New Orleans Pelicans Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pelicans Sign Jeff Withey

July 30th, 2013 at 10:28am CST by Luke Adams

The Pelicans have officially signed rookie big man Jeff Withey to a contract, the team announced today in a press release. Since Withey was a second-round pick, he won't receive a standard rookie-scale deal, so terms of the agreement aren't yet known.

Withey, 23, was selected 39th overall in last month's draft by the Trail Blazers. A couple weeks later, he was shipped to New Orleans in the three-team deal that saw the Pelicans also acquire Tyreke Evans while sending Greivis Vasquez to Sacramento and Robin Lopez to Portland.

Withey spent four seasons at Kansas, developing from a freshman who only played 45 total minutes into a senior who averaged 13.7 PPG and 8.5 RPG in 2012/13. With Lopez having been dealt to the Trail Blazers, Withey may earn some playing time in his rookie year. Withey, Greg Stiemsma, and Jason Smith represent the Pelicans' best options at center, unless the team is willing to have Anthony Davis spend time at the five.

Western Notes: Aldridge, Griffin, Williams, Grizzlies

July 29th, 2013 at 8:42pm CST by Zachary Links

In today's chat, Luke Adams gave the Warriors credit for an aggressive offseason, but also noted that they'll have a tough hill to climb given the competition in the West this season. In his view, the best case scenario for Golden State is to capture the third seed with the bottom being something resembling the Lakers' 2012/13 campaign – lots of injuries and fighting just to squeak into the playoffs. The Warriors' summer saw them add Andre Iguodala, Toney Douglas, Marreese Speights, and Jermaine O'Neal while sending $24MM+ in expiring contracts (Andris Biedrins, Richard Jefferson, Brandon Rush) to the Jazz. Here's more from the Western Conference..

Blazers GM Neil Olshey explored the possibility of a LaMarcus Aldridge-for-Blake Griffin swap with the Clippers this summer, writes Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. However, the talks didn't go anywhere. Olshey, of course, was the Clips' assistant GM when the team drafted Griffin. It's not surprising to hear that Olshey put out feelers for such a deal given the questions surrounding Aldridge's future in Portland.
Free agent Mo Williams is flying in to meet with the Grizzlies' front office tonight, tweets Chris Vernon of 92.9 ESPN Radio. Late last week we learned that Memphis is the mix for the guard while the Heat are also keeping an eye on him.
There are plenty of obstacles in the way of a positive return to the NBA for Pelicans target Greg Oden, but as one team official tracking Oden told Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com, one can't help but get excited about a big man who can move as well as he can. "He's not that far off microfracture [surgery]," a team executive said in regard to the former No. 1 overall pick. "He still has a way to go to getting his knee where it needs to be, but there are possibilities."

Odds & Ends: Oden, Heat, McGrady, Scola

July 28th, 2013 at 10:16pm CST by Zachary Links

All eyes are on Greg Oden at this stage of the offseason and David Aldridge of NBA.com (via Twitter) hears that the big man will make his decision either Wednesday or Thursday. The former No. 1 overall pick will choose between the Mavericks, Pelicans, Spurs, Kings, Heat, and Hawks as he looks to mount another comeback. Here's tonight's look around the Associatiion..

A source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo (via Twitter) that Oden is most intrigued by the Pelicans and Heat.
While in China fulfulling committments with sponsors, veteran Tracy McGrady said that he is open to returning to the CBA next season, according to a report from China.org.cn.
Luis Scola's nearly $4.9MM salary for 2014/15 will be partially guaranteed for $940K, rather than non-guaranteed, because he appeared in all 82 games for the Suns this past season, reports Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic.
In the same piece, Coro passes along Suns GM Ryan McDonough's optimism that Channing Frye will be ready to play in time for the season. Frye missed all of 2012/13 with an enlarged heart.
Gal Mekel told Kevin Arnovitz of True Hoop TV that he isn't concerned about making the transition from playing in Israel to suiting up for the Mavericks.
Bob Ford of the Philadelphia Inquirer delves into Sixers GM Sam Hinkie's philosophy of acquiring undervalued players with upside.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Western Rumors: Neal, Miller, Teodosic

July 28th, 2013 at 10:31am CST by Chuck Myron

The Spurs, like the Thunder last season, have largely stood pat the summer after winning the Western Conference title. The substitution of Marco Belinelli for Gary Neal stands as the most significant change in San Antonio, but, just as Oklahoma City was frequently overlooked in favor of the Lakers in 2012, the Spurs don't appear to be clear favorites to make it back to the Finals. The Thunder are lurking, the Rockets and Warriors have made major upgrades, while the Clippers, Grizzlies and perhaps the Nuggets could also win the West. Here's more on the Spur who got away and other news from the Western Conference:

The Timberwolves never spoke with agent David Falk or anyone else from Neal's camp about signing the guard before he reached agreement yesterday with the Bucks, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities.
Nikolaos Lotsos, the agent for Serbian-born guard Milos Teodosic, tells Sports.ru that his client rejected an offer from the Grizzlies so that he can continue his career overseas (translation via Sportando).
Darius Miller's minimum-salary contract with the Pelicans became fully guaranteed for the coming season when the team elected not to waive him by the end of yesterday. Previously, the deal had been completely non-guaranteed.

Odds & Ends: Nash, Oden, Henderson, Cousins

July 26th, 2013 at 11:59pm CST by Chuck Myron

Italian soccer power Inter Milan will give Steve Nash a tryout next week, as Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press writes, but it's clear that even after a frustrating season with the Lakers, the two-time MVP won't be giving up on basketball anytime soon. He expressed his eagerness to return to the hardwood even as he prepared to lace up his cleats. We're only about two months away from the start of training camps as we pass along the latest from a whirlwind summer:

Greg Oden could decide on his next team by as early as Monday, reports Steve Aschburner of NBA.com, who adds the Mavs to the list of teams that have sent contingents to Indianapolis to watch Oden work out this week. The Spurs, Pelicans, Hawks, Kings and Heat are the others on that list.
Jrue Holiday and Ryan Anderson are on board with the Pelicans' pursuit of Oden, as they tell Shams Charania of RealGM.com.
Though the Bobcats were reported to be seeking sign-and-trade options at one point in their negotiations with Gerald Henderson, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer tweets that the team always planned to re-sign him. The two sides agreed to a deal tonight.
DeMarcus Cousins and his representatives met with the Kings multiple times recently in Las Vegas, and the team is making it clear that he's a priority, a source tells Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee (Twitter link).
A lucrative, long-term extension for the volatile Cousins might not strike Kings fans as the wisest move, but SB Nation's Tom Ziller argues that, at worst, there will be plenty of teams eager to trade for Cousins if the Kings eventually want to get rid of him.
The Mavs have been talking up their summer acquisitions, but HoopsWorld's Bill Ingram isn't nearly as optimistic, opining in his NBA PM piece that Dirk Nowitzki's supporting cast has never been weaker.

Odds & Ends: Raptors, Camby, Oden, Bynum

July 25th, 2013 at 4:28pm CST by Zachary Links

The Raptors' buyout of center Marcus Camby will save the club $2MM in 2013/14, according to Eric Pincus of HoopsWorld. The veteran had a guaranteed $5.4MM between this year's salary and the $1MM partial guarantee on 2014/15 and he agreed to part ways with Toronto for $3.4MM. The Raptors will take a cap hit of $2.8MM for the coming season and $646K for 2014/15. Here's more from around the Association..

In addition to the Hawks, Marc Stein of ESPN.com (via Twitter) hears that the Spurs and Pelicans also have representatives at Greg Oden's latest workout audition in Indianapolis.
It's no secret that the Andrew Bynum deal didn't work out for the Sixers and yesterday, new CEO Scott O'Neil apologized to fans for how it turned out, writes Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
There are two main questions to consider when weighing the idea of the Wizards giving point guard John Wall an extension, argues Tom Ziller of SBNation.com.
The Raptors announced that they have filled out their coaching staff with assistants Bill Bayno and Jesse Mermuys.

Contract/Cap Details: Pressey, Ledo, Roberts

July 25th, 2013 at 11:11am CST by Luke Adams

As various reporters and cap experts continue to fill on the gaps on team salaries, let's check out the latest details….

Phil Pressey's deal with the Celtics is a three-year, minimum-salary pact, with a fully guaranteed first season, tweets Eric Pincus of HoopsWorld. Because it's a three-year contract, the C's likely used a portion of their mid-level execption to get it done.
Ricky Ledo's four-year deal with the Mavericks will pay him $550K in year one, but will be worth the minimum for the other three years, tweets Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The first two years are guaranteed.
Mark Deeks of ShamSports.com examines how much cap space the under-the-cap teams actually still have, and how much more they could theoretically create.
Since he wasn't waived by last Saturday, Brian Roberts' salary for the upcoming season appears to be guaranteed, per ShamSports' breakdown of the Pelicans salaries.
The Hawks are close to buying out Lucas Nogueira's contract, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Atlanta is allowed to contribute up to $550K toward a contract buyout, and the price for this year's 16th overall pick will be somewhere below $1MM, says Carchia.

Southwest Rumors: Neal, Jackson, Ellis, Dalembert

July 24th, 2013 at 1:41pm CST by Chuck Myron

Yesterday, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported that the Spurs were in the "process of" withdrawing their qualifying offer to Gary Neal. The RealGM transactions log indicates that the move indeed took place, and if that's so, the timing is key. Yesterday was the deadline for teams to unilaterally withdraw qualifying offers without having to get the player's consent. Teams that pull QOs after the deadline also automatically lose Bird rights to those players. So, the Spurs have not only saved themselves the trouble of getting Neal's permission by presumably withdrawing his QO yesterday, but they've also given themselves more flexibility to re-sign him, if they choose. Here's more on Neal and other notes involving Southwest Division clubs:

It's been a couple weeks since Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times mentioned that the Bucks were among the teams interested in Gary Neal, but today Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio indicates that Milwaukee remains in the running (Twitter link).
It appears that this year's 42nd overall pick will play in France. Pierre Jackson, whom the Pelicans acquired as part of the Jrue Holiday/Nerlens Noel trade, has agreed to sign with ASVEL Villeurbanne of France, according to Gabriel Pantel-Jouve of Catch-and-Shoot (translation via Emiliano Carchia of Sportando).
Now that the Mavs' signings of Monta Ellis and Samuel Dalembert are official, Mark Deeks has provided contract details for them on the Mavs page at ShamSports. Ellis has a three-year, $25.08MM deal with a player option in the final season, and Dalembert gets two years and $7,568,030, with only a $1.8MM guarantee in year two. Dalembert also has a 15% trade kicker.
Chandler Parsons believes that he had a critical influence on Dwight Howard's decision to sign with the Rockets, as the big man's new teammate tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.

Greg Oden Decision Expected Next Week

July 23rd, 2013 at 6:44pm CST by Luke Adams

6:44pm: Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, Kings GM Pete D'Alessandro, and representatives from the Pelicans watched Oden workout today, sources close to the situation told Jeff Goodman and Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Oden will put his skills on display again Thursday for Hawks officials before a private meeting with the Pelicans later this week in Las Vegas. One source close to the process told the ESPN.com duo that teams in the Oden hunt are still in the information-gathering stage and no offer has been made yet.

4:14pm: Greg Oden is expected to make a decision next week on where he'll sign for the coming season, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. According to Spears (via Twitter), the former first overall pick will be choosing from a list of suitors that includes the Heat, Spurs, Pelicans, Kings, Mavericks, and Hawks.

Oden was said to be working out today for a group of teams, including the Pelicans, Kings, and Heat. New Orleans' interest in Oden has seemingly ramped up lately, as multiple reports have indicated the team plans to make him an offer in the $3MM range. It appears as if the Pelicans are out of cap room, so perhaps the offer would be for the $2.65MM room exception, which could be used to hand out about $5.42MM over two years.

Despite the Pelicans' interest, reports continue to suggest that the Heat and Spurs remain the frontrunners for Oden. San Antonio has already used its mid-level exception, and doesn't have its bi-annual exception available this summer, so anything more than a minimum-salary offer is unlikely. Miami, on the other hand, could offer part or all of its taxpayer mid-level exception.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

NBA Teams With Hard Caps For 2013/14

July 23rd, 2013 at 1:16pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA's salary cap is famously known as a "soft cap," allowing teams to surpass the cap threshold using various cap exceptions, sometimes by a significant margin. Last season, the Lakers' team salary exceeded the cap by $40MM, with the team spending about $100MM (plus taxes) on its roster of players.

However, under the league's Collective Bargaining Agreement, there are a few instances in which a team can become hard-capped for a season. If a team's salary exceeds the luxury tax threshold ($71,748,000) by $4MM+, that team is not permitted to acquire a player via sign-and-trade, or to use the full mid-level or bi-annual exceptions. As soon as a team completes a sign-and-trade deal, or uses its BAE, or uses more than $3,182,700 of its MLE to sign a player, that club becomes hard-capped at $75,748,000 for the 2013/14 season. In other words, team salary can't exceed that amount at any point before June 30th, 2014.

For some clubs, that hard cap isn't a major concern. For instance, the Pelicans still have about $12MM in breathing room below the hard cap, and seem to be just about done making moves. On the other hand, the Celtics are only about $2MM below the hard cap, so any trades or signings Boston makes for the rest of the season will have to be constructed to ensure team salary doesn't surpass that $75.748MM cutoff.

Here are the clubs who are now locked into a hard cap for the 2013/14 season, along with an estimation (via HoopsWorld) of their current team salaries and the reason(s) why the hard cap was created:

Boston Celtics
Current estimated team salary: $73,638,001
Hard cap created: Acquired Keith Bogans via sign-and-trade

Los Angeles Clippers
Current estimated team salary: $72,361,060
Hard cap created: Acquired J.J. Redick via sign-and-trade; signed Matt Barnes and Darren Collison via non-taxpayer MLE

Toronto Raptors
Current estimated team salary: $70,710,039
Hard cap created: Acquired Quentin Richardson via sign-and-trade

Washington Wizards
Current estimated team salary: $69,883,992
Hard cap created: Signed Martell Webster via non-taxpayer MLE; signed Eric Maynor via BAE

Indiana Pacers
Current estimated team salary: $69,150,000
Hard cap created: Signed C.J. Watson via BAE

Golden State Warriors
Current estimated team salary: $68,333,105
Hard cap created: Acquired Andre Iguodala via sign-and-trade; signed Marreese Speights and Toney Douglas via non-taxpayer MLE

Denver Nuggets
Current estimated team salary¹: $66,849,937
Hard cap created: Acquired Randy Foye via sign-and-trade; signed J.J. Hickson via non-taxpayer MLE; signed Nate Robinson via BAE

San Antonio Spurs
Current estimated team salary²: $64,782,127
Hard cap created: Signed Marco Belinelli and Jeff Pendergraph via non-taxpayer MLE

New Orleans Pelicans
Current estimated team salary: $63,347,645
Hard cap created: Acquired Tyreke Evans via sign-and-trade

Minnesota Timberwolves
Current estimated team salary³: $61,158,583
Hard cap created: Acquired Kevin Martin via sign-and-trade; signed Corey Brewer via non-taxpayer MLE; signed Ronny Turiaf via BAE

¹Estimate includes Timofey Mozgov's cap hold
²Estimate includes Gary Neal's cap hold
³Estimate includes Nikola Pekovic's cap hold

HoopsWorld was used in the creation of this post.