Northwest Notes: McCants, T’Wolves, Thunder
Marc Stein of ESPN.com (on Twitter) hears that former Timberwolves first-round pick Rashad McCants might be on his way back to the D-League's Texas Legends. The 28-year-old, who averaged nearly 20 PPG in China this year, played for the Mavericks affiliate in their debut season. Here's more on the T'Wolves and the rest of the Northwest..
- The Thunder will pursue small forward Pete Mickeal when his contract with FC Barcelona is over, according to a report from TuBasket.com passed along by HoopsHype. Mickeal was drafted by Dallas in the second-round of the 2000 Draft but was waived that summer.
- The T'Wolves were in on Australian center Aron Baynes early on before the Spurs scooped him up, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN. San Antonio won out thanks to their personal connections with the big man in conjunction with their offer of a guaranteed deal.
- The Raja Bell saga has gone on for months in Utah but his reps are hopeful that a settlement can be struck at some point, tweets Shams Charania of RealGM. The Jazz and Bell haven't made much progress on a buyout over the last month.
D-League Moves: Lamb, Orton, Jones, Tyler
We'll track today's D-League assignments and recalls right here, with additional moves added to the top of the page throughout the day:
- The Thunder have re-assigned Jeremy Lamb and Daniel Orton to the Tulsa 66ers, tweets Adam Zagoria.
- The Cavaliers have re-assigned Kevin Jones to the Canton Charge, the team announced today in a press release. Jones has seen limited action in Cleveland this season, but was very productive in five games for the Charge, averaging 23.6 PPG and 12.6 RPG.
- Jeremy Tyler has been recalled from the D-League, the Warriors announced today in a press release. Tyler was sent to Santa Cruz yesterday and helped the Warriors' affiliate pull out a 96-95 win over the Erie BayHawks.
- The Bucks have recalled Doron Lamb from the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, the club announced today (Twitter link). After being assigned to the D-League for the first time on January 12th, the rookie appeared in two games, averaging just 7.5 PPG while shooting 22.7% from the floor.
Players Still Ineligible To Be Traded
Today is January 15th, which means that a number of players who had been ineligible to be traded until this point are now free to be moved by their respective teams. As Chuck Myron of Hoops Rumors outlined last month, Eric Gordon, Brook Lopez, Kris Humphries, Ersan Ilyasova, and Jeff Green are among the players who weren't eligible to be dealt until today.
However, in addition to rules that keeps players from being traded until December 15th or January 15th, the CBA also includes a stipulation that a team must have a player on its roster for three months before being able to trade him. That means guys who have signed contracts since October 15th are still ineligible to be dealt.
Here are the players who can't be traded quite yet, along with the dates they'll become trade-eligible:
Leandro Barbosa (Celtics): January 18th
Daniel Orton (Thunder): January 31st
Shaun Livingston (Cavaliers): February 15th
Because the trade deadline arrives on February 21st, players signed after November 21st won't become trade-eligible until after the season. Here are the guys who fit that description:
Jeff Adrien (Bobcats)
James Anderson (Rockets)
Patrick Beverley (Rockets)
Daequan Cook (Bulls)
Kevin Jones (Cavaliers)
Mickael Pietrus (Raptors)
Garrett Temple (Wizards)
In addition to recent signees, players who were claimed off amnesty waivers last July are also ineligible to be traded until July 2013. Some amnesty victims, like Andray Blatche, cleared waivers without being claimed and signed new contracts, so they're trade-eligible now, but the following players can't be moved this season:
Elton Brand (Mavericks)
Brendan Haywood (Bobcats)
Luis Scola (Suns)
Finally, players on 10-day contracts, such as Dominic McGuire, Maalik Wayns, and Josh Harrellson, also won't be trade-eligible at any point this season, even if they eventually receive rest-of-season contracts.
D-League Moves: Melo, Lamb, Wroten
We'll track Friday's D-League assignments and recalls right here, with any additional moves being added to the top of the page throughout the day:
- The Celtics have re-assigned Fab Melo to their D-League affiliate, the club announced today in a press release. Melo had been recalled from the Maine Red Claws last week to undergo treatment for his concussion from Boston's training staff. It appears he's been cleared to return to action for the Red Claws.
- Jeremy Lamb has been recalled from the Tulsa 66ers by the Thunder, the team announced today in a press release. In 11 games (all starts) in the D-League this season, Lamb has averaged 21.5 PPG on .422/.295/.909 shooting.
- The Grizzlies have sent Tony Wroten back to their D-League affiliate, tweets Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal. For Wroten, the 25th overall pick in last June's draft, it's his third stint this season with the Reno Bighorns. In eight games with the Bighorns, the 19-year-old has averaged 13.6 PPG and 3.8 APG in 24.6 minutes per contest.
Northwest Notes: Williams, Lillard, Thunder
The latest links and updates in the Northwest Division on Thursday:
- Ray Richardson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press praises Timberwolves forward Derrick Williams for taking advantage of the opportunity created by Kevin Love's latest hand injury.
- Marcus Thompson of the San Jose Mercury News writes that Oakland native Damian Lillard is the favorite to win Rookie of the Year with the Blazers.
- Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman reports that Eric Maynor has no interest in a D-League assignment despite falling out of the Thunder's rotation as backup point guard.
- Mayberry also has a quote from Nick Collison, who cites his ability to take a lesser role as a major reaso he's been able to stay relevant in the NBA.
Sixers Considered Trading For Eric Maynor
The Sixers have explored a trade for Thunder reserve point guard Eric Maynor, a source tells John Mitchell of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link). The Sixers are expected to re-sign Maalik Wayns to a 10-day contract tomorrow after waiving him and his partially guaranteed contract yesterday, but have reportedly been seeking an upgrade at backup point guard, where Wayns and Royal Ivey have both seen time.
"We need to see if we can find maybe another guy who can come in and play pick-and-roll and do some things for us when (starter) Jrue (Holiday) is off the floor," coach Doug Collins said, as Mitchell documents. "We really take a hit when Jrue is off the floor because we don’t have the personnel to do it with the (second) unit."
Tom Moore of PhillyBurbs.com noted that Collins is also looking for a point guard who can better defend the pick-and-roll. It's not clear exactly when the Sixers looked into Maynor, or whether they continue to entertain the possibility.
Maynor played only nine games last season before tearing his ACL, and since his return this year, he has struggled to regain his role as the primary backup to Russell Westbrook, as the Thunder have been going with Reggie Jackson in that role of late. Oklahoma City passed on an extension for Maynor before the season, so he's scheduled to hit restricted free agency in the summer. For his career, the former 20th overall pick has averaged 4.3 points and 2.9 assists in 14.7 minutes per game.
Cavs Waive Samardo Samuels, Nets And Thunder Interested?
3:49pm: Sam Amico of FoxSportsOhio.com reports that the Brooklyn Nets and Oklahoma City Thunder may have interest in signing Samuels.
12:14pm: The Cavs have waived power forward Samardo Samuels, the team announced. The team had until Monday to place him on waivers in order to avoid paying his minimum-salary contract for the rest of the season. The move leaves the Cavs with 14 players, 11 of whom are on fully guaranteed deals. Daniel Gibson's contract is partially guaranteed for $2.49MM, while Shaun Livingston and Kevin Jones are without any guarantee.
Samuels' deal included a partial guarantee of $200K, but since he's already earned more than that amount this season, Cleveland doesn't owe him any more money. He was in the final season of a three-year pact he signed with the team after going undrafted in 2010 out of Louisville. The 6'9" native of Jamaica averaged 5.9 points and 3.4 rebounds in 15.8 minutes per game for his career, but his numbers have steadily declined since his rookie season. This year, he's down to 3.2PPG, 1.2RPG and 10.9MPG.
Samuels was caught up in a minutes crunch at his position, where he was competing with Jones, Luke Walton and Jon Leuer for playing time behind starter Tristan Thompson. If they want to give him another shot without committing to him for the entire season, the Cavs could opt to bring him back on a 10-day contract, which can be signed starting Monday.
Odds & Ends: Cavs, Gay, Ibaka, Cuban, Pachulia
Sunday's NBA action has already begun with a matinee between the Thunder and Raptors. It could be an even more active day off the court, as teams must make decisions on players with non-guaranteed contracts by the end of tomorrow. Here's the latest from around the Association.
- The Cavs won't rush to fill the open roster spot they'll have once Samardo Samuels clears waivers, tweets Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal.
- While the Grizzlies have made it known that Rudy Gay might be available in a trade, Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld doesn't think the team is in any hurry to pull the trigger, and may wait for a better deal at draft time (Twitter links).
- Serge Ibaka's four-year, $49MM extension doesn't kick in until next season, but he's already rewarding the Thunder with improved play, as Jeff Latzke of The Associated Press examines (link via the National Post).
- Mark Cuban, who is once more complaining about officiating, thought about selling the Mavs after they lost the 2006 NBA Finals, but now he wants to keep the team in his family for generations to come, notes Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News.
- Zaza Pachulia is pulling down more rebounds per 36 minutes than he ever has, but he isn't giving much thought to his unrestricted free agency this summer, as HoopsWorld's Lang Greene chronicles.
- Fellow HoopsWorld scribe Tommy Beer categorizes the league's best bargains at multiple price points.
- K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune details the twists and turns of Patrick Beverley's life that have led him to the verge of a deal with the Rockets.
- Ryan Ripley of Ridiculous Upside argues that Ron Howard deserves to be listed among the top prospects in the D-League.
D-League Moves: C’s, Thunder, Pacers, Spurs
We'll follow Friday's D-League assignments and recalls below:
- Kris Joseph has been assigned to the D-League by the Celtics, the club announced in a press release. Joseph has averaged 19.5 PPG in eight games for the Maine Red Claws this season.
- After being recalled on Monday from the Tulsa 66ers, Perry Jones III, Jeremy Lamb, and Daniel Orton are all headed back to the D-League, the Thunder announced today in a press release.
- Orlando Johnson has been recalled from the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, the Pacers announced in a team release. Johnson scored 25 points last night to help lead the Mad Ants to a 102-86 victory over the Santa Cruz Warriors.
- The Spurs have assigned Nando De Colo to the D-League for the second time this season, the team announced in a press release. He'll rejoin the Austin Toros.
December’s Expired Trade Exceptions
As we outline in our Hoops Rumors Glossary entry, traded player exceptions created in deals must be used within a year of being obtained. If they aren't used within that year, they simply expire. And that was the case for a few trade exceptions obtained last December, after the NBA lockout ended.
Listed below are the four trade exceptions that expired this month and are no longer in play. Only the Thunder's small TPE acquired in the Byron Mullens trade went completely unusued — the Clippers, Magic, and Jazz all acquired players with parts of their exceptions, including Utah absorbing Mo Williams' $8.5MM salary within the massive TPE the team acquired by sending Mehmet Okur to the Nets.
You can check out our complete list of the remaining trade exceptions around the league right here. Here are the TPEs that expired this month:
Orlando Magic
Obtained by trading: Brandon Bass (to Celtics)
Initial amount: $4,250,000
Used: $1,500,000 (Gustavo Ayon), $1,731,960 (Maurice Harkless)
Amount left: $1,018,040
Expired: 12/12/2012
Los Angeles Clippers
Obtained by trading: Al-Farouq Aminu (to Hornets)
Initial amount: $2,755,560
Used: $1,375,000 (Willie Green)
Amount left: $1,380,560
Expired: 12/14/2012
Oklahoma City Thunder
Obtained by trading: Byron Mullens (to Bobcats)
Amount: $1,288,200
Expired: 12/19/2012
Utah Jazz
Obtained by trading: Mehmet Okur (to Nets)
Initial amount: $10,890,000
Used: $8,500,000 (Mo Williams)
Amount left: $2,390,000
Expired: 12/22/2012