBA team holds his rights.
- Jonas Jerebko, who is in the final year of a four-year, $18MM deal he signed with the Pistons in December 2011, believes his time with the Celtics is an opportunity to showcase his true potential, reports Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com. After spending his first five-plus NBA seasons with the Pistons, Jerebko was traded with Luigi Datome to Boston last week in exchange for Tayshaun Prince.
- Monty Williams is acting like a coach with his job on the line even though he has a year left on his contract, John Reid of the New Orleans Times-Picayune reveals. The Pelicans coach has been forced to deal with injuries to his star player, Anthony Davis, but he is still under heavy pressure to win because of a frustrated fan base, Reid adds.
Will Joseph and Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
And-Ones: Rondo, Towns, Rivers
Rajon Rondo was suspended for one game by the Mavs for conduct detrimental to the team, Marc Stein of ESPN.com tweets. The point guard and coach Rick Carlisle had a verbal altercation on the court that led to Rondo being benched in Dallas’ game against Toronto on Tuesday. The argument continued inside the Mavs’ locker room after that game, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com (Twitter link). Rondo becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer and it’s unknown if his friction with Carlisle will impact the veteran’s decision on possibly re-signing with Dallas.
In other news around the league:
- University of Kentucky forward Karl-Anthony Towns is threatening to surpass Duke big man Jahlil Okafor as the No. 1 pick in the June draft, according to draft expert Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required). Towns is more athletic, a better defender and a superior shot-blocker compared to Okafor, in Ford’s evaluation, and some NBA GMs that Ford interviewed believe that Towns is the better long-term prospect.
- Doc Rivers, who is the Clippers’ president of basketball operations, has been a failure as an executive, according to Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times. Rivers has not found an adequate backup at small forward behind Matt Barnes, secured a rotation player in the draft or fortified his bench, Bolch contends. Rivers’ inability to re-sign Darren Collison and his commitment to Spencer Hawes, whom he signed to a four-year contract during the off-season, are examples of his shortcomings as an executive, Bolch adds. Hawes is averaging 6.5 points and 3.8 rebounds this season, a reflection of his minimal impact.
- The Heat sent $369K to the Pelicans to complete the Norris Cole side of the deal which brought Goran Dragic to Miami, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets. The Heat also gave the Suns $2.2MM in that same trade.
- Victor Claver could wind up with Spanish power Real Madrid, David Pick of Eurobasket.com reports (Twitter link). Any Liga ACB team seeking his services must negotiate with Valencia, which owns his rights, Pick added in a separate tweet. The 26-year-old forward played in 10 games with the Trail Blazers this season before he was acquired by the Nuggets last week. Claver was subsequently waived by Denver.
Southwest Notes: Rondo, Stoudemire, Smith
The tension between Rajon Rondo and Mavs coach Rick Carlisle that bubbled to the surface with a profanity-laced shouting match and Rondo’s subsequent benching during Tuesday’s game predates that confrontation, team sources tell Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com. The soon-to-be free agent and the coach have been at loggerheads over play-calling for a while, MacMahon hears, but owner Mark Cuban doesn’t seem worried, the ESPNDallas.com scribe notes. It’s far from the first time Rondo has clashed with a coach, as Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com points out (on Twitter). While we wait to see if his latest confrontation has any implication on this summer’s free agent market, there’s more on the Mavs amid the latest from the Southwest Division:
- Mavs athletic trainer Casey Smith’s strong reputation was one of the keys to Amar’e Stoudemire‘s decision to sign with Dallas, as MacMahon writes in a separate piece examining the team’s success with players on minimum-salary contracts. Cuban cites the club’s medical staff along with its style of play and its success in the win-loss column for the team’s ability to attract veterans at a discount. “You start looking at the roster and what they’ve accumulated,” Richard Jefferson said. “I’m in year 14 [of my career] now. I want to win. If that means I have to take less money for a year or two to help a team win, then so be it.”
- Josh Smith considered joining the Clippers before signing with the Rockets, as he told reporters today, including Dan Woike of the Orange County Register (Twitter link). The Clippers reportedly reached out to Smith’s representatives shortly after his release from the Pistons in December. He’ll be a free agent again in the summer.
- Former Mavs and Pelicans point guard Gal Mekel wishes he’d entered the D-League when he was searching for an NBA deal after the Pelicans let him go earlier this season, tweets David Pick of Eurobasket.com. Mekel wound up signing this week with Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod.
And-Ones: Daniels, Shved, Towns
The amount of cash the Thunder sent the Pelicans in the Ish Smith trade is $801K, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reports (Twitter link). The 2015 second-round pick headed from Oklahoma City to New Orleans is Philly’s top-55 protected pick, as Pincus shows on his Pelicans salary page. The 2016 second-rounder headed to the Thunder is the less favorable of Sacramento’s top-55 protected pick and the Pelicans’ pick, according to RealGM.
Here’s more from around the league:
- The Hornets gave up Gary Neal two weeks ago in the trade that netted Mo Williams and Troy Daniels, but Steve Clifford can envision Daniels developing into the sort of role Neal has played in the NBA, notes Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer. Bonnell’s piece examines just what the Hornets have in Daniels, who has a fully guaranteed minimum salary for next season.
- The Heat sent the Suns $2.2MM in cash in the Goran Dragic trade, according to Pincus (Twitter link).
- The Knicks did indeed take Alexey Shved‘s $3,282,057 salary into their $3,637,073 Raymond Felton trade exception as part of their trade with the Rockets, reducing that exception to $355,016, as Pincus tweets. The move allowed New York to create a new $1,662,961 trade exception worth the equivalent of Pablo Prigioni‘s salary, Pincus adds.
- A number of NBA GMs and scouts are beginning to view Karl-Anthony Towns as having greater long-term potential than Jahlil Okafor, and the freshman could play his way into being drafted No. 1 overall this June, Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required) writes.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Suns Notes: Knight, Granger, Len
Brandon Knight acknowledged that remaining with the Suns beyond this season is an attractive option for him, Matt Petersen of NBA.com writes. “They’ve got a lot of good talent, a lot of good pieces here, so I could definitely see myself being here long-term,” Knight said. “A good coaching staff, as well. We’ve just got to see what happens.” The point guard will become a restricted free agent at the conclusion of the season.
Here’s more from Phoenix:
- The Suns created a $5.5MM trade exception in their three-team trade with the Heat and Pelicans, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reports (Twitter link). It’s equivalent to the difference between the salaries of Goran Dragic and John Salmons.
- Danny Granger and the Suns have engaged in “positive and open talks” regarding if the veteran will remain with Phoenix or pursue a buyout arrangement so that he can join a contender, Shams Charania of RealGM tweets.
- One major bright spot for the Suns this season is the play of Alex Len, whose potential has Phoenix’s front office and coaching staff excited, Ben York of NBA.com writes. “He continues to grow every single day,” coach Jeff Hornacek said about Len. “That’s why we’re so high on him for the future – a 21-year-old kid, the things he’s doing already. He’s going to get bigger, stronger and a better post-up game as these years go on. You’re going to look three to four years down the road – I don’t want to put any pressure on him, but [he has a chance] to be an All-Star.”
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Cavs Sign Kendrick Perkins
TUESDAY, 3:40pm: The deal is official, the team announced.
9:49pm: Perkins will sign with the Cavaliers Tuesday before the team plays in Detroit, tweets Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today.
MONDAY, 4:14pm: Perkins has cleared waivers as expected, a source tells Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal (Twitter link), clearing the way for him to sign with the Cavs.
SATURDAY, 3:30pm: Kendrick Perkins has finalized a buyout arrangement with the Jazz and intends to sign with the Cavaliers if and when he clears waivers, Royce Young of ESPN.com reports. Perkins was dealt to the Jazz on Thursday as part of a three-way trade with the Pistons and Thunder that sent Reggie Jackson to Detroit and Enes Kanter to Oklahoma City. The buyout has not been officially announced by the player or the Jazz as of yet, though Perkins’ agent Arn Tellem has informed Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link) that a buyout had been agreed upon.
The veteran big man was recruited by LeBron James to select Cleveland as his next NBA destination, Young notes. Perkins also drew heavy interest from the Bulls, Clippers, Pelicans, and Spurs, the ESPN scribe adds. The combination of a chance to contend for an NBA title along with an opportunity for playing time pushed Perkins to choose Cleveland over his other suitors, Young relays. The Cavs currently have 14 players on their roster, so no additional move would be required to sign Perkins. No contract details for Perkins have been released, but the Cavs do have a disabled player exception worth $4,852,273 for Anderson Varejao that they could use to sign Perkins for more than the minimum.
Perkins, 30, is making $9.654MM this season and would have become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. In 51 appearances this season, all with the Thunder, Perkins is averaging 4.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 0.7 blocks in 19.2 minutes per contest.
Darius Miller Signs To Play In Germany
Small forward Darius Miller has signed with Brose Baskets Bamberg, the team announced (translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). The third-year pro joins Gal Mekel among the ex-Pelicans signing overseas today. New Orleans drafted Miller 46th overall in 2012 and re-signed him this past summer, but the team waived him in November despite a $400K partial guarantee. Miller’s deal with Bamberg runs until season’s end, according to the team’s statement.
The Clippers appeared to have a 10-day deal in place with the 24-year-old last month, but they signed Dahntay Jones instead. The Clips have a pair of open roster spots, as our roster counts show, and coach/executive Doc Rivers has pointed to the post-deadline buyout period as the time to fill those vacancies, but it appears as though Miller is not an option for the team.
Miller saw fairly significant playing time in 2013/14, averaging 4.4 points in 16.1 minutes per game for New Orleans, but his role shrunk to encompass only 8.7 MPG in five appearances during the early going for the Pelicans this season. He was a solid outside shooter in his final two seasons at Kentucky and as a rookie, but last season his three-point accuracy dipped to 32.5%.