D-League Notes: Celtics, Smith, Ledo
The Mavs reaped a subtle benefit when the Thunder decided to keep Ish Smith instead of Sebastian Telfair when their 16th roster spot expired last week, as Gino Pilato of D-League Digest explains. The Mavs affiliate, by D-League rule, inherited top waiver priority once Smith, who left the Mavs affiliate to sign with Oklahoma City on November 7th, spent his 21st day on the Thunder’s NBA roster, as Pilato points out. Thus, the Legends were able to grab Ivan Johnson even though Dallas didn’t have his D-League rights when he signed with the league earlier this week.
Here are the latest D-League moves:
- The Celtics have recalled James Young, Dwight Powell, and Marcus Smart from their D-League affiliate, the Maine Red Claws, the team has announced. The trio make their return after seeing action in Maine’s victory against Fort Wayne last night. Young poured in 31 points and grabbed nine rebounds, while Powell contributed 21 points. Smart, making his D-League debut, added six points, five boards, and dished out seven dimes.
- Russ Smith has been assigned to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, the Pelicans have announced. Smith has appeared in three contests for New Orleans, going scoreless in his 3.7 minutes per game. The rookie averaged 5.0 points, 0.8 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in six preseason games for the Pelicans this year. Smith is the first player that New Orleans has assigned to the D-League this season.
- The Pistons have assigned Tony Mitchell to their D-League affiliate, the Grand Rapids Drive, David Mayo of MLive reports (Twitter link). This will be Mitchell’s third trip to the D-League this season.
- Ricky Ledo has been reassigned to the Texas Legends, the Mavs‘ D-League affiliate, Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com tweets. This is Ledo’s third such assignment, and in four games with the Legends Ledo has averaged 11.5 points and 2.8 assists.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Durant, ‘Melo, Love Spoke Of Playing Together
Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Love have discussed the idea of one day playing together, whether it be in the NBA or on Team USA, Love tells Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPNNewYork.com. The subject came up when the three 2012 Olympic teammates were with each other as they trained this summer in a Los Angeles gym.
“I think naturally being around each other this summer and the Olympics and just in common passing, we have always talked about the opportunity to obviously play against each other but playing with each other as well,” Love said. “It is always something fun to think about when you have a bunch of guys in the gym this summer. And if not on our respective teams, then maybe at the Olympics.”
It would seem the next Olympics would be a much more likely venue for a reunion than the NBA, given Anthony’s new contract with the Knicks, which runs through 2018/19 with a player option for that season, and Love’s continued insistence that he plans a long-term future with the Cavs. Durant has given no clear signal of what he intends to do when his contract with the Thunder runs out in 2016, but it would be a “long shot, likely even a pipe dream” for the Knicks to land a superstar of Durant’s caliber to play alongside Anthony, Youngmisuk writes. The Knicks are reportedly pessimistic about their chances of attracting Marc Gasol this summer.
Love spoke of his admiration for New York basketball over the summer, as Youngmisuk notes, and the power forward called the Knicks “a great franchise to be a part of” in a recent interview with Steve Serby of the New York Post, though he made it clear to Serby that he wants to stay in Cleveland. Love can opt out of his deal this summer or opt in and align his free agency with that of Durant’s in 2016. Still, there seems little chance that he’d end up leaving the Cavs.
D-League Notes: McGary, Ledo, Celtics
The D-League is becoming an integral part of the NBA’s process of developing younger players, as well as a source for locating hidden gems to bolster rosters during the course of the season. You can easily stay on top of which players are coming and going from the D-League all season by checking out our 2014/15 D-League Assignments, Recalls tracker, which is updated daily. You can also find this page anytime on the right sidebar under “Hoops Rumors Features.”
Here are the latest D-League moves:
- The Thunder have re-assigned Mitch McGary to the Oklahoma City Blue, the team announced via Twitter. This is the big man’s second trip to the D-League this season. McGary has yet to appear in an NBA regular season game since being selected with the No. 21 pick in this year’s NBA draft.
- Ricky Ledo has been recalled by the Mavericks from the Texas Legends, where he was on his second D-League assignment of the season, Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com reports (Twitter link). In four appearances for the Legends, Ledo has averaged 11.5 points and 2.8 assists while logging 33.3 minutes per contest.
- The Celtics have assigned Dwight Powell, James Young, and Marcus Smart to the Maine Red Claws, the team announced. This will be Powell’s and Young’s third excursion to Maine, and Smart’s first. All three rookies are likely to be recalled to Boston on Friday, notes Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com.
Sebastian Telfair To Play In China
THURSDAY, 7:50am: Telfair has arrived in China to join Xinjiang, Pick reports (Twitter link), so it appears the deal is done.
MONDAY, 6:48pm: The team Telfair is negotiating with is Xinjiang of the Chinese Basketball Association, according to David Pick of Eurobasket.com (via Twitter), who confirms that the sides are close to agreement.
9:06am: Sebastian Telfair is near a deal with a Chinese team, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The Thunder let go of the point guard Wednesday to keep Ish Smith instead when their hardship exception for a 16th roster spot expired, eating Telfair’s guaranteed minimum salary in the process. The identity of the Chinese team that Telfair’s camp is negotiating with is unclear.
Telfair appeared in 16 games and started one for the Thunder, who signed him to a one-year deal over the summer. He put up 8.4 points and 2.8 assists against 1.1 turnovers in 20.4 minutes per game for the Thunder during his brief stay. The 29-year-old’s scoring average was his best in the NBA since the 2008/09 season, but it wasn’t enough to save his job in Oklahoma City.
The Thunder are on the hook for more than $915K for Telfair this season, but they could be in line to recoup a portion of that through set-off rights, depending on the amount of money in Telfair’s next deal. Set-off rights apply regardless of whether a player signs his next contract in the NBA or another professional league, so they would still be in play if Telfair indeed inks with a Chinese team.
Western Notes: Love, Stokes, Abrines
Kevin Love has denied all the rumors that suggest he is considering leaving Cleveland after this season to join the Lakers. In an interview with ESPN Radio’s “Mike and Mike in the Morning” (hat tip to Scott Sargent of WaitingForNextYear.com), Love continued to deny he intends to depart for Los Angeles, saying, “Whether we lose two or three games in a row, or there’s a game where my statistical output isn’t necessarily what it should be, people are always going to talk. Since I was traded to Cleveland this summer, I’ve said since Day one that I’m a Cleveland Cavalier long term and I plan for it to be that way. I want to grow with this team. There’s a lot of guys with a lot of unique talent, one-through-fifteen, on our roster who are going to be here for a long time. If I could end all the speculation now, I would. But people are going to continue to talk no matter what. I just want to continue getting better with this team long term. I’m a Cleveland Cavalier.”
Here’s more from the west:
- The Grizzlies have recalled Jarnell Stokes from the Iowa Energy, the team announced. This was Stokes’ second trip to the D-League this season. The 20-year-old forward has notched a total of eight points and seven rebounds in 21 minutes of action in his six NBA appearances for Memphis this season.
- With Nick Calathes having recently returned to the Grizzlies from his drug-related suspension, members of his camp have told David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter link) that the talk of Calathes wanting out of his contract with Memphis so he can play overseas with Fenerbahce of the Turkish league are just rumors.
- Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com (Twitter links) has been hearing favorable reviews of Alex Abrines, a second round pick of the Thunder back in 2013 who is playing in Spain. Abrines was selected with the No. 32 overall pick, but if he entered the 2015 draft he would likely be a top-15 selection, notes Howard-Cooper. In 16 contests for FC Barcelona this season, Abrines is averaging 9.8 points on 57% shooting, including a stellar 53.3% from three-point range.
- Though no trades appear to be imminent, the Warriors, despite their 15-2 record, do not necessarily believe that their roster is set, Tim Kawakami of The Bay Area News Group tweets. Golden State is surveying the trade market to see who is available, Kawakami adds.
Western Notes: Curry, Meeks, D-League
Stephen Curry is now in the second season of the four-year, $44MM deal that he inked with the Warriors, and he has become one of the most blatantly underpaid players in the game, DeAntae Price of The Sporting News writes. Part of the reason that Curry signed that deal was because he missed 40 games the prior season with an ankle injury, prompting him to become concerned about his ability to bounce back, notes Price. But Curry has no regrets about signing the contract, saying, “Yeah, you expect to continue to get better. Obviously, I was in a unique situation, one that I was very comfortable with the decision I made coming off the ankle surgeries. I was confident I’d be able to get back, but I didn’t know how long the road was going to be to get back to 100% and take my game to the next level. But four years is a long time and you hope you can prove that you’re that max type of player and talent.”
Here’s more from out west:
- The Jazz have recalled Toure’ Murry from the D-League, the team announced. The offseason signee was on assignment with the Idaho Stampede for nearly three weeks, putting up 14.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 2.3 steals in 31.5 minutes per game across six appearances.
- The Thunder have recalled both Mitch McGary and Grant Jerrett from the Oklahoma City Blue, their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This was Jerrett’s third D-League assignment of the season and McGary’s first.
- The Lakers didn’t make an offer to Jodie Meeks when he became a free agent last summer because they wanted to maintain flexibility in case LeBron James or Carmelo Anthony decided to come to Los Angeles, Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News writes. So Meeks took the sure thing and inked a deal with the Pistons instead, though he still has nothing but warm feelings for the Lakers, Medina adds. “I was getting some interest with the Lakers, but obviously they were waiting on Carmelo and LeBron,” Meeks said. “Who knows what would’ve happened had I waited, but I feel like this [Detroit] is the best place for me.”
And-Ones: Jackson, Hamilton, Fisher, Cavs
Some have painted Thunder guard Reggie Jackson in a negative light due to his desire for a big contract, but he’s showing a team-first attitude, as Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman writes. “It’s a challenge that I’m looking forward to getting used to and hopefully we can be one of the best second units in the league,” said Jackson, who is headed back to the bench with Russell Westbrook back in the fold. Jackson is set for restricted free agency this summer after the two sides broke off extension talks in October, but he sounds like he’s more focused on winning than anything else. More from around the NBA..
- Justin Hamilton‘s partial guarantee on his one-year veteran’s minimum salary with the Heat increased from $408,241 to $612,362 today. Hamilton signed his deal late last season, but since then, the Heat have become more willing to dole out partial guarantees without the luxury tax bearing down on them as in years past, as Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel examines.
- With Derek Fisher at the helm, the Knicks have struggled in close games even more this season than they did last season under Mike Woodson, writes Chris Herring of the Wall Street Journal. Of New York’s 18 games thus far, a league-high 11 have been separated by five points or fewer entering the final five minutes of play. The Knicks have gone 2-9 in those games.
- Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio doesn’t understand why the Cavs waived Will Cherry and re-signed guard A.J. Price just weeks after doing the reverse. Still, he trusts Cleveland’s judgement and admits that the third point guard role isn’t a terribly crucial one.
Chris Crouse contributed to this post.
Offseason In Review: Oklahoma City Thunder
Hoops Rumors is in the process of looking back at each team’s offseason, from the end of the playoffs in June right up until opening night. Trades, free agent signings, draft picks, contract extensions, option decisions, camp invitees, and more will be covered, as we examine the moves each franchise made over the last several months.
Signings
- Anthony Morrow: Three years, $10.032MM. Signed via mid-level exception. Third year is non-guaranteed.
- Grant Jerrett: Four years, $3.867MM. Re-signed via Non-Bird rights. Third and fourth years are non-guaranteed.
- Sebastian Telfair: One year, $1.317MM. Signed via minimum-salary exception.
- Lance Thomas: One year, $948K. Signed via minimum-salary exception. Non-guaranteed.
Extensions
- None
Trades
- Acquired 2014 pick No. 55 from the Hornets in exchange for cash.
- Acquired the rights to Sofoklis Schortsanitis from the Hawks in exchange for Thabo Sefolosha (sign-and-trade), the rights to Giorgos Printezis, and cash.
- Acquired Philadelphia’s 2015 second-round pick (top-55 protected) from the Sixers in exchange for Hasheem Thabeet and $100K cash.
Waiver Claims
- None
Draft Picks
- Mitch McGary (Round 1, 21st overall). Signed via rookie scale exception to rookie scale contract.
- Josh Huestis (Round 1, 29th overall). Playing in the D-League.
- Semaj Christon (Round 1, 55th overall). Playing in the D-League.
Camp Invitees
- Michael Jenkins
- Richard Solomon
- Talib Zanna
Departing Players
Rookie Contract Option Decisions
- Steven Adams (third year, $2,279,040) — Exercised
- Perry Jones III (fourth year, $2,038,206) — Exercised
- Jeremy Lamb (fourth year, $3,034,356) — Exercised
- Andre Roberson (third year, $1,210,800) — Exercised
The Thunder may have been disappointed with the conclusion of their 2013/14 campaign, but they were impressive when taking everything in total. OKC was without star guard Russell Westbrook for nearly half of the season and when the Thunder arrived in the playoffs, they staved off battle-ready teams in the Grizzlies and Clippers before succumbing to the Spurs in six games. They nearly won 60 games and they were a stone’s throw from the Finals, but after years of being on the cusp, this team isn’t satisfied with moral victories.
Oklahoma City didn’t undergo an offseason overhaul, but that’s not to say that it didn’t make a real run at shaking things up. The Thunder were one of several teams that went hard after veteran sharpshooter Mike Miller before he landed with LeBron James and the Cavaliers. They were also hoping to land Pau Gasol, which would have been a monstrous boost to their frontcourt. Just as the Spurs did, OKC went after the Spaniard with the hope that the allure of winning would help distract from an under-market contract offer. Ultimately, however, Gasol found a chance to win with better compensation with the Bulls. Kevin Durant gave it his best shot, but he couldn’t reel in Gasol. “Obviously [it wasn’t] that close, [but] I did my work. That was my first time recruiting,” Durant said in July.
The Thunder had a few holes to fill over the summer. Backup point guard Derek Fisher left to coach the Knicks, Caron Butler moved on in free agency, and Thabo Sefolosha regressed sharply in 2013/14, ensuring his exit. The Thunder couldn’t pull off a flashy signing like Gasol or Miller, so they had to dig a little deeper to reload their roster.
Oklahoma City badly needed outside shooting and its signing of the fearless Anthony Morrow made perfect sense. On a three-year, ~$10MM contract, it’s hard to find fault with the deal given his long-distance acumen and the interest that he had from contenders around the league. Heading into this season, Morrow had only 129 starts on his resume, but he has shown that he can make an impact with his ability to keep opposing defenses honest. Unfortunately for the Thunder, he missed the first seven games of the regular season while healing from a sprained left MCL.
With Fisher out of the picture, the Thunder brought Brooklyn’s own Sebastian Telfair aboard to help soak up some of the backup minutes at the one guard. At the time, the one-year, minimum salary deal seemed like an inexpensive solution to their problem, but things didn’t quite work out. Just recently, the Thunder bid farewell to Telfair and instead opted to keep fellow point guard Ish Smith.
D-League notable Grant Jerrett was brought back on a four-year, minimum-salary deal with the final two seasons non-guaranteed. For the time being, it seems like he’s going to remain a D-League staple, but that’s just fine for the Thunder, who aren’t banking on Jerrett to be a key cog this year. Lance Thomas beat the odds to make OKC’s roster and the Thunder believe that they have found a gem in the former New Jersey high school star. The Thunder carved out space for guys like Thomas by dumping Sefolosha and Hasheem Thabeet for table scraps, including the rights to Sofoklis “Baby Shaq” Schortsanitis.
The Thunder made moves to try and win a title in the here and now, but they also put a good amount of focus into the draft, where they made two surprising first round selections. First, with the No. 21 overall pick, the Thunder drafted Michigan big man Mitch McGary. McGary decided to go pro early rather than face a one-year suspension and while there was fear that he wasn’t NBA-ready, the Thunder apparently had no such concerns. McGary is still waiting to make his NBA debut after a strong performance in the summer league, but the Thunder must be optimistic about the impact he can make this season.
With the No. 29 pick, the Thunder made an even more surprising selection with Stanford forward Josh Huestis. When Huestis spoke with Hoops Rumors prior to the draft, he projected as a mid-second round pick. Huestis isn’t a tremendous athlete or a top-notch scorer, but he is a textbook hustle player and a super tough defender. Huestis’ camp reached agreement on an unusual deal with the Thunder prior to the draft which ticketed him to play for Oklahoma City’s D-League affiliate in his first pro season.
The Thunder didn’t do a whole lot in free agency, but then again, this has never been a team to really build with the open market. Their quiet offseason may have raised some eyebrows, but the Thunder stand as one of the most fearsome teams in the West, when they’re healthy. OKC has all of the answers in house. They just need them on the court.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.
And-Ones: Cavs, Knicks, Bogdanovic, Thunder
The Cavs‘ resurgence on defense started with the maturity of point guard Kyrie Irving, writes Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio. “In order for our team to win, I have to be that guy on the defensive end,” Irving said. “You can only talk about it for so long. At one point it just has to be done.” Cleveland has won its last three contests by an average of 23.3 points per game. Amico argues that with offensive threats like Irving, LeBron James and Kevin Love, the team only needs to be above average defensively to sustain success.
Here’s more from around the Association:
- The stoic approach of Knicks head coach Derek Fisher has led players to take it upon themselves to voice their concerns, writes Marc Berman of the New York Post. “No excuses at this point,’’ forward Amar’e Stoudemire said. “No more moral victories. We can’t say we’re still learning. We have to start to be more students of the game. We’re a team that’s only won four games all season. I know it’s 17 games, but this can’t be acceptable.” The Knicks currently sport the fourth worst record in the Eastern Conference and rank 25th in the league on offense with 94.2 points per game.
- Bojan Bogdanovic is adjusting to playing in the NBA and Nets coach Lionel Hollins is confident he will improve over the season, writes Tim Bontemps of the New York Post. “Sounds like a rookie,” Hollins said. “He’s more comfortable playing in Brooklyn, more comfortable playing in front of the home crowd, and when you go on the road it’s new. Every arena he walks into his new, and it’s just part of the growing process. He’ll get better.” Bogdanovic is shooting 41.9% from the field in 14 games for the Nets this season.
- The Thunder have assigned Grant Jerrett and Mitch McGary to their D-League affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blue, according to the team’s twitter feed. Jerrett scored three points during nine minutes in his only game for the team this season. McGary, a first round pick from the 2014 draft, has not yet seen the court for the Thunder. Both players will play Sunday for the OKC Blue.
Northwest Notes: Wolves, Durant, Thunder
With the Nuggets seemingly on the upswing, the Wolves have become the team most likely to shake things up through multiple trades this season, Kevin Pelton of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required) writes. If Wolves president Flip Saunders acknowledges his preseason hope of competing for a playoff spot is no longer realistic, Minnesota could look to trade Thaddeus Young, Corey Brewer, or Kevin Martin, once he returns from his wrist injury, Pelton opines.
Here’s more from the Northwest Division:
- Many teams around the league are rooting for the Thunder to miss out on the playoffs this season, Sam Amick of USA Today writes. Similar to how many believed that the odds of LeBron James leaving the Heat as a free agent last summer would increase if Miami fell to the Spurs in the NBA Finals, the widely-held belief around the league now is that the odds of Kevin Durant leaving Oklahoma City will spike if he doesn’t win a title [or two] in the next two seasons, notes Amick.
- Knicks head coach Derek Fisher credits Scott Brooks and the Thunder‘s coaching staff for preparing him for the jump from player to coach, Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman writes. “They were just very open to relationships with the players, being in close contact and engaged with their players,” Fisher said. “It really opened my eyes as to how impactful coaches can be in this league. For a long time, coaching wasn’t really something that people thought professional players really needed.”
- Jabari Davis of Basketball Insiders runs down a number of potential trade candidates in the Western Conference, including Kenneth Faried, JaVale McGee, and Danilo Gallinari of the Nuggets, the Clippers’ Reggie Bullock and Matt Barnes, and Jordan Hill and Steve Nash of the Lakers.