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Odds & Ends: Brewer, Bucks, McGrady, Heat

August 26th, 2013 at 10:48pm CST by Chuck Myron

Ronnie Brewer considered signing with the Bulls, Jazz and Lakers before ultimately choosing the Rockets, the 28-year-old swingman tells Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston. He also reiterated his assertion from June that the Thunder were in play to re-sign him, too, but Houston's up-tempo style of play helped sway him. Despite having only a partially guaranteed deal on a team with a league-high 19 players under contract, he's not worried about getting cut. "If I come in and I do what I'm supposed to do, all of that goes out the window," he said to Berman. As Brewer gets set to officially sign his contract, here's more on the league's comings and goings with about a month to go before training camp:

The Bucks have hired David Morway as assistant GM and Jim Cleamons as the team's top assistant coach, notes Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel.
So much of Tracy McGrady's talent vanished long before he announced his retirement today, and he went underappreciated in Orlando during his peak years, as John Denton of Magic.com argues. The Magic, Raptors and Rockets are all left wondering what might have been, the Toronto Sun's Ryan Wolstat writes.
Toure Murry still hasn't committed to the Knicks nearly a month after the club extended him a training camp invitation, but the 6'5" guard is expected to pick a team later this week, according to Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com (Twitter link).
In his latest mailbag for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, Ira Winderman discusses the Heat's luxury-tax situation, their mid-level exception, and the possibility of the team signing Richard Hamilton.
Now that 14 NBA teams have one-on-one relationships with their respective D-League affiliates, the remaining 16 teams are sharing three D-League clubs. Nonetheless, those squads with five or six NBA affiliations can still help young NBA players develop, as Gino Pilato of Ridiculous Upside outlines.

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

Kyler’s Latest: NBPA, Cavs, Magic, Raptors

August 22nd, 2013 at 10:30am CST by Luke Adams

Now that Chris Paul has been elected as the new president of the NBA Player's Association, the union's next order of business involves finding an executive director, and the search is expected to be thorough, writes Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld. According to Kyler, the hope among players and agents is that the NBPA's new leadership can change what has become a very adversial relationship with the league, so that when the two sides negotiate the next CBA (likely in 2017), they'll enter negotiations with some good will.

In addition to discussing the NBPA, Kyler also explored a few potential trade situations worth watching, so let's round up his key points….

The Cavaliers have plenty of health questions surrounding players like Andrew Bynum, Anderson Varejao, and Anthony Bennett entering training camp. However, if the team enters the season relatively healthy, there may not be enough frontcourt minutes to go around for those guys, plus Tristan Thompson and Tyler Zeller, meaning trade opportunities could arise.
There's "little doubt" that the Magic would like to move Glen Davis, according to Kyler. Davis is coming off foot surgery, but if he's on the court and is reasonably productive by February, he'd become a strong trade candidate.
Jameer Nelson and Arron Afflalo are also worth keeping an eye on, says Kyler. The Magic like Nelson's leadership qualities, and have indicated that Afflalo is a long-term piece, but both guys would have trade value if the club decided to make them available.
Kyle Lowry and head coach Dwane Casey didn't always see eye-to-eye last season, and both are in the final year of their contracts with the Raptors. Kyler suggests that if the season gets off to a rough start in Toronto, the club could part ways with one or both of them.
The Raptors will also have to decide whether Rudy Gay is a core piece, since he has the ability to opt out of his contract next summer. Gay was acquired by old GM Bryan Colangelo, so it's unclear if new head of basketball operations Masai Ujiri is interested in keeping Gay long-term or if he may shop him.

Western Notes: Pekovic, Rockets, Zanik, Aldrich

August 14th, 2013 at 5:00pm CST by Luke Adams

One of the biggest names on this summer's free agent market finally came off the board today when Nikola Pekovic reached a five-year, $60MM agreement with the Timberwolves. The deal will make Pekovic the highest-paid restricted free agent of the offseason, by both overall value and annual salary. He also landed the third-highest overall guarantee, behind only Chris Paul and Dwight Howard. Here's more on Pekovic and other items from around the Western Conference:

The new deal for Pekovic won't affect the Timberwolves' ability to keep Ricky Rubio or Kevin Love long-term, president Flip Saunders told reporters today, adding that the team views those three players as the franchise's cornerstones (Twitter links via T-Wolves PR). Saunders also confirmed that Pek's contract doesn't include any team or player options, tweets Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune.
About 15 months before they ultimately landed Howard, the Rockets reached a tentative agreement to acquire the All-Star center from the Magic at 2012's trade deadline, according to Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. Orlando planned to move D12 at the deadline if he didn't waive his early termination option, and had offers from the Rockets and Nets — Magic officials preferred Houston's offer, says Berger.
Agent Justin Zanik, who has worked with Andy Miller at ASM Sports in recent years, is set to join the Jazz front office as the team's assistant GM, reports Jeff Goodman of CBSSports.com (Twitter links). Jody Genessy of the Deseret News has a few more details on the hiring of Zanik, who represented NBA players such as Omer Asik, Timofey Mozgov, and Sergey Karasev.
Cole Aldrich worked out for Sacramento on Monday, according to Jonathan Santiago and James Ham of Cowbell Kingdom. The Kings have an open roster spot, though it's interesting that they'd need to work out Aldrich, considering they got an extended look at the big man last year after acquiring him at the trade deadline.

Kyler On Magic, Turkoglu, Bucks, Ellis, Sanders

August 12th, 2013 at 12:41pm CST by Luke Adams

As we noted yesterday, the Magic lost an asset this weekend, when the team let the $17.8MM trade exception created by last August's Dwight Howard deal expire unused. As Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld explains in his latest piece, Orlando explored a few possible uses for the exception. Ultimately though, it didn't make a whole lot of sense to take on additional salary when the club is already paying substantial amounts to players no longer on the roster. Here's more from Kyler:

The Magic are still talking to Hedo Turkoglu about a buyout, but there's a belief that he may have some value at the trade deadline as a big expiring contract. As such, he may remain on the roster beyond opening night, says Kyler.
Orlando remains undecided on what to do with second-round pick Romero Osby, who the team has said could earn a spot on the roster. If the Magic extend a training camp invitation to Osby, they'd have to either sign or waive him.
According to Kyler, the Bucks offered Monta Ellis a four-year, $46MM contract in free agency last month. If those numbers are accurate, they signal how uninterested Ellis was in remaining in Milwaukee, since he eventually settled for a three-year deal from the Mavericks worth about $20MM less.
The Bucks continue to discuss an extension with Larry Sanders, and Kyler says it sounds like Sanders could get the sort of deal Ellis didn't — something that could be worth up to $46-50MM for four years, depending on incentives.

Magic Let $17.8MM Trade Exception Expire

August 11th, 2013 at 7:58am CST by Chuck Myron

The Magic seem to have done as well as, if not better than, any of the four teams involved in last year's Dwight Howard/Andrew Bynum trade, but yesterday they lost a significant asset they acquired through the blockbuster deal. Orlando's massive $17,816,880 trade exception lapsed when the team failed to use it by the end of yesterday, the one-year anniversary of the day the Magic relinquished their star center. The Magic could have used the exception to absorb salary in a trade without having to come up with matching salaries in return.

The expiration comes as no shock, since Magic GM Rob Hennigan has steadfastly sacrificed the present for the future, and bringing aboard a player or group of players making such a sizable chunk of money could compromise that effort. Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel wrote a couple of weeks ago that the exception would likely go unused, and without rumors linking the Magic to a major trade this summer, it's been apparent for a while that the exception would probably expire.

Hennigan and company were aggressively pursuing trades during the season, and while they pulled off a pair of deadline swaps, neither of them involved the team dipping into the Howard trade exception. The Magic never seemed destined to use the full amount to acquire a player on a high-dollar contract, but I'm surprised they didn't use at least a small portion of it to bring in a veteran on a short-term deal or a young player with room for improvement.

The precise amount of the exception was derived from subtracting Nikola Vucevic's $1,719,480 salary for 2012/13 from Howard's $19,536,360 pay last season, as Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors explained in detail. For more information about trade exceptions, check out our glossary entry.

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Orlando Magic

Several Teams In Mix For Anthony Tolliver

August 9th, 2013 at 2:58pm CST by Luke Adams

FRIDAY, 2:58pm: Rather than narrowing down his list of suitors, Tolliver seems to be heading in the other direction. The Magic, Spurs, and Knicks are also interested in him, according to Tomasson (via Twitter). Still, Tolliver expects to make a decision next week.

THURSDAY, 3:16pm: The Lakers have entered the mix for Tolliver, writes Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida (via Sulia). According to Tolliver, talks with the Lakers are still preliminary, but he's considering them alongside the Bobcats, Bulls, and Jazz. Tolliver added that he visited Charlotte on Monday and the team made him a minimum-salary contract offer.

WEDNESDAY, 1:08pm: Anthony Tolliver has narrowed his free agent decision down to three teams, and is expected to finalize a deal this weekend, according to Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype. Sierra reports that Tolliver will likely sign with either the Bobcats, Bulls, or Jazz.

Tolliver, 28, spent the 2012/13 season with the Hawks, averaging 4.1 PPG and 2.5 RPG in 62 contests (15.5 MPG). The last report we heard on Tolliver came nearly a month ago, and suggested that the 6'8" forward was in talks with five teams, including Atlanta.

Utah still has a little cap space left, along with its room exception, but Charlotte and Chicago appear to be capped out. As such, it looks like Tolliver will sign another minimum-salary deal, unless the Jazz outbid the other two finalists.

Al Harrington, DeShawn Stevenson Clear Waivers

August 4th, 2013 at 5:28pm CST by Chuck Myron

Al Harrington and DeShawn Stevenson became unrestricted free agents this afternoon when they cleared waivers, as expected, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. The Magic released Harrington on Friday, not long before the Hawks did the same with Stevenson.

Stevenson, a Wasserman Media Group client, took to Twitter to express his desire to sign with the Heat, and while Harrington hasn't been so quick to get into specifics, he said at multiple times last season that he wants to play five more seasons in the NBA. The 33-year-old missed most of 2012/13 with a staph infection in his knee, and batted down an early-season retirement rumor, but he was a key piece of the Nuggets bench in 2011/12, averaging 14.2 points and 6.1 rebounds a game with a 15.3 PER.

Stevenson's minutes-per-game average this past season was the highest its been since 2008/09. He came to the Hawks as part of the Joe Johnson deal in a sign-and-trade, and sign-and-trade contracts must be for three seasons in length. Still, the final two years were non-guaranteed, prompting Atlanta to cut Stevenson loose.

Harrington had two more years remaining on his contract, too, but they were 50% guaranteed. The Magic still have to pay out $7,379,200 to the Dan Fegan client, minus whatever small amount they can recoup via set-off rights if Harrington signs with another team.

Odds & Ends: Pekovic, Adelman, Johnson, Sixers

August 2nd, 2013 at 11:21pm CST by Chuck Myron

Timberwolves president of basketball ops Flip Saunders remains optimistic that the club will soon re-sign Nikola Pekovic, and tells Sid Hartman of the Star Tribune that he's trying to explain the thought process behind the team's offer to the big man and his camp. Saunders stopped short of confirming that coach Rick Adelman will be back for this coming season, but echoed owner Glen Taylor's comments from last month, saying that he's optimstic that Adelman will return. There's more from Minnesota and other NBA locales in tonight's roundup:

The Wolves reached out to Ivan Johnson's camp earlier this summer, but the team has since moved on, reports Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link).
The Sixers received permission last month to interview Bulls assistant coach Ed Pinckney, and the interview has indeed taken place, observes Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer, who names David Vanterpool, Michael Curry, and Jay Larranaga as the other "serious candidates" behind front-runner Brett Brown.
A multitude of conflicting recent reports left it unclear whether 53rd overall pick Colton Iverson would play overseas or join the Celtics this season, but a source tells Jay King of MassLive.com that Iverson has signed his one-year deal with Besiktas of Turkey.
DeMarre Carroll indicated on Twitter tonight that he's inked his deal with the Hawks. The team is expected to make a formal announcement Saturday, according to Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
LeBron James has "serious reservations" about whether he can take on the presidency of the union, writes Ken Berger of CBSSports.com, who nonetheless supports the MVP's candidacy, even as sources describe James as unlikely to take the job.
The Magic didn't strike a buyout agreement before they waived Al Harrington today, Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel confirms. That means the team is stuck paying the guaranteed portion of his contract, minus whatever it can recoup via set-off rights.
Pac 12 commissioner Larry Scott wants to see the end of the "one-and-done" rule for NBA draft eligibility, and Matt Norlander of CBSSports.com wonders if incoming NBA commissioner Adam Silver will make a push for change on that front.

Southeast Notes: Magic, Wizards, Heat, Hawks

August 2nd, 2013 at 7:29pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Hawks acquired five players in the Joe Johnson trade last summer, and with their release of DeShawn Stevenson today, none of the five remain on the team's roster, as Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal Constitution points out via Twitter. GM Danny Ferry has radically reshaped the club in little more than a year, and the Stevenson move wasn't Atlanta's only transaction of the day, as we detail amid other news from the Southeast Division:

Magic owner Rich DeVos is 87 years old, but he has no plans to sell the club, as Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel writes in an early Eastern Conference preview. Instead, he has given his four children shares of the Magic with the intent that the family will continue to own the team for decades to come.
The Magic would like to pursue a one-to-one affiliation with a D-League team that would be stationed in Florida, but obstacles are in the way, Robbins reports in the same piece. Orlando will be one of six teams sharing the Fort Wayne Mad Ants this season. Ideally, the Magic want to have a "hybrid" partnership, wherein they'd run the D-League team's basketball operations while local ownership took care of the business side.
The Wizards seem likely to push for one of the final three playoff spots in the East, and owner Ted Leonsis believes a postseason berth would be a significant help to the team's hopes of signing a marquee free agent, observes Michael Lee of The Washington Post.
Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel believes that with so many teams with an eye on the lottery, buyouts could come earlier than usual this season. Winderman figures the Heat will be active in the market for bought-out players.
Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer completed his staff Friday, hiring Jim Thomas as an assistant, the team announced. Thomas had been serving as a scout for the Thunder.

Magic Waive Al Harrington

August 2nd, 2013 at 1:54pm CST by Zachary Links

The Magic announced that they have put Al Harrington on waivers. Harrington's contract called for him to earn a $7.149MM next season and $7.6MM in 2014/15, but both seasons were only half-guaranteed.

Orlando will now be on the hook for the amount owed to him, less whatever he signs for elsewhere. The veteran has career averaged of 13.7 PPG and 5.7 RPG across 15 NBA seasons but played just ten games with the Magic last season.

Last week, Harrington acknowledged that he was likely to be traded or bought out by the Magic, but explained that he feels healthier than ever and is ready to contribute for whatever team he plays for in 2013/14.

"Whatever situation I can get to where I can help a team win, that's what I want to do," Harrington said. "I don't want to play 36 minutes or none of that. Play 20, 25 minutes, just help mentor the young guys and stuff like that."

Harrington is a client of Relativity Sports and is represented by Dan Fegan, according to the Hoops Rumors Agency Database.