Contract Details: Oden, Pargo, Williams, Udrih
Mark Deeks of ShamSports.com has updated his invaluable database of NBA salaries with details on many of the players who have signed over the last couple weeks. We hadn't yet heard the specifics on a number of those contracts, so let's round up the new info….
- Initially reported as a two-year contract with a second-year player option, Greg Oden's deal with the Heat is actually only for one season, according to Deeks.
- Jannero Pargo's one-year, minimum-salary pact with the Bobcats is only currently guaranteed for $300K. Pargo will be assured of his full salary (about $1.4MM) if he remains on the roster past December 10th.
- The Trail Blazers signed Mo Williams using their full room exception, and included a 15% trade kicker in his deal.
- There's also a 15% trade kicker on Beno Udrih's minimum-salary contract with the Knicks.
- Another Knicks signee, Jeremy Tyler, has a $100K guarantee on his two-year deal.
- Carrick Felix's four-year deal with the Cavaliers was originally reported as being fully guaranteed for three seasons. However, according to Deeks, the third year is non-guaranteed, and the fourth year is a team option.
- The first year of Peyton Siva's pact with the Pistons is partially guaranteed for $150K.
- Jeff Withey has a fully guaranteed rookie year with the Pelicans, while his second-year salary won't become guaranteed until next July.
- Ryan Gomes' contract with the Thunder is currently non-guaranteed. He'll receive three $25K bonuses if he remains on the roster beyond September 1st, October 1st, and October 30th, but his salary won't become fully guaranteed until January.
Odds & Ends: Collins, Irving, Wolves, Harrington
Let's check in on a few Monday odds and ends from around the Association:
- A report over the weekend indicated that the Pistons have shown exploratory interest in Jason Collins, but Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News hears that the team is unlikely to actually sign him.
- Although his friend John Wall recently inked a new long-term deal with the Wizards, Kyrie Irving won't be eligible for an extension until next summer, so he's not thinking about his contract situation yet, as he tells Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio.
- Timberwolves president Flip Saunders spoke to reporters today, including Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune, and confirmed that the team expects Robbie Hummel, Lorenzo Brown, and Othyus Jeffers to be in training camp. Saunders also discussed Nikola Pekovic, Shabazz Muhammad, and Milt Newton.
- While Al Harrington appears on track to land a deal with the Wizards, several other teams showed interest, including the Clippers, Kings, and Pelicans, tweets Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com.
- Subbing in for David Aldridge at NBA.com, Steve Kerr presents some ideas for how to improve the NBA's draft lottery.
International Notes: McGrady, Cooley, Snaer
The NBA free agent market is drying up, leading many players to look for work overseas. Here's the latest from the international scene:
- Tracy McGrady spent most of 2012/13 in China before hooking on with the Spurs in the final week of the regular season, and he's mulling whether to return to China or seek another NBA deal, according to the Global Times.
- We heard yesterday that undrafted big man Jack Cooley spurned several training camp invitations from NBA teams for a deal with a Turkish team, and agent Adam Pensack let Shams Charania of RealGM.com know the identity of those clubs, some of whom offered partially guaranteed contracts. The Blazers, Grizzlies, Spurs, Thunder, Nets, Heat, Lakers, Rockets, Pacers and Cavs all wanted to sign Cooley, Pensack says.
- The Nets also invited Michael Snaer to camp, but Sportando's Enea Trapani hears that he'll sign with Enel Brindisi of Italy instead (Twitter link).
- A report last month indicated that 42nd overall pick Pierre Jackson, whom the Pelicans acquired in the Jrue Holiday trade, would sign with ASVEL Villeurbanne of France, and Jackson added confirmation via Instagram. Tony Parker owns a share of the French team.
- Shooting guard Carlon Brown was in training camp with the Warriors last fall and spent the season in the D-League, but he'll be overseas for 2013/14, having signed with Hapoel Tel Aviv of Israel. The Israeli league announced the signing via Twitter (hat tip to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando).
Lance Thomas, Pelicans Moving Toward Deal
Less than a month after being released by the Pelicans, Lance Thomas is working toward a new deal with the team, according to Shams Charania of RealGM.com. Charania reports that it looks likely the two sides will work something out, though the Pacers have also expressed interest in Thomas.
Thomas, 25, initially joined the Pelicans when they were the Hornets, inking a pair of 10-day contracts before signing a rest-of-season deal in 2011/12. The former Duke forward spent the 2012/13 season with the team as well, and had a non-guaranteed salary for the coming season. However, he was cut when the Pelicans cleared the cap room to bring Tyreke Evans aboard.
In his 101 games with the Pelicans, Thomas averaged 3.1 PPG and 2.4 RPG in 12.6 minutes per contest. He also recorded an identical PER of 10.1 in each of his two seasons.
If Thomas reaches an agreement with the Pelicans it will likely be for the minimum salary, since the team is capped out. New Orleans also has its $2.65MM room exception available, but I'd be surprised to see the club use any of it on Thomas.
Greg Oden Signs With Heat
AUGUST 7TH: The Heat have officially signed Oden, the team announced today (Twitter link).
AUGUST 2ND: Greg Oden will sign with the Heat, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com. It's a two-year deal with a player option for the final season, Goodman adds. The two sides agreed on a minimum-salary contract, according to fellow ESPN.com scribe Marc Stein, who adds that Oden will officially sign the pact on Monday (Twitter links).
The deal is a coup for Heat president Pat Riley, not only because Oden chose Miami over five other finalists, but because he consented to the minimum salary, tweets Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. That allows the Heat to preserve their mini mid-level exception should an enticing player come available at some point this season.
The Spurs and Mavs appeared as of last night to be Miami's primary competition, with the Pelicans next in line, followed by the Kings and the Hawks. Sources from three Western Conference teams among those spurned finalists told Stein minutes before news broke of Oden's decision that they were informed that they wouldn't be landing the former No. 1 overall pick, and that they believed he was headed to Miami (Twitter link).
Oden tells former Ohio State teammate Mark Titus of Grantland.com that the Heat became the front-runners for him when he visited Miami during the NBA Finals. Three months ago, Oden told Titus that he wanted to play in Cleveland because he liked playing in Ohio. About a year ago, Oden let Titus know that the plan was to reunite in Memphis with Mike Conley, another of their Buckeye teammates. Conley's father, Mike Conley Sr., is one of Oden's agents.
The 7'0" center has only played 82 games in his NBA career, but he was on the Blazers roster for five seasons, meaning he qualifies for a minimum salary of $1,027,424 this season, as Mark Deeks of ShamSports confirms (Twitter link).
Odds & Ends: Sixers, West, Gordon, Jamison
Trail Blazers assistant David Vanterpool appears to have become the leading candidate in the Sixers head coaching search, according to Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe. Most reports have cited Brett Brown and Michael Curry as the front-runners, but it seems there are still several hopefuls who could emerge with the job. We passed along news from Washburn earlier today on the continuing possibility of a Rajon Rondo trade to the Pistons, and here's more from the Globe scribe as we round up the morning's news from around the NBA:
- The Knicks and Grizzlies have reportedly been in talks with Delonte West, but the Knicks appear to be out, and according to Washburn, no team has shown serious interest.
- The additions of Jrue Holiday and Tyreke Evans make for a crowded backcourt in New Orleans, but Eric Gordon is glad to have his new Pelicans teammates, he tells Washburn.
- Clippers boss Doc Rivers didn't make an offer to Antawn Jamison when they met for dinner last night, but the Clippers and Jamison's reps plan to talk soon, reports Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
- The Hawks waived DeShawn Stevenson on Friday, and in the likely event that he clears waivers and hits free agency, he'd like to sign with the Heat, according to a pair ofdispatches from his Twitter account.
- Shelvin Mack appears in a tenuous position with the Hawks, since his contract is non-guaranteed and he plays the same position as Jeff Teague and first-round pick Dennis Schröder. If the Hawks waive Mack, he'll be the primary point guard target for Olimpia Milano of Italy, Enea Trapani of Sportando reports.
- Elston Turner has reached an agreement to become an assistant coach for the Grizzlies, a source tells Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com. The defensively minded Turner also spoke about joining the Timberwolves staff.
- Stefhon Hannah has signed to play with Juve Caserta in Italy, the team announced (translation via Sportando's Emiliano Carchia). Hannah worked out for the Knicks this summer, and spent two weeks last fall in training camp with the Warriors.
Odds & Ends: Oden, Thunder, Clippers
The Heat, Spurs and Mavs are the most likely to land Greg Oden when he makes his decision Friday, sources tell Jeff Goodman and Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Goodman and Stein are hearing conflicting information on whether the Pelicans, Kings and Hawks remain in the running, but it appears New Orleans has the best chance out of those three. The Cavs, Celtics and Grizzlies have also expressed interest, but they declined to make formal offers, the report also says. Here's more on Oden and others around the Association:
- Whichever team signs Oden once he makes his decision tomorrow won't be committing more than a few million dollars, leading HoopsWorld's Alex Kennedy to argue that he's worth the risk. Taking such risks is what shrewd GM's do, SB Nation's Tom Ziller opines.
- The league is reimbursing the Thunder $8MM, or roughly half of the difference between the money the team is shelling out for Kevin Durant and the smaller amount the Thunder agreed to pay when he signed his extension, Grantland's Zach Lowe tweets.
- The ESPN.com staff is high on the Clippers, as Chad Ford gives them the only A+ among his Western Conference offseason grades (Insiders only), while the 5-on-5 crew lauds the team's acquisitions of coach Doc Rivers and sharpshooter Jared Dudley.
- HoopsWorld's Nate Duncan profiles six players whom teams may have undervalued this summer.
Greg Oden To Make Decision On Friday
Free agent big man Greg Oden will decide where he'll sign on Friday, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). The Heat, Kings, Hawks, Pelicans, Spurs, and Mavericks are the teams in the running for the former first overall pick.
Spears initially reported last Tuesday that a decision from Oden was expected to come this week, and has since suggested that the 25-year-old is most intrigued by the Heat and Pelicans. Miami has been linked to Oden for the better part of 2013, and have always looked to me like the frontrunner, though New Orleans and other clubs are making a late push.
Of Oden's suitors, the Pelicans and Kings have the $2.65MM room exception available to offer, while the Heat have their mini mid-level exception worth about $3.18MM. The Hawks could waive some non-guaranteed salaries to clear a chunk of cap space, and the Mavs and Spurs can only offer minimum-salary deals. Of course, just because a team like the Heat has the flexibility to outbid other teams, it doesn't necessarily mean they'll offer that full MLE.
Pelicans Sign Jeff Withey
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
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."