Thunder Sign Diante Garrett, Rodney McGruder
The Thunder have officially added a pair of players to their training camp roster, announcing in a press release that they've signed free agents Diante Garrett and Rodney McGruder. The two new players bring the team's total roster count to 17 players heading into camp.
Garrett announced nearly a month ago on his Twitter account that he'd "be with OKC this year," though it wasn't clear what sort of agreement he'd reached with the club. While the terms still haven't been reported, I'd guess it's a non-guaranteed camp invite. The 24-year-old guard made his NBA debut for the Suns last season, appearing in 19 games for the club, and averaging 17.3 PPG and 7.3 APG in eight contests with Phoenix's D-League affiliate, the Bakersfield Jam.
McGruder, meanwhile, averaged 15.6 PPG last season in his senior year at Kansas State. The 6'4" guard went undrafted in June before playing for the Bobcats' Summer League squad in July.
Heading into camp with 12 players on fully guaranteed contracts, OKC appears likely to fill out the remaining one to three available spots on its roster with some combination of Garrett, McGruder, Ryan Gomes, Daniel Orton, and Hasheem Thabeet. Gomes and Thabeet have partial guarantees on their deals.
Western Notes: Aldridge, Kanter, Gallinari, Pau
Ben Golliver of BlazersEdge relays a portion of the transcript from a radio interview between Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports and John Canzano of 750 AM The Game as it relates to trade rumors surrounding LaMarcus Aldridge. Wojnarowski believes that while the circumstances could change, he can't imagine Aldridge leaving Portland in the foreseeable future and adds that the team hasn't shopped him. He's also not sure if the market is currently presenting anything worth trading for and doesn't think Trail Blazers GM Neil Olshey is likely to deal the 6'11 big man for pennies on the dollar. Here are more miscellaneous notes out of the Western Conference tonight, including a handful of injury updates:
- Tim Cowlishaw of SportsDayDFW thinks that while the Mavericks could be okay this year, he's concerned about two to three years down the line when the team might not have any young stars to build around.
- In a piece for The Oregonian, Canzano says that he wants someone from the Trail Blazers to step up and guarantee a playoff berth.
- Bill Oram of The Salt Lake Tribune reports that Jazz big man Enes Kanter has looked great in workouts, has had no issues with his shoulder, and participated in 5-on-5 scrimmages today for the first time since his injury (Twitter links).
- Nuggets head coach Brian Shaw wouldn't commit to any projected recovery timetable for injured forward Danilo Gallinari, saying that it isn't "anything that anyone can determine at this point" (Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post).
- Mark Medina of InsideSocal passes along an injury update from Lakers forward Pau Gasol, who looks to be fully healthy heading into this season after a summer of much-need rest and rehab.
- In a piece for Sports Illustrated, Ben Golliver made note that Rockets guard James Harden believes that he is a top-10 player (hat tip to Comcast Sportsnet Houston): "For sure. Last year I got a chance to prove it, I kind of broke out of the shell a little bit. Even though it was my first year (as a starter), I've got a lot more to prove. I've always kind of been the underdog, always been looked over, so it's nothing new."
- Sean Meagher of OregonLive.com provides season previews for the Thunder and Jazz with help from Darnell Mayberry of NewsOK and Bill Oram of The Salt Lake Tribune, respectively.
- Jim Eichenhofer of Pelicans.com continued his list of reasons to be excited about training camp in New Orleans, listing a fresh start for Tyreke Evans at number five.
Odds & Ends: Grizzlies, Sixers, Wolves, Kennedy
Few NBA teams had less roster turnover this offseason than the Grizzlies. As our free agent tracker shows, the only player who signed with the team for more than the minimum was Tony Allen, who has played in Memphis since 2010 and emerged as one of the club's leaders. However, the team will be in for some changes on the bench, where former assistant Dave Joerger takes over the head coaching job from the departed Lionel Hollins. Joerger tells Lang Greene of HoopsWorld that while he'll stick to many of the things that made last year's team successful, he expects to add a few new wrinkles to the mix as well.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the NBA:
- Former Pistons head coach John Kuester is currently the top candidate to be hired as Brett Brown's lead assistant with the 76ers, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
- Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype spoke to Ricky Rubio, who identified the Timberwolves' new deals with Nikola Pekovic and Chase Budinger as the club's best signings of the summer.
- Rebuilding is often a necessary process, but it has to give way to something substantial eventually, writes Mark Deeks of ShamSports.com. Deeks examines the free agent fates of Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson, noting that the Hawks were able to land Millsap for fewer years and dollars than the Bobcats signed Jefferson in part because Charlotte is paying a sort of "Bobcats tax" based on its reputation as a perennial lottery team.
- In an Insider-only piece for ESPN.com, Larry Coon lists the Nets, Bobcats, and Rockets among the winners of the league's new CBA, while placing the Celtics, Bulls, and Thunder in the losers column.
- Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside takes a look at D.J. Kennedy's persistent quest to earn a spot on an NBA roster. Kennedy will be in camp with the Mavericks in October.
Eastern Notes: World Peace, Bucks, Rose, Hawks
So far this morning, we've passed along word of Nerlens Noel's contract with the Sixers, and heard confirmation from the Raptors that they've signed three players to training camp deals. Here are a few more items from around the Eastern Conference:
- Metta World Peace tells Dan Duggan of Newsday that he "got calls from Oklahoma and the Clippers and all these teams" when he was amnestied by the Lakers, but he's happy with his decision to sign with the Knicks.
- Speaking at the Bucks Partner Summit in Milwaukee yesterday, future NBA commissioner Adam Silver made it clear that the city is in need of a new arena, writes Rich Kirchen of The Business Journal. "At the end of the day compared to other modern arenas in the league, this arena is a few hundred thousand square feet too small," Silver said. "It doesn’t have the sort of back-of-house space you need, doesn’t have the kinds of amenities we need."
- Derrick Rose has said in the past that he has little interest in actively recruiting other players to the Bulls, and as he prepares to return from an ACL injury, he's sticking to that stance. "I don't recruit. If anyone wants to play with me, I don't mind playing with, it could be anyone in the NBA, but as far as recruiting, I never did and never will," Rose told Rappler.com (link via ESPNChicago.com).
- Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld examines the Hawks' signing of Paul Millsap, which he views as one of the more underappreciated moves of the summer.
Southeast Rumors: Wizards, Magic, Heat
The way the Magic, Hawks and Bobcats stand with training camp approaching figures to make for some intrigue in the weeks ahead, as I examined this weekend. Those three teams have fewer than 13 guaranteed contracts, so there are regular season jobs up for grabs. The same might not be true for the Heat and the Wizards, though Michael Beasley's presence could make it interesting for Miami, and there are other developments for Washington's team, as we detail:
- Wizards president Ernie Grunfeld remains in charge, but D.C.'s front office is getting a makeover, the team announced on its website. Tommy Sheppard gets a promotion and will presumably serve as Grunfeld's right-hand man. The Wizards have brought in other officials from the Raptors, Thunder and Hawks.
- Washington's offseason additions will allow the Wizards to play more small-ball this season, as J. Michael of CSNWashington.com examines. The opposite approach is taking place in Orlando, where No. 2 overall pick Victor Oladipo will play the point and Maurice Harkless will see some action at two guard, HoopsWorld's Alex Kennedy tweets.
- In today's mailbag, a reader asks Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel if Michael Beasley could eventually find his way into the Heat's starting lineup ahead of Udonis Haslem. Winderman doesn't see that as a likely outcome, as the starting five is already overloaded with scorers. Beyond that, Beasley has to prove himself as being worthy of a roster spot and worth an extra $2MM+ when factoring in his salary along with the luxury tax.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Western Notes: Grizzlies, Joerger, Thunder, Ellis
A first-time coach could be an obstacle in the early season, but Grizzlies management is convinced the team will quickly gain chemistry with Dave Joerger, who was an assistant coach under Lionel Hollins. “You have to start rebuilding your momentum and re-creating your roles and we have a number of new faces,” GM Chris Wallace told Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe. “Because of the personnel and the dynamics of the organization, you hope that his transition is looser than if an outside person came in.” Here's more from the Western Conference..
- Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman has some questions to ponder before training camp opens for the Thunder. One of the big question marks for OKC is whether Jeremy Lamb is ready to step up and contribute. The youngster will be called upon to be a big contributor after the Thunder let Kevin Martin go this summer.
- Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News sizes the Mavericks' Monta Ellis against ten other top shooting guards in the league over the last six seasons, based on scoring average. The Mavs gave Ellis a three-year, $28MM deal this offseason after missing out on some more ambitious free agent targets.
- Anthony Davis' cousin, Keith Chamberlain, was among 34 players trying out for the Pelicans' D-League affiliate this weekend, according to Jim Eichenhofer of NBA.com.
Odds & Ends: Seattle, Expansion, Thunder
There has been speculation that Chris Hansen's contributions to an anti-Kings-arena movement in Sacramento could hurt Seattle's chances of eventually landing an NBA franchise. However, current commissioner David Stern and future commissioner Adam Silver both recently downplayed concerns about the league or its owners holding a grudge, according to Percy Allen of the Seattle Times. You can find more of this evening's miscellaneous news and notes below, including more from the above article:
- Allen also points out that Hansen still has around four years to secure an NBA team and finalize an agreement with Seattle and King County to build a $490MM arena in Sodo with $200MM in public subsidies.
- Given that there currently aren't any teams for sale, Silver had this to say about possible expansion within the near future: "I would never say it’s never going to happen. There’s nothing in the works at the moment…Obviously the league has grown over the years and there may come a point to look at it…But right now coming off of our new collective bargaining agreement, we really want to make sure we have 30 franchises that are all financially sound."
- RealGM's Jonathan Tjarks makes a case for why the Thunder's core still has enough time to win a title.
- Mark Willard and Arash Markazi of ESPN LA talk about what Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni has to accomplish in order to keep his job in Los Angeles.
- Kevin Pelton of ESPN.com discusses the ten players most likely to be dealt this season (Insiders only). Among the more notable names on the list include Luol Deng (who we recently heard is set to hit free agency next summer), Rajon Rondo, Omer Asik, and Danny Granger.
Kyler’s Latest: Pacers, Granger, Clippers, Thunder
With only a handful of teams remaining in his offseason look at trade situations to watch, Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld focuses today on the Pacers, Clippers, and Thunder. Let's dive in and check out the highlights from Kyler's NBA AM piece…
- While there's still a belief in some circles that the Pacers will try to trade Danny Granger this season, Kyler says that's not necessarily the case. There's almost no scenario in which Indiana could trade Granger's $14MM+ expiring contract and avoid taking back long-term salary, so the Pacers likely prefer to keep the veteran forward and let him help the club contend in 2013/14. Clearing his contract from the books next summer will free up money for players like Paul George and Lance Stephenson.
- If the Pacers have injury problems during the season, their stance on Granger and other players could change, but for now it appears that the team will stand relatively pat, believing the roster is strong enough to contend for the title.
- The Clippers are currently in luxury-tax territory, but only by about $1.5MM. If the team were to cut Maalik Wayns' non-guaranteed contract and move a player like Willie Green, it could slip below the tax. The Clips may have to give up an asset or two (such as cash or draft picks) to facilitate a deal. But L.A. has enough depth, particularly on the perimeter, that giving up a player to get below the tax line shoudn't hurt the club's on-court production.
- With Kevin Martin no longer in OKC, the Thunder will be searching for a reliable third scorer behind Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. The team would probably prefer to see a player from within, such as Serge Ibaka, Reggie Jackson or Jeremy Lamb, emerge as that third scorer. However, OKC also has several young inexpensive players that could be used as trade chips if necessary, including Perry Jones III, Andre Roberson, and Steven Adams.
Northwest Notes: Jazz, T-Wolves, Thunder
The Jazz have a big decision on their hands this fall as they have until Halloween to extend Derrick Favors and Gordon Hayward. Utah is comfortable with heading into the season without new deals for either player, but it might behoove them to lock them up before they see big minutes in 2013/14 and increase their value. In last week's poll, most Hoops Rumors readers said that they expect both players to get extensions ironed out. Here's more from the Northwest Division..
- Zach Harper of CBSSports.com sees an extension of roughly $8MM per season for Hayward and the Jazz.
- Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities has reported on multiple occasions that the Timberwolves would likely leave their final regular season roster spot up for grabs between Othyus Jeffers, Robbie Hummel, Lorenzo Brown and another big man, but Flip Saunders tells WCCO that there's no unnamed big man forthcoming, as Wolfson points out via Twitter. So, it appears it's down to Jeffers, Hummel and Brown, though none of the three have inked a camp invite yet.
- The Thunder, after relocating from Seattle, had the luxury of being able to build at a slower pace because the fans in OKC were supportive and anxious for basketball. A move to Seattle would have afforded the Kings a similar opportunity, HoopsWorld's Bill Ingram argues.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Odds & Ends: Hamilton, LeBron, Durant, Knicks
With the offseason winding down, most of the summer's impact free agents are off the board with deals in the NBA and, occasionally, overseas. However, Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld identified five free agents still out there that can contribute to a team in 2013/14. Richard Hamilton who was waived by the Bulls in July for financial reasons, leads the list of free agents. Tyrus Thomas, Rodrigue Beaubois, Jamaal Tinsley, and Sebastian Telfair also earned mentions as players that can make a difference this season. Here's more from around the Association..
- Amin Elhassan of ESPN.com (Insider sub. req'd) runs down a host of arguments for why the NBA should eliminate the max contract. One major reason is that players like LeBron James are probably worth more than the top deal allowable by the collective bargaining agreement. By capping the type of deal that James can fetch, it unfairly distributes the wealth to lower-level players.
- In an interview with Italy's Gazzetta TV (video link), Thunder star Kevin Durant says that he would have liked to see Oklahoma City add guard Marco Belinelli this summer. The sharpshooter wound up signing a two-year deal with the Spurs this offseason.
- The Knicks knew they were taking a risk when they re-signed J.R. Smith to a lucrative three-year pact this offseason, argues Marc Berman of the New York Post. A slight majority of Hoops Rumors readers say Smith's three-year, $17.95MM deal wasn't a good move for the Knicks.
- Jabari Davis of HoopsWorld looks at six players on the comeback trail this season, including Kevin Love, Rajon Rondo, and, of course, Derrick Rose.