Bernard James Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Sterling, Parker, Crawford

July 1st, 2014 at 9:44am CST by Chuck Myron

Attorneys for Donald Sterling will argue that wife Shelly Sterling exerted undue influence on one of the two doctors who examined Donald and declared him mentally incompetent, as Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com details. Donald’s mental competency is no longer on trial. Instead, the probate trial between the Sterlings will center on whether Shelly followed the rules of the Sterling family trust, according to Shelburne. Those rules required that two mental health experts submit letters to the effect that Donald was mentally incompetent before allowing Shelly to take full control of the trust, Shelburne writes. Shelly agreed to sell the Clippers in May to Steve Ballmer, claiming that she fully controlled the trust, but Donald is fighting the sale. Here’s more from around the league:

The Spurs kept Tony Parker through Monday, unsurprisingly, but doing so means his $3.5MM partial guarantee is now a fully guaranteed $12.5MM salary for 2014/15.
Jamal Crawford of the Clippers had his $1.5MM partial guarantee bumped to a full guarantee of $5.45MM when he remained on the roster through Monday.
Kosta Koufos remains on the Grizzlies, so his $500K partial guarantee is now a $3MM full guarantee.
Parker’s teammate Austin Daye is also still with the Spurs, so his $250K partial guarantee is a fully guaranteed minimum salary.
The Hornets kept Jeffery Taylor around, so his minimum salary went from non-guaranteed to fully guaranteed.
It appears as though the Magic are officially under the cap, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). That means Orlando loses access to a $6,077,280 trade exception it could have reaped from last week’s Arron Afflalo deal.
The Hawks didn’t give big man Gustavo Ayon a qualifying offer by Monday’s deadline, making him an unrestricted free agent, notes Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link). There weren’t reports of qualifying offers to James Southerland of the Pelicans, Adonis Thomas of the Sixers and Bernard James of the Mavs, so presumably they’re all unrestricted free agents as well.
The Wolves hired Ryan Saunders as an assistant coach, the team announced (on Twitter). Saunders, the son of Wolves head coach/executive Flip Saunders, had served the last five seasons as a Wizards assistant.

Western Notes: Sterling, Owners, Lakers

May 2nd, 2014 at 10:32pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Donald Sterling has kept a low profile since NBA commissioner Adam Silver banned him for life and fined him $2.5MM on Tuesday. Sterling broke his silence in an interview with DuJour.com, saying, “I wish I had just paid her [V. Stiviano] off.” Stiviano, in an interview with ABC’s Barbara Walters, characterized Sterling’s current state of mind as “confused,” adding, “I think he feels very alone, not truly supported by those around him. Tormented, emotionally traumatized” (link via ESPN.com).

Western Notes: Nash, Lawson, Mavs, Smith

February 28th, 2014 at 11:53pm CST by Cray Allred

Steve Nash worked hard to return to the court this season and eliminate the Lakers‘ ability to use the stretch provision, he reveals in a video at Grantland. Nash dispels the notion that he would consider joining the Clippers if the Lakers were to release him, saying, “It’s either back with the Lakers next year or this is it.” (Transcription via Bill Oram of Orange County Register on Twitter.) Here’s more from the Western Conference:

Timberwolves president of basketball operations Flip Saunders told Dan Barreiro of KFAN 100.3 that he’s confident coach Rick Adelman will complete this season with Minnesota (as transcribed by Andy Greder of St. Paul Pioneer Press on Twitter). Adelman contemplated leaving the Timberwolves prior to the season due to concerns over his wife’s health, and has spent time away from the team this year tending to her issues.
The Nuggets aren’t planning to shut down point guard Ty Lawson for the season, coach Brian Shaw tells Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. “Going forward, we’re pretty much out of the mix in terms of the playoffs, being realistic at this point. But you still want to see combinations of guys working together,” says Shaw. “Our young guys get a chance to have the focus a little more on them and play in combination with Ty, looking forward to the rest of the season and what possibly lies ahead for next season as well.” Lawson has battled multiple injuries this year, and is currently missing time due to a fractured rib while the Nuggets slide further out of contention.
The Mavs have recalled Jae Crowder, Bernard James, and Shane Larkin from their D-League affiliate, while reassigning Ricky Ledo to the Texas Legends, reports Adam Wermuth of Mavs.com. This was the reversal of a one-game assignment/recall of the same players the Mavs made yesterday.
Rockets center Greg Smith is out indefinitely after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery to repair a meniscus tear, reports Jenny Dial Creech of The Houston Chronicle. A lengthy recovery could put the rest of his regular season in jeopardy. The second-year big man played in 70 games for the Rockets last year, but injuries and Houston’s acquisition of Dwight Howard have limited Smith’s role this season.

D-League Notes: Blazers, Mavs, Hamilton

February 27th, 2014 at 5:37pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Blazers are ending their one-to-one affiliation with the D-League’s Idaho Stampede and will share an affiliate with other NBA teams next season, reports Joe Freeman of the Oregonian. GM Neil Olshey prefers to let Portland’s assistant coaches develop talent rather than farm the job out, as Freeman explains.

More D-League news:

The Mavs have assigned Jae Crowder, Bernard James and Shane Larkin to the D-League, and they’ve recalled Ricky Ledo, the team announced. It’ll be a one-game stint for the trio of assignees, notes Marc Stein of ESPN.com, who first reported the moves (Twitter links).
Xavier Henry will see those three Mavs tonight when the affiliates for Dallas and the Lakers meet up, since the Lakers have sent Henry to the D-League, the team announced. It’s a rehab assignment for Henry, who’s been out since December 29th, tweets Mike Trudell of Lakers.com.
The Wizards Otto Porter had been mentioned as a candidate to head to the D-League, but that looks less likely to happen now, writes J. Michael of CSNWashington.com. Porter is needed for depth in case Martell Webster or Trevor Ariza suffer an illness or an injury. The team might also resist sending him down as not to damage his confidence, opines Michael.
Dakota Schmidt of SB Nation profiles Sioux Falls 7-footer Justin Hamilton, and thinks that he is the most talented big man still available to make the jump to the NBA. The former second-round pick out of LSU has developed quite the offensive arsenal and could be the next player to land a 10-day contract, opines Schmidt.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Mavs Notes: Dalembert, Cuban, James, Draft

December 5th, 2013 at 3:35pm CST by Zachary Links

When Mark Cuban talks, we all listen. Here’s a look at the latest thoughts from the mind of the league’s most charismatic owner..

The Mavericks need more from offseason acquisition Samuel Dalembert, Cuban said before last night’s win over the Pelicans, writes ESPNDallas.com’s Tim MacMahon. They signed him to a two-year, $7.6MM deal with a partial guarantee for the second season because they needed a big man who could serve as a defensive anchor. It has been said that Dallas’ front office has long coveted the big man as well.
Cuban said the Mavs have thought about sending center Bernard James down to play for the D-League’s Texas Legends, tweets Dwain Price of the Star-Telegram.
Cuban pointed out that if the Eastern Conference’s struggles continue, it will mean that better draft picks will be coming to the West, writes Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News. “As unbalanced as it seems, it means that worse teams will make the playoffs in the East, which hurts their draft position, which means that better teams in the West will get better players out of the draft since this is a good draft,” Cuban said. “So the law of unintended consequences comes into play. So many teams in the East weren’t really out there to be the best possible. They’ll win games against each other, have better records, get into the playoffs, which means they won’t be in the lottery, so they’ll end up hurting [themselves].”

Southwest Links: Melo, Mavs, Rockets, Leuer

October 16th, 2013 at 2:12pm CST by Luke Adams

Let’s round up a few Wednesday notes out of the Southwest Division….

Fab Melo‘s size should give him a chance to make the Mavericks‘ opening night roster, though the fact that Dallas is carrying 15 guaranteed contracts will make it an uphill battle, writes Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News. According to Sefko, if Melo were to displace a player with a guaranteed deal, Bernard James would likely be the odd man out.
While the Mavs will have to cut at least five players from their current 20-man roster eventually, head coach Rick Carlisle tells Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that he’s in no rush to do so.
Most NBA players are happy to land multiyear contracts rather than annually revisiting the free agent process. But as Mark Deeks explains in a piece for HoopsWorld, longer-term deals that are heavily non-guaranteed are far more advantageous to teams than players. Deeks points to the Rockets as a team that frequently takes advantage of the benefits of non-guaranteed deals, using Omri Casspi‘s two-year pact as an example.
When the Grizzlies first acquired Jon Leuer from the Cavaliers, he looked like a throw-in in a cost-cutting deal. However, Memphis re-signed Leuer to a three-year contract with two guaranteed seasons this summer, and as he tells Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the former Wisconsin Badger is “really happy” with his situation.

Mavericks Re-Sign Bernard James

July 26th, 2013 at 11:28am CST by Luke Adams

JULY 26TH: The Mavericks have officially re-signed James, the team announced today in a press release.

JULY 22ND: Having cleared waivers yesterday after being released by the Mavericks last week, Bernard James is expected to return to Dallas, according to ESPN.com's Marc Stein (via Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com).

The Mavericks had previously pushed back James' contract guarantee date in hopes of keeping him on the roster, but ultimately needed to waive him to clear about $300K in cap room to help sign Monta Ellis. James had been on a minimum-salary ($789K) contract, whereas an empty roster spot only has a cap hold of about $490K.

When Ellis signs, the path will be clear for the Mavs to re-sign James to another minimum-salary deal, since teams are permitted to go over the cap for minimum deals. According to Stein, the two sides have an agreement in principle to complete a new contract once Ellis officially inks his deal.

Bernard James Clears Waivers

July 21st, 2013 at 8:12pm CST by Zachary Links

Center Bernard James has cleared waivers, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (via Twitter). The Mavs were forced to waive James for cap reasons, but today's news clears the way for him to re-sign with Dallas.

James is an athletic big man entering his second season in the league and is thought to have a decent amount of upside potential. With a salary less than $1MM, it seemed like there was a good chance of James being picked up by another club. One possible deterrent with James was that claiming him off of waivers would have meant guaranteeing his salary for 2013/14.

The 28-year-old center saw just 9.9 minutes per contest last season and averaged 2.8 PPG.

Southwest Rumors: Barbosa, Oden, James

July 20th, 2013 at 3:06pm CST by Chuck Myron

The news today has had a distinctly Southwestern feel, and we've already rounded up a few items from Texas teams. There's still more news from the Lone Star State amid our broader look at the Southwest Division:

Artur Barbosa, who doubles as the brother and agent of Leandro Barbosa, tells Terra Brasil that the Mavs have offered the veteran guard a contract, and that the Dallas option is preferable to the Bulls, who've also shown interest (translation via HoopsHype). The agent says he's also engaged in talks with the Rockets. The Mavs wouldn't comment last night about a Brazilian report linking them to Barbosa, so perhaps this is the report in question.
Greg Oden is the top big man on the Mavs' radar following the team's signing of Samuel Dalembert and the release of Bernard James, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com, who names the Heat, Spurs and Pelicans as the other teams still in the mix for Oden (Twitter link).
There's a legitimate chance that a team claims James off waivers from the Mavs, Stein writes in the same piece. A source close to James tells Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities that he's heard teams are eyeing the big man. The Wolves haven't expressed interest yet, but Minnesota is prepared to waive center Chris Johnson if necessary to make way for a better option, Wolfson reports (Twitter links).
Spanish club FC Barcelona announced the signing of Kostas Papanikolaou to a four-year deal (translation via Sportando's Emiliano Carchia). The Rockets hold the power forward's NBA rights, but it's unclear what the buyout clauses in his new contract are like. A report last weekend indicated that Papanikolaou "definitely" wants to play in the NBA this season, but signing a long-term European deal seems to run counter to that.
Tyreke Evans is ready to embrace a sixth-man role with the Pelicans, as Sean Deveney of The Sporting News details.

Mavericks Waive Bernard James

July 20th, 2013 at 12:06pm CST by Zachary Links

The Mavericks have waived Bernard James, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (via Twitter). Dallas tried hard to avoid losing James but were forced to in order to create enough cap room to sign guard Monta Ellis.

Dallas hopes to re-sign James, but that could prove to be difficult as he is an athletic, blossoming big man who earns less than $1MM per season. The left-handed center saw just 9.9 minutes per contest last season and averaged 2.8 PPG. Despite his limited burn, rival teams see decent potential in the Florida State product.