Thunder Sign Richard Solomon, Talib Zanna
The Thunder have signed power forwards Richard Solomon and Talib Zanna, the team announced via press release. Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman was the first to report the deals (Twitter links). The team also confirms previously reported agreements with Lance Thomas and Michael Jenkins. The team has the capacity to give more than the minimum to Solomon and Talib, both of whom went undrafted this past June, but it’s unlikely the Thunder did so. It’s not clear whether there’s any guaranteed money on their respective deals.
Solomon averaged a double-double as a senior this past season at Cal, notching 11.0 points and 10.2 rebounds in 29.2 minutes per game. Zanna came fairly close as a Pittsburgh senior, with 13.0 PPG and 8.6 RPG in 30.3 MPG, before joining the Sixers for summer league in July.
The moves will give Oklahoma City 18 players for camp. The Thunder have 14 fully guaranteed pacts, leaving Zanna and Solomon to fight with Thomas and Jenkins for the final regular season roster spot, presuming the team carries the NBA-maximum 15 players on opening night.
Western Notes: Jackson, Barea, Kings
The Thunder believe Reggie Jackson, who’s eligible for an extension until October 31st, has what it takes to become a key part of the team in the long run, and the team’s executives privately gush about his ability, writes Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman. GM Sam Presti seems confident that his team will strike a deal with Jackson, Tramel observes.
Here’s more from out west:
- Coach/executive Flip Saunders says there’s still a role on the Wolves for J.J. Barea, despite reports indicating that the team has Barea on the trade block, pointing to the performance that Barea put on a year ago in camp as the team’s best as he spoke with Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune. Saunders also insisted to Zgoda that he can balance the demands of coaching and front office work at the same time and not prioritize the present over the future, and vice versa.
- Kings owner Vivek Ranadive is feeling much better about his team’s direction this season, writes Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee. “I still have a lot to learn, I’m sure,” Ranadive said. “Last year, when the season started, I said it wasn’t going to be about wins and losses. When I came here and we bought the team, there was dysfunction in the locker room, there wasn’t mutual respect, the arena was literally falling apart, the roof was falling down. So we brought in a new team, we restored stability, restored respect, we put in a strong culture. But this year, let’s be clear, it is about wins and losses.”
- Speaking about the team’s new roster additions, GM Pete D’Alessandro added, “We’re not trying to be patient anymore, we’re not. We want to win more, we want to be more exciting. Last year, there was just so much turnover. This year, we’re all kind of settled into our roles. We feel our team has grown, and we had two guys coming back from Spain, so we do have a lot of talent; it’s how we use it, and that’s what we’re striving to figure out.”
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Thunder Sign Michael Jenkins For Camp
MONDAY, 6:39pm: The deal is official, the team announced via press release.
FRIDAY, 2:04pm: The Thunder and free agent shooting guard Michael Jenkins have struck agreement on a deal for training camp, reports Shams Charania of RealGM (on Twitter). Agent Daniel Moldovan tweeted this summer that Jenkins had a camp deal with the Nets after he’d been part of Brooklyn’s summer league squad, but his name wasn’t on the roster that Brooklyn released yesterday. Oklahoma City has the capacity to give more than the minimum salary, but it’s unlikely that Thunder did so, though perhaps there’s a small partial guarantee involved.
The 28-year-old Jenkins has spent much of his pro career overseas after going undrafted out of Winthrop in 2008, having played in Italy the past two seasons. Jenkins averaged 10.3 points and shot 39.9% from three-point range in 25.9 minutes per game for Pallacanestro Cantu last year, but his numbers were even better for Centrale del Latte Brescia the year before, when he put up 17.0 PPG in 31.4 MPG with 41.1% accuracy from behind the arc.
The Thunder have been carrying 14 fully guaranteed deals plus a non-guaranteed pact with Lance Thomas. That ostensibly gives Jenkins a decent shot to make the opening-night roster for Oklahoma City, though the Thunder have only carried 14 players to start the season the last two years.
Western Notes: Papanikolaou, Liz, Ivey, Gay
Kostas Papanikolaou’s two-year deal with the Rockets is non-guaranteed, surprisingly, but this year’s salary of nearly $4.798MM becomes fully guaranteed if he remains on the roster through Sunday, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). His second-year salary of almost $4.6MM becomes fully guaranteed if he sticks through September 28th next year, Pincus adds.
Here’s more from out west:
- Dominican Republic guard Victor Liz is working on a deal to re-sign overseas, Shams Charania of RealGM reports (Twitter link). Liz had reportedly been offered a training camp invite by the Mavericks.
- Former Hawks player Royal Ivey will be an assistant coach for the Thunder‘s D-League affiliate, Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports (Twitter link).
- With Rudy Gay picking up his player option to return to Sacramento, the Kings have stability at the small forward position for the first time in years, Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee writes.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Northwest Notes: Jackson, Wolves, Penberthy
The Thunder have no plans to deal Reggie Jackson if the two sides are unable to reach a contract extension by the October 31st deadline, GM Sam Presti says in an article by Royce Young of ESPN.com. Presti expanded on that thought, saying, “We don’t look at [Jackson] as anything other than a core member. We want to invest in Reggie. There’s not a lack of clarity in that regard. Figuring out how best we do that is my job. And I’m going to do everything I can because I believe that he’s a great example of a lot of things that we try to do here. He was drafted, he’s been developed by our coaches and our support staff and the next step is to keep him with us for a long time.”
Here’s the latest from the Northwest Division:
- The Timberwolves officially announced the hiring of Mike Penberthy as the team’s shooting coach. Penberthy played parts of two seasons for the Lakers, averaging 4.9 PPG for his career on 41.5% shooting. His primary focus will be to continue working with Ricky Rubio on improving his outside shooting, according to the article.
- As for what Penberthy brings to the organization, coach Flip Sanders told Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune, “I don’t even want to pigeon-hole him as a shooting coach because i think there are other things he’ll be able to help us with. That will be his main emphasis. Ricky enjoyed working with him, even though it was only for a week. I think if Ricky had a chance to spend a month with him or six weeks, I believe we could have seen some good changes. We’ll let his role evolve. It’s important for him to see how we want to play and where guys are going to get shots and how he can incorporate that into our shooting.”
- With training camps set to begin each division has a number of questions heading into the new season. Nate Duncan of Basketball Insiders looks at the issues facing teams in the Northwest Division.
- The Thunder have big expectations this season after making it to the Conference Finals last year. GM Sam Presti spoke with reporters today regarding Oklahoma City’s 2014/15 campaign and NBA.com had the highlights.
Pistons Sign Hasheem Thabeet For Camp
THURSDAY, 12:13pm: The team has followed up with an official announcement, via press release.
WEDNESDAY, 10:40pm: The contract has been signed, according to the RealGM transactions log.
3:45pm: The Pistons have signed Hasheem Thabeet, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). The deal is non-guaranteed according to Stein, though the length and terms have not been disclosed yet. Thabeet’s signing brings Detroit’s preseason roster count to 19, with 16 of those players on fully-guaranteed contracts. With the Pistons’ glut of bigs on the roster Thabeet would seem to be a real long shot to stick past training camp.
Thabeet was traded from the Thunder to the Sixers in a roster clearing move back in August. Philadelphia had no intention of keeping Thabeet, and they waived him on the final day before his non-guaranteed $1.25MM salary for this coming season was to have become fully guaranteed.
The former second-overall draft pick out of UConn never came close to living up to his draft position. In five seasons Thabeet has averaged just 2.2 PPG and 2.7 RPG. His career shooting numbers are .567/.000/.568.
Western Notes: Thunder, Clippers, Bledsoe
The Thunder revealed that the name for their new D-League team will be the Oklahoma City Blue in a press release they issued earlier today. As for why that name was chosen, Brian Byrnes, the Thunder’s senior vice president of Sales and Marketing said, “Blue is one of our primary Thunder colors, but it has become more than just a color for us. It has come to represent the passion, loyalty and unity of our fans and our community in their support for our team. Our players wear it proudly on their uniforms, our fans sport Thunder blue shirts, Thunder blue flags fly across Oklahoma and our statewide Blue Alliance fan groups show their connection to our team and what it stands for.”
Here’s more from out west:
- Clippers president and head coach Doc Rivers praised the offseason addition of Spencer Hawes, and said the center turned down larger offers to come to Los Angeles, Dan Woike of the Orange County Register writes. Rivers said, “I thought he was a great fit. Because of salary and where we’re at, I didn’t think we could get him.” The coach also noted in the article that the franchise getting to the point where players will take less money to play there is a positive sign.
- Clippers owner Steve Ballmer hopes to have a team president who will handle day-to-day operations of the team in place soon, Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times reports (Twitter link).
- Ballmer also announced that Eric Miller, former owner Donald Sterling’s son-in-law, has left his position as director of basketball administration, Dan Woike of the Orange County Register tweets.
- The Suns are reportedly set to re-sign Eric Bledsoe to a five-year, $70MM extension, and Steve Kyler and Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders debate whether it was a mistake on Phoenix’s part.
- Shareef Abdur-Rahim is no longer with the Kings, Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee reports. Abdur-Rahim was the director of player personnel and GM of of the Reno Bighorns, the Kings’ NBA D-League team.
Wizards, Thunder, Jazz Audition David Stockton
TUESDAY, 11:31pm: Stockton is also scheduled to work out for the Wizards, reports J. Michael of CSNWashington.com. Michael cites a hamstring injury to third-string point guard Garrett Temple as a development that has opened the door for Stockton. Washington has 14 of the maximum 15 regular season roster spots occupied with players on fully guaranteed salaries, a group that includes Temple.
MONDAY, 10:13am: The Thunder worked out David Stockton last week, and the undrafted rookie guard will try out for the Jazz this week, sources tell Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia. It’ll be the second time the son of Hall-of-Famer John Stockton will work out for Utah, since the Jazz reportedly took a look at him before the draft.
David Stockton was a regular starter this past season for the first time in his four years at Gonzaga, averaging 7.4 points and 4.2 assists in 27.8 minutes per game. He saw sparing action in the summer league with the Suns in July, putting up six points, one assist and three steals in nearly 19 total minutes of action across two games.
It would seemingly be a surprise if Stockton made an opening-night roster, but Oklahoma looks like more fertile territory for him to do so than Utah does, in spite of his connections with the Jazz. The Thunder only have deals with 15 players, though all but Lance Thomas have fully guaranteed salaries. The Jazz have 13 fully guaranteed pacts and four partially guaranteed deals among the 18 they already possess, according to our roster counts.
Trade Retrospective: James Harden To Rockets
In the wake of the blockbuster deal that sent Kevin Love to the Cavaliers this summer, I’ve been taking a look back at some of the bigger trades that have occurred in the NBA over the last decade. It’s always a risk to trade away a star player, and getting equal value is a near impossibility in most cases.
It’s fascinating to see the league-wide ripples that big trades can cause, and sometimes the full effects and ramifications aren’t fully felt until years later when the draft picks are used, players either reach their potential or fall short, and the won-loss records are chiseled into stone, or at the very least into the amber that is the internet.
So far I’ve looked back at Carmelo Anthony being dealt to the Knicks; Kevin Garnett to the Celtics; Dwight Howard to the Lakers; Stephon Marbury to the Knicks; Shaquille O’Neal to the Heat; Chris Paul to the Clippers; Deron Williams to the Nets, and LaMarcus Aldridge to the Blazers. Next up is the 2012 trade that saw the Thunder ship James Harden to the Rockets.
Let’s begin by reviewing the assets exchanged:
- The Rockets received Harden; Cole Aldrich; Daequan Cook; and Lazar Hayward.
- The Thunder got Kevin Martin; Jeremy Lamb; 2013 first-rounder via the Raptors (Steven Adams); 2013 second-rounder via the Hornets (Alex Abrines); and a 2014 first-rounder via the Mavericks (Mitch McGary).
The trade of Harden was 100% financially motivated on the Thunder’s part. The team had been trying to sign the 6’5″ shooting guard out of Arizona State to an extension, but Harden turned down Oklahoma City’s four-year, $55MM deal, which turned out to be a total of about $6MM less than the four-year maximum salary extension that Harden was seeking. Harden eventually got the deal he was looking for from the Rockets, and in October of 2012, just after the trade was completed, he signed the extension with Houston for five years and $78.8MM.
The Rockets had been stagnating in the Western Conference and had been desperately seeking a superstar player for years. Harden seemed like the perfect fit–a young, playoff-tested scorer who could not only improve Houston’s roster and ticket sales, but who also could be used to lure other big name stars to the city.
Let’s look back at Houston’s records prior to the trade:
- 2009/10: 42-40
- 2010/11: 43-39
- 2011/12: 34-32
Harden came in and during his first season he set career highs in virtually every statistical category, as well as beard length. He also helped make the Rockets one of the more dangerous and entertaining teams in the league, though despite Harden being paired up with Dwight Howard, the franchise hasn’t made it past the first round of the playoffs since either player has been in town, and with the brutal offseason the team has had, that outlook doesn’t look to improve this coming season.
Here’s what Harden has done since arriving in Houston:
- 2012/13: 25.9 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 5.8 APG, and 1.8 SPG. His slash line was .438/.368/.851.
- 2013/14: 25.4 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 6.1 APG, and 1.6 SPG. His slash line was .456/.366/.866.
Harden has given the Rockets their money’s worth thus far, despite being a bit of a ball-stopper on the offensive side, not developing into a plus defender, and turning the ball over far too often (3.7 per game in his two seasons with the Rockets). Considering that Harden is just entering his prime, and barring injury, the best is still ahead of him as a player.
Cole Aldrich only spent 30 games in a Rockets uniform, averaging 1.7 PPG and 1.9 RPG. On February 20, 2013, Aldrich was traded to the Kings along with Toney Douglas and Patrick Patterson, and $1MM for Francisco Garcia, Thomas Robinson, and Tyler Honeycutt. He finished out the season with Sacramento, and then signed with the Knicks in the offseason.
Daequan Cook also had a short stay in Houston, appearing in just 16 games, and averaged 3.4 PPG and 1.1 RPG. He was waived by the Rockets on January 2, 2013, then signed with the Bulls and finished out the season in Chicago. That was his last year in the NBA and Cook has played overseas since then.
Lazar Hayward never played in a single game for the Rockets, as he was waived immediately after the deal. He then signed with the Timberwolves, but only appeared in four games for the franchise, averaging 2.5 PPG and 1.0 RPG. Hayward hasn’t seen any NBA action since.
From Houston’s perspective, the trade should be considered a success. They got the best player in the deal, and the star they had been seeking, and didn’t have to give up the farm to acquire him. This trade hasn’t resulted in a deep playoff run yet, but Harden is a player that the Rockets can certainly build around. For a comparison, let’s look at the Rockets’ records after trade:
- 2012/13: 45-37 (Lost in first round to Thunder)
- 2013/14: 54-28 (Lost in first round to Blazers)
It’s doubtful that the Rockets will take the next step forward this season after losing Chandler Parsons to the Mavs in free agency, and dealing away Omer Asik and Jeremy Lin while trying to clear enough cap space to sign Chris Bosh, who snubbed Houston and re-signed with the Heat. But with Dwight Howard and Harden as a foundation, the Rockets should be able to bounce back in the next few seasons.
For the Thunder, trading away Harden was a huge gamble, especially since the team had just come off a surprise trip to the NBA Finals, and with a solid young core the sky seemed to be the limit for Oklahoma City. But the team was feeling the salary cap crunch with Kevin Durant‘s, Russell Westbrook‘s, and Serge Ibaka‘s big money deals already on the books, and Harden seeking a max deal.
The trade hasn’t harmed the franchise during the regular season, but Oklahoma City definitely felt the effects in the playoffs, especially considering the team’s injury woes. For comparison let’s first look back at the Thunder’s records prior to trade:
- 2009/10: 50-32 (Lost in first round to Lakers)
- 2010/11: 55-27 (Lost in Conference Finals to Mavs)
- 2011/12: 47-19 (Lost in NBA Finals to the Heat)
As I previously mentioned, this trade was all about the Thunder trying to maintain long-term cap flexibility so they could try to surround their core with more than just minimum salary players. Dealing away Harden hasn’t affected the franchise during the regular season, as evidenced by Oklahoma City’s records since the deal.
- 2012/13: 60-22 (Lost in second round to Grizzlies)
- 2013/14: 59-23 (Lost in Conference Finals to Spurs)
The team has still performed well above the competition during the 82 game regular season, but the playoffs are where Harden’s absence has been felt the most. The loss of “The Beard” was exacerbated the last two seasons because of the injuries to Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka, where Harden’s presence could have mitigated the damage missing those two stars caused. As talented as Reggie Jackson, Martin, and Lamb are, they aren’t capable of taking over a game on the offensive end like Harden is, which is invaluable during the grind of a playoff series.
As for Oklahoma City’s side of the deal, the primary piece they received was Kevin Martin, who was counted on to replace a large portion of Harden’s scoring punch off of the bench. While nowhere near as dynamic an offensive player as Harden, Martin had averaged over 20 PPG five times in his career prior to arriving in Oklahoma City.
Martin only spent one season in a Thunder uniform, and averaged 14.0 PPG, 2.3 RPG, and 1.4 APG. His shooting numbers were .450/.426/.890. While these numbers weren’t far off of what Harden provided during his time in Oklahoma City, Martin never quite clicked with the Thunder’s style of play, and he had a rough playoff run, averaging 14.0 PPG and shooting only 38% from the field.
After the season he was part of a sign-and-trade deal with the Timberwolves and the Bucks, and Oklahoma City received the draft rights to Milwaukee’s 2003 second-round draft pick Szymon Szewczyk in return. Martin’s new contract with Minnesota was for four years and $28MM.
Martin was seen more as a one-year stopgap by the Thunder, and they were hoping to develop Jeremy Lamb to take over the backup shooting guard duties after Martin departed, and do so for a much lower salary as well. Lamb has shown flashes of potential, but I would have a difficult time making an argument that he will develop into a star on Harden’s, or even Martin’s level, anytime in the future. Here’s what Lamb has done with the Thunder during his first two seasons in the league:
- 2012/13: 3.1 PPG, 0.8 RPG, and 0.2 APG. His slash line was .353/.300/1.000.
- 2013/14: 8.5 PPG, 2.4 RPG, and 1.5 APG. His slash line was .432/.356/.797.
It can be argued that the Thunder used the two first-rounders that they received to essentially draft the same player twice. In 2013 they selected Steven Adams with the No. 12 overall selection. Adams was viewed as a long-term project who had remarkable physical tools for a big man. During his rookie season, Adams averaged 3.3 PPG, 4.1 RPG, and 0.7 BPG. His slash line was .503/.000/.581.
Adams has quite a bit of potential, and while I don’t believe he’ll ever perform at an All-Star level, he’s the type of player who can help push a good team to the next level with the gritty play that he provides. Whether or not the Oklahoma City front office agrees with me can be debated, seeing as they selected Mitch McGary with the No. 21 overall pick in this year’s draft.
I have no issue with McGary as a player, and I think he’ll turn out to be a serviceable pro as he develops. But his game and skill set is remarkably similar to Adams’, and I can’t help think that either Shabazz Napier, Rodney Hood, or P.J. Hairston would have filled more pressing needs at that draft slot. Although, with this most likely being Kendrick Perkins‘ last run with the team, an Adams/McGary center rotation could be quite serviceable if both players can avoid injuries and continue their skill progressions.
The victor of this deal hasn’t quite been decided yet, but in my opinion Houston got the better end of the trade. Harden was easily the best player involved, and he gave the Rockets the type of star they could build around and boost season ticket sales with. He afforded Houston six years of control of a young superstar just entering his prime. They also might not have landed Howard without Harden being part of the package that they pitched to the big man.
As for the long-term, I don’t personally believe that Harden can be the best player on a championship caliber team. He’s too much of a ball-stopper, and his defense is barely average for the position. He’s a fantastic complementary piece, and if the Rockets’ front office can surround him and Howard with the right role players, Houston has a shot at a title somewhere down the line. Next season will likely be a step back for the team, and I think that they will miss Parsons quite a bit, not to mention the hit their depth took with the departures of Lin and Asik.
There was very little chance that the Thunder would come out on top in this trade. When shipping out a star player, it’s rare for a franchise to improve. During the regular season the team didn’t miss Harden, but in the playoffs his presence may have been enough to get the Thunder back to the Finals even without Westbrook or Ibaka being healthy.
Adams, McGary, and Lamb are nice complimentary players, but none has the ceiling that Harden does. It can be argued that one secondary benefit of this trade was the emergence of Jackson last season. He averaged 13.1 PPG and 4.1 APG, primarily off of the bench, and has helped fill the void that Harden left. But the Thunder face a similar situation now with Jackson up for an extension. While he most likely won’t be in line for a max-level contract, he still may command more than Oklahoma City is comfortable paying.
If the Thunder are forced to trade Jackson, they’ll probably find out once again that it’s almost impossible to get a significant return back. Just look at what they received for Harden, who is a far superior player. The Thunder have a small window to contend for an NBA Championship, and if they can snag one in the next two seasons before they run the very real risk of losing Durant to free agency, then trading Harden won’t go down as a failure. But I have to think he was worth the extra $4.5MM that was the point of contention during his negotiations with the team. With him on the Oklahoma City roster the last two seasons, it’s very possible that the Thunder would have won their first title. That’s a possibility that many OKC fans have no doubt contemplated.
Note: If there’s a particular trade that you would like to see me take a look back at, please feel free to sound off in the comments section below or hit me up on Twitter at @EddieScarito.
And-Ones: Exum, Douglas-Roberts, Levenson
Scouts are still evaluating Dante Exum, one of the bigger gambles taken in the NBA Draft lottery. The Jazz selected him without having seen him play against top-level competition and the jury is still out on Exum as a player as he shows his stuff in the World Cup, Sean Deveney of The Sporting News writes. When asked what he’s learned about Exum so far, one Eastern Conference scouting director said, “Not much. He’s not ready for the NBA, that is for sure. But a lot of guys are not ready for the NBA and they have got to learn on the fly. He is no different. But he is not going to jump into the league and all of a sudden average 20 points a game. There’s just no way.” Here’s tonight’s look around the NBA..
- Chris Douglas-Roberts‘ deal with the Clippers is fully guaranteed, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (via Twitter). That doesn’t come as a huge surprise since Ekpe Udoh‘s minimum salary deal is also fully guaranteed for the 2014/15 season. CD-R averaged 6.9 points in 20.7 minutes per game and shot a career-high 38.6% from downtown last season.
- Even before the Donald Sterling situation erupted, there was some talk that Bruce Levenson would explore selling his controlling interest of the Hawks, tweets Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today.
- Whether Levenson’s fate is well-deserved or Orwellian is up for debate, but it’s clear this is a different world in the post-Sterling NBA, writes Ken Berger of CBSSports.com.
- Supply and demand could keep Reggie Jackson with the Thunder, writes Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman. Only four teams – the Mavs, Lakers, Knicks, and Heat – currently have a clear need and the necessary cap space to make a run at him next summer. Jackson is after a sizable payday and a starting role, but that could be hard to find in the middle of an extremely talented free agent class.
- The Jazz have several players in the World Cup, including Exum and stashed Brazilian talent Raul Neto, and Dennis Lindsey admits that he is somewhat worried about injuries and fatigue, writes Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune. At the same time, he feels that his younger players are also gaining valuable experience in international play.
Eddie Scarito contributed to this post.