New Orleans Pelicans Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Roger Mason, Hornets Agree To Terms

August 4th, 2012 at 11:04am CST by Luke Adams

AUGUST 4, 11:04am: In a statement released by the team, the Hornets have officially signed Roger Mason.

AUGUST 1, 3:22pm: The Hornets have agreed to terms with Roger Mason on a contract, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). When Mason finalizes his deal, New Orleans will become the 31-year-old's sixth team in his ninth NBA season.

A week ago, we heard that Mason was drawing interest from the Hornets, Thunder, Bulls, and Lakers. The Wizards, Mason's most recent team, also had interest in bringing him back, but the veteran shooter was seeking more than a one-year, minimum-salary deal. Terms of his agreement with the Hornets aren't known, but perhaps he was able to land a multiyear deal or a salary a little above the minimum from the club.

From the Hornets' perspective, Mason provides a little more backcourt depth, joining Eric Gordon, Austin Rivers, and Xavier Henry as players that figure to earn shooting guard minutes this season. Rivers and Mason will likely also see time at the point, with last year's starter Jarrett Jack having been dealt to Golden State.

International Moves: McCalebb, White, Roberts

August 2nd, 2012 at 8:51am CST by Luke Adams

We haven't been keeping up with international free agent signings this summer like we have with NBA transactions, but occasionally there are a few items of interest to pass along. Here are a few notable recent moves from overseas:

Top international player Bo McCalebb will remain overseas rather than making the leap to the NBA anytime soon. As Emiliano Carchia of Sportando writes, Turkey's Fenerbahce Ulker announced today that they've signed the former University of New Orleans standout. The deal will be for three years, with a third-year option.
2010 Pistons second-round pick Terrico White has signed in Serbia with Radnicki Kragujevac, according to Carchia.
According to various reports, Brian Roberts, who had been playing in Germany, has left his team and will receive a training camp invite from the Hornets. This move has yet to be confirmed by any Hornets beat writer or the team itself.
Jarvis Varnado, who was selected 41st overall by the Heat in the 2010 draft, is hoping to sign with Miami this summer, and isn't considering offers overseas at the moment, says Carchia.

Odds & Ends: Bulls, McGrady, Przybilla, Blazers

July 31st, 2012 at 4:02pm CST by Luke Adams

This afternoon's MLB trade deadline may have stolen the headlines, but there's certainly been no shortage of NBA transactions today either. The Sixers, Bulls, and Timberwolves each announced signings, while the Celtics made four new contracts official. As we wait for the next series of NBA roster moves, let's round up some odds and ends from around the Association….

The Bulls may have interest in signing Tracy McGrady, tweets K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune.
Joel Przybilla's Monday meeting with the Bucks went well, but the Trail Blazers (and presumably the Mavs) are still in the running for the big man, says Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com (via Twitter).
Brandon Roy's return to the NBA, which was made official today, will cost Paul Allen and the Blazers about $17MM in insurance money, according to Dwight Jaynes of CSNNW.com.
The roster moves made by the Hornets this summer represented a strong step in the right direction, writes John DeShazier of the Times Picayune.
ESPN Dallas explores potential targets for the Mavericks in 2013.

Odds & Ends: Varejao, Olympics, Hornets, Spurs

July 29th, 2012 at 4:21pm CST by Zachary Links

Cavaliers forward Anderson Varejao has seen his name pop up in trade rumors this month, mostly in connection with a possible three-team Dwight Howard trade. However, the Brazilian says that the speculation doesn’t bother him, tweets Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. “There’s nothing that I can do. If they trade me, they trade me,” Varejao said. Here’s more from around the Association..

Mavericks owner Mark Cuban tells told Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter) that “…the Olympics are a huge for-profit endeavor. It makes no sense that NBA owners subsidize it.” An NBA GM agreed with Cuban’s assessment, suggesting that players shouldn’t have their salaries guaranteed in the event of injuries in the Olympic games (Twitter link).
Hornets owner Tom Benson is hoping to raise the club’s profile to the level of his New Orleans Saints, writes Peter Finney of The Times-Picayune. The Hornets sold 10,000 season tickets last season and Benson has an ambitious goal of selling 17,000 for the upcoming year.
Mark Nugent of HoopsWorld runs down the best remaining free agents by position. The best player left on the open market, he writes, is arguably forward Carl Landry.
Raul Barrigon of HoopsHype caught up with Hall Of Famer David Robinson to discuss Tim Duncan‘s new contract, the Spurs‘ knack for finding international talent, and the Dream Team.

Odds & Ends: Cavs, Parker, Kirilenko, Fields

July 27th, 2012 at 10:51pm CST by Chuck Myron

Every team in the NBA gets an equal number of home games and road games every year, but that doesn't guarantee equitability. Matt Moore of CBSSports.com goes in-depth on this year's slate, explaining how strength of schedule varies across the league. The Spurs, thanks to their annual rodeo road trip, have only two home games in February. The Clippers will go on an eight-game road trip while the Grammys occupy the Staples Center, but their rival Lakers only play seven road games during that time. The Magic will play the fewest sets of back-to-back games, with 13, while nine other teams have 22 back-to-backs. There's plenty more of note this evening from around the Association:

Eric Pincus of HoopsWorld notes the Cavs still have the flexibility needed to acquire Andrew Bynum if three-team trade talks with the Lakers and Magic get going again (Sulia link).
Tom Withers of the Associated Press catches up with Spurs point guard Tony Parker, who's taking a more cautious approach to life following the injury he sustained to his eye as a bystander to a nightclub brawl. Parker doesn't plan on letting the apprehensiveness carry over to his play, however.
One NBA assistant coach tells Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune that Andrei Kirilenko is a better fit with Wolves coach Rick Adelman's offensive system than he was with former Jazz coach Jerry Sloan's (Twitter link).
Stephen Brotherston of HoopsWorld talks to Landry Fields, now with the Raptors after the Knicks declined to match his backloaded offer sheet. Fields reflected on his time in New York and says his new team feels optimistic about making the playoffs this year.
Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com echoes the comments of former NBA coach Jeff Van Gundy on ESPN 1000’s "Waddle & Silvy" show, calling for the Bulls to extend coach Tom Thibodeau's contract.
Austin Rivers (right ankle) and Xavier Henry (right knee) have undergone surgeries, the Hornets announced on their website, but both will be ready in time for fall training camp.

Suns, Hornets, Wolves Complete Three-Team Trade

July 27th, 2012 at 7:40pm CST by Luke Adams

7:40pm: The amount of cash going to the Hornets from the Suns is about $1.15MM, tweets Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic.

12:16pm: The Suns, Hornets, and Timberwolves have officially completed a three-team trade that will send Robin Lopez to the Hornets and Wesley Johnson to the Suns, the teams announced today. Per a Hornets press release, the deal breaks down as follows:

Hornets acquire: Robin Lopez (from Suns), Hakim Warrick (from Suns), cash (from Suns)
Suns acquire: Wesley Johnson (from Timberwolves), Brad Miller (from Hornets), Jerome Dyson (from Hornets), 2013 first-round pick (from Timberwolves)
Timberwolves acquire: 2013 second-round pick (from Hornets), 2014 second-round pick (from Suns), 2016 second-round pick (from Hornets)

Lopez is the only player changing hands who was not previously under contract, so New Orleans receives him as part of a sign-and-trade. His contract is for three years and about $15.3MM, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.

Dyson's contract is non-guaranteed, and Miller, who has a partially-guaranteed deal, is expected to retire, so Phoenix will likely waive both of those players in the near future. The first-round pick the Suns acquire from the T-Wolves will be either the Wolves' or Grizzlies' pick depending on those teams' performances. Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic has the details (via Twitter).

Two of the three picks the Timberwolves receive in the deal are ones they sent to the Hornets earlier this month. The 2013 second-rounder is Brooklyn's, the 2016 second-rounder is New Orleans', and the 2014 second-rounder is the Lakers, acquired by Phoenix in the Steve Nash trade.

Now that the trade is complete, Minnesota should have the cap space to finalize its signing of Andrei Kirilenko.

Hornets, Suns, Wolves Agree To Three-Team Deal

July 27th, 2012 at 11:51am CST by Michael Pina

FRIDAY, 11:51am: The Hornets' acquisition of Robin Lopez is complete, says Jimmy Smith of the Times Picayune, who adds that New Orleans will end up with Hakim Warrick as well (Twitter links). We'll have to wait for further reports or an official announcement to see how the full deal looks.

THURSDAY, 8:20pm: There won't be a resolution to the deal on Thursday night but the odds of the trade going through have improved, tweets Coro. The Hornets' cap situation is not holding up the deal from progressing further.

1:40pm: Alex Laugan of Bright Side of the Sun provides a fantastic breakdown of why this deal is currently on hold, as the Hornets' side of the transaction needs to be modified to be legal under the CBA. In all likelihood, New Orleans will need to include at least one more player or remove Hakim Warrick from the deal to make it work.

Bobcats Still Pursuing Carl Landry

July 26th, 2012 at 2:11pm CST by Luke Adams

The Bobcats are still exploring ways to acquire or sign Carl Landry, reports Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (via Twitter). According to Bonnell, there's a chance the Bobcats join the trade discussions involving the Hornets, Suns, and Timberwolves, entering the deal as a fourth team.

While the Bobcats have interest in Landry and probably have the means to offer him more money than most of his other suitors, a sign-and-trade deal has proved difficult, with Bonnell reporting earlier this week than Charlotte was unlikely to work something out. In order to finalize other roster moves, the Hornets reportedly renounced Landry's Bird Rights, meaning the "sign" half of a sign-and-trade would be challenging. The team would need to recreate cap space in order to be able to give Landry a competitive salary before dealing him to the Bobcats.

The Warriors are also pursuing Landry, and while the veteran forward is said to be interested, Golden State can only offer him a portion of their mid-level exception. Signing him to the full $5MM MLE would put the club over the tax line, and ownership is looking to avoid becoming a taxpayer.

Teams That Lost Traded Player Exceptions

July 26th, 2012 at 11:30am CST by Luke Adams

To hang onto a traded player exception, a team is required to keep its salary commitments above the $58.044MM cap line. The moment a club uses room under the cap to sign a player, any trade exceptions it previously owned are lost, along with the the team's full mid-level and bi-annual exceptions for that season.

As free agents signed new deals this month, a number of clubs that owned traded player exceptions fell below the cap, renouncing those exceptions. Most notably, the Mavericks lost four trade exceptions, including the $8.9MM TPE they obtained when they sent Lamar Odom to the Clippers last month.

Here's a complete list of the traded player exceptions that were lost without expiring or being used this month. The traded player that initially created the exception appears in parentheses:

76ers: $1,536,505 (Marreese Speights)
Cavaliers: $1,097,520 (Christian Eyenga)
Hornets: $2,329,805 (Chris Paul)
Mavericks: $8,900,000 (Lamar Odom), $4,207,837 (Tyson Chandler), $3,059,000 (Corey Brewer), $2,180,443 (Rudy Fernandez)
Raptors: $7,600,000 (Leandro Barbosa)
Rockets: $2,500,000 (Samuel Dalembert), $854,389 (Chase Budinger)

You can find our full list of still-existing traded player exceptions right here, or read more on how exactly they work in our glossary entry.

Sham Sports was used in the creation of this post.

Free Agent Rumors: Landry, Thomas, Mason

July 24th, 2012 at 2:20pm CST by Luke Adams

A few more free agents have come off the board today, as A.J. Price and Pablo Prigioni finalized deals with the Wizards and Knicks respectively, while Ronnie Brewer was among the players to agree to a new contract, reaching a deal with the Knicks. With a number of available players still on the market though, here's a round-up of a few of the day's assorted free agent rumors:

The Hornets have renounced Carl Landry's Bird Rights, making a sign-and-trade difficult to work out, writes Eric Pincus of HoopsWorld. The Bobcats were interested in a sign-and-trade deal for Landry, but New Orleans would need to get back under the cap to have room to make it work.
Malcolm Thomas, who was named to the All-Summer League team, is drawing interest from a number of teams, including the Clippers, Bulls, Hawks, and Bobcats, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.
Former Lakers second-rounder Patrick Beverley is seeking an NBA job, having worked out for the Bulls, Cavs, and Rockets this offseason. Agent Kevin Bradbury tells Scott Powers of ESPNChicago.com that he thinks his client would be a good fit in Chicago: "He plays defense and does what’s asked of him. He fits the Bulls’ system. I think that’s intriguing for the Bulls. He really respects [Tom Thibodeau]."
The Wizards have interest in bringing back Roger Mason, but Mason isn't looking to sign a one-year, minimum-salary deal, says Michael Lee of the Washington Post. The veteran guard has also received interest from the Thunder, Hornets, Bulls, and Lakers.