Atlantic Notes: J.R. Smith, Pierce, Murry, Knicks
Earlier this afternoon, I asked Hoops Rumors readers to vote on the offseason's best head coaching hire in the Eastern Conference. While several choices are bunched together in the middle of the pack so far, Brad Stevens of the Celtics has emerged as the clear top choice. It seems that many of you are fans of Boston's bold decision to hire the 36-year-old Stevens away from Butler and place him in charge of the team's rebuild. Here's more from around the Atlantic:
- J.R. Smith tells Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com (Twitter link) that his free agent negotiations with the Knicks weren't a "long, drawn-out process," since he hopes to eventually retire with the club.
- In an interview with Adam Figman of SLAM Online, Paul Pierce says that he and Kevin Garnett didn't want to be part of a rebuilding process with the Celtics, and addresses a number of other topics of note.
- Bernie Lee, the agent for Toure Murry, tells Shams Charania of RealGM.com that his client remains in discussions with the Knicks, and will visit two other NBA teams within the next week before hopefully deciding on a deal. After signing Beno Udrih, the Knicks may not have interest in Murry on anything more than a training camp invite, though that's my speculation.
- The Knicks officially announced Udrih's signing earlier today.
Knicks Sign Beno Udrih
4:01pm: The Knicks have officially signed Udrih, the team announced today (Twitter link).
9:08am: The Knicks have reached an agreement on a one-year deal with point guard Beno Udrih, tweets Al Iannazzone of Newsday. As Iannazzone adds in a second tweet, Udrih will sign for the veteran's minimum, since that's all the Knicks can offer. ESPN.com's Marc Stein adds (via Twitter) that Udrih had a meeting scheduled with the Grizzlies today, but has cancelled it after deciding on New York.
Landing the 31-year-old Udrih looks like a major coup for the Knicks, who were initially viewed as a long shot due to their limited financial flexibility. Still, the team remained focused on Udrih, making him their top priority, and yesterday emerged as the favorites to sign him, as Marc Berman of the New York Post wrote.
Udrih spent last season with the Bucks and Magic, heading to Orlando in the deadline deal that sent J.J. Redick to Milwaukee. In 66 games overall, he averaged 8.2 PPG and 4.6 APG to go along with a 14.2 PER. In New York, he'll essentially take Jason Kidd's spot on the roster, complementing returning point guards Raymond Felton and Pablo Prigioni.
The agreement with Udrih almost certainly takes the Knicks out of the running for other point guards they've been linked to, such as Bobby Brown and Chris Duhon. The team will still have room for one more guaranteed salary on the 15-man roster, but another big man is a more likely addition.
Udrih, who is represented by Pinnacle Management Corp., will receive a 2013/14 salary of $1,272,279, the minimum for a player with his NBA experience. The Knicks will only have to pay $884,293 of that amount, while the rest will be covered by the league.
Eastern Notes: Knicks, Udrih, Nets, Teague
The Pacers strengthened their bench, the Nets made a big splash by landing Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Andrei Kirilenko, and the Bulls will have Derrick Rose back. Nonetheless, the Heat remain the favorites in the Eastern Conference for 2013/14, according to Hoops Rumors readers. Nearly half of you named Miami the best team in the East in last night's poll, with Indiana receiving about 24% of the vote, followed by Chicago (about 16%) and Brooklyn (12%). Here are a few more items from around the East:
- Ivan Johnson has been in talks with the Knicks, but the possibility of the two sides reaching an agreement may be dwindling since Jeremy Tyler signed with the team, tweets Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com.
- Before Beno Udrih agreed to sign with the Knicks, the Grizzlies were the other primary suitor for him, and the Sixers also had interest, according to Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com (via Twitter). A chance to win with the Knicks was the deciding factor in Udrih's decision, says Begley.
- Tim Bontemps of the New York Post spoke to future NBA commissioner Adam Silver about the Nets' offseason spending, and Brooklyn's willingness to pay substantial tax penalties. As Silver notes, the league sought a hard cap during 2011's CBA negotiations, in the hopes that "the teams that have disparate resources are all competing with roughly the same number of chips."
- Jeff Teague tells Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld that he realizes his new long-term contract comes with a greater responsibility for the Hawks' success, and that he's ready for a larger role.
- In his latest mailbag for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, Ira Winderman wonders if a healthy Greg Oden could affect Chris Bosh's role and future with the Heat. Of course, Oden would have to prove he can be healthy and productive before the effect on Bosh could really be evaluated.
Sean May, Others Worked Out For Knicks
4:41pm: The workout list just keeps on growing, as Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com tweets that a Lithuanian big man participated as well. It's not clear who exactly the player was.
12:37pm: Wojnarowski adds one more name to the list of players working out for the Knicks today, tweeting that Lester Hudson was also in attendance.
11:18am: D.J. White is the third member of the group working out for the Knicks today, tweets Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com.
11:02am: Former lottery pick Sean May is working out for the Knicks today, a source tells Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). A report yesterday suggested that Bobby Brown and two other players would work out for the Knicks this week, so May appears to be one of those players. The third is also a big man, according to Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com (via Twitter).
May, 29, was selected 13th overall by the Bobcats in the 2005 draft. However, the UNC product ended up only playing a total of 119 NBA games with Charlotte and Sacramento, most recently in 2009/10, before heading overseas. In 2012/13, May played for Paris-Levallois, averaging 18.4 PPG and 7.8 RPG in 29 French League contests.
The Knicks recently added another big man to their frontcourt by signing Jeremy Tyler to a partially-guaranteed two-year contract. The team still has a pair of open roster spots though, and also has plenty of room to bring in players on training-camp invites.
Eastern Notes: Knicks, Pistons, Bucks, Heat
Let's round up some Wednesday links from around the Eastern Conference….
- Both seasons of Jeremy Tyler's two-year deal with the Knicks are partially guaranteed, confirms Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com (via Twitter). Begley adds (via Twitter) that it's "highly unlikely" the Knicks sign Chris Duhon, despite their reported interest.
- Speaking to Grantland's Zach Lowe, Pistons GM Joe Dumars says that he only started talking to the Bucks about Brandon Jennings four days before the deal was consummated, and adds that the team had some "good talks" with Andre Iguodala before Iggy decided to sign elsewhere.
- In his latest mailbag, Keith Langlois of Pistons.com field a handful of questions on the Pistons' trade and free agent options.
- Bucks coach Larry Drew has offered his top assistant coaching position to a former NBA coach and is awaiting a response, reports Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times. It's not clear who the unnamed candidate is, but according to Woelfel, Jim Cleamons and Dean Demopoulos are among those interviewed for the job.
- Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel still expects the Heat to sign one more "proven veteran" at some point this offseason.
- The Bobcats intend to work out Seth Curry, Stephen Curry's younger brother, in the coming weeks, says Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (via Twitter).
Mo Williams Close To Making Decision
More than half of you voted Mo Williams the best unrestricted free agent still on the market over the weekend, and it appears the veteran guard is close to coming off the board. ESPN.com's Jeff Goodman reports (via Twitter) that Williams could decide on where he'll sign as soon as today.
The Grizzlies are among the teams in the mix for Williams, having met with him in Memphis last week. Memphis could offer the 30-year-old part of its mid-level exception, but Goodman tweets that he doesn't believe Williams is leaning toward choosing the Grizz.
Eastern Conference teams like the Heat and Knicks have also been cited as suitors, even though they have limited financial flexibility. Miami could offer all or some of its mini mid-level exception (worth $3.18MM), while New York could only offer the veteran's minimum. Williams is reportedly open to taking a discount to join a contender though.
When Chuck Myron of Hoops Rumors examined Williams' free agent stock back in April, he predicted that the former Jazz point guard could receive a deal worth about $5MM annually, but it appears Williams will be hard-pressed to find a starting salary that high, wherever he decides to sign.
Knicks, 76ers Interested In Chris Duhon
Two Atlantic Division teams in search of a point guard, the Knicks and 76ers, are showing interest in Chris Duhon, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). Duhon was released earlier in the offseason by the Lakers before his salary for 2013/14 became fully guaranteed.
As we heard yesterday, the Knicks remain in the market for a third point guard to complement Raymond Felton and Pablo Prigioni, and Beno Udrih continues to be the team's top target. It looks as if Duhon is also among New York's possible options, along with others like Mo Williams and Bobby Brown.
Meanwhile, the Sixers are several million dollars below the minimum salary floor required by the Collective Barganing Agreement, so it may benefit the team to sign a veteran free agent or two. Since Michael Carter-Williams currently projects to be Philadelphia's only real point guard, the club figures, at the very least, to bring in two or three players to compete for a roster spot and minutes at the point. A veteran point guard would make sense, to relieve some of the pressure on the 21-year-old Carter-Williams.
Duhon, 30, has seen his numbers decline in recent years with the Magic and Lakers. The nine-year veteran has recorded 3.1 PPG, 2.5 APG, and a PER of just 7.5 in 160 games for those two teams over the last three seasons.
Odds & Ends: Jennings, Knight, Knicks, Tyler
The 2013/14 NBA season isn't too far away and we got a wonderful reminder of that today when the NBA released the schedule for the upcoming campaign. The season kicks off with Derrick Rose's expected return to the hardwood when the Bulls take on the Heat. Then, the battle of Los Angeles gets underway when the Lakers and, hopefully, Kobe Bryant, welcome Doc Rivers to the West Coast. Here's tonight's look around the Association..
- Brandon Jennings and Brandon Knight have switched places, and both guards seem happy with their new clubs, writes Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel. "Well, for one, it was out of my control," Jennings said of the trade that brought him from the Bucks to the Pistons. "For two, Detroit has more championships, the Bad Boys. If you go back in the '80s when Joe Dumars (current Pistons general manager) and Isiah Thomas were playing, the best two-guard backcourt to play the game, (they were) just real feisty. It's actually a great sports town. They have a lot of tradition here."
- Within his introductory presser with the Pistons, Jennings also vowed to be more mindful of his shot selection, writes Keith Langlois of NBA.com.
- There's a certain point next summer where the second year of Jeremy Tyler's new deal with the Knicks can become fully guaranteed, a source tells Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com (via Twitter). A source close to the big man told Zwerling (link) that his camp feels good about his future in New York.
- One scout compared the 6-foot-1 Bobby Brown to a taller Nate Robinson because of his innate ability to score and quick moves, writes Marc Berman of the New York Post. Brown is being targeted by the Knicks and could wind up being their third point guard.
Knicks Sign Jeremy Tyler To Two-Year Deal
After a standout performance in summer league with the Knicks, Jeremy Tyler has signed with the club, the team announced today. It will be a two-year deal, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). Shams Charania of RealGM hears that it will be a partially-guaranteed deal "signifying the organization’s commitment for him to be part of the short- and long-term future".
The forward/center received a training camp invite from the Knicks back in mid-July and it appeared at the time that the big man would be receiving a minimum salary, non-guaranteed one-year pact. Tyler averaged 12.8 PPG and 6.4 RPG for the Knicks in summer league, showing firm post moves against decent competition.
As a high school talent, Tyler was once believed to be one of the more promising big men in his age group. The big man made waves when he decided to forgo his final year at San Diego High School and a commitment to Louisville to instead play professionally in Israel until he was eligible for the NBA Draft. Tyler wound up being the No. 39 pick in the 2011 Draft and spent more time playing for the Warriors' D-League affiliate than their varsity squad. He was traded to the Hawks at this year's trade deadline but his time there was short-lived, leading him back to the D-League.
Tyler is represented by Gabe Giordano, according to the Hoops Rumors Agency Database.
Knicks Remain Focused On Beno Udrih
A report last week suggested that the Knicks were attempting to convince Beno Udrih to accept a minimum-salary deal to play in New York, and it seems the presence of other suitors hasn't diminished the Knicks' interest. According to Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com (via Twitter), Udrih remains the club's top free agent priority, and the Knicks may not sign another player until they hear from the point guard.
The Knicks aren't necessarily considered long shots for Udrih, but he's reportedly still hoping he can earn more than the minimum, and there are at least four other teams with interest. If even one of those clubs is willing to make an offer worth more than the minimum, it could make things difficult on the Knicks.
Nonetheless, New York is preparing its Plan B just in case, according to Begley, who tweets that the team is bringing in Bobby Brown and two other players for workouts. Brown has an agreement with China's Dongguan Leopards, but can opt out for an NBA deal up until August 15th, so the Knicks want to take another first-hand look at him before then.
The Knicks are hoping to eventually sign a point guard to complement the team's existing duo of Raymond Felton and Pablo Prigioni.