Charlie Villanueva Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Southwest Notes: Parsons, Jefferson, Joerger

December 2nd, 2014 at 6:08pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Mavericks didn’t sign Chandler Parsons to a three-year, $46.08MM deal for him to turn into a “poor man’s Kyle Korver,” something that Parsons has been thus far this season, Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com writes. Parsons is still finding his way in Dallas’ system, something that both Parsons and head coach Rick Carlisle acknowledged, notes MacMahon. “I think people don’t kind of understand how difficult it is to play on a new team with a new system and new guys on the team,” Parsons said. “It takes time, and it’s a process. People look at my stats and see that they’re lower than last year, but my role is kind of different from last year. I’m shooting a lot more jump shots. I don’t have the ball in my hands as much this year, but I think all that will come.”

Here’s more from the Southwest Division:

Richard Jefferson and Charlie Villanueva have needed to accept reduced roles on the Mavs this season, something not necessarily ideal for the veterans, but both are producing when called upon, Dwain Price of The Fort Worth Star-Telegram writes. Jefferson was informed by Carlisle prior to signing with the team this summer that he was being brought in for a smaller role than he was used to, notes Price. “When you hear that for the first time in your career, it can be a bit frustrating,” Jefferson said. “And I’m not going to lie, the first couple of weeks were tough, not being able to contribute, especially I felt like I came in [to training camp] in shape and had a good preseason, and did everything. I didn’t really feel like there was anything else that I could do — I just was kind of out the mix, but I’m at ease with it right now. I’m very comfortable with my role and I embrace it.”
Villanueva is also embracing his new role with the Mavs, Price adds. “I learned that in being in my situation in Detroit that whenever the opportunity comes, take advantage of it,” said Villanueva. “I don’t get discouraged at all. I’m a professional at the end of the day, so I’ve just got to stay ready at all times. I think I prepared myself for that, so I’m just going with the punches now.”
Grizzlies head coach Dave Joerger, who was named NBA coach of the month for November, credits the Memphis players for the honor, Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal writes in a subscription-only piece. This is Joerger’s third such award since becoming the Grizzlies head man.

Western Notes: Villanueva, Price, Boozer, Jazz

October 20th, 2014 at 9:59am CST by Chuck Myron

Various reports have painted conflicting pictures of Mavs owner Mark Cuban’s willingness to keep Charlie Villanueva‘s non-guaranteed contract into the regular season, but Cuban nonetheless has plenty of praise for the nine-year veteran. Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram has the details.

“He’s the prototype of what we like,’’ Cuban said. “A guy who was in a difficult situation and got a bad rap, but when you do your homework he’s really a good guy. He’s great in the locker room, guys love him and he’s putting on a battle for that last spot.”

Villanueva will soon know his status one way or another, since teams have to pare down to no more than 15 players by 4pm Central on October 27th, one week from today. Here’s more from around the Western Conference as that deadline looms:

Ronnie Price is looking like a shoo-in for the Lakers opening-night roster, observe Bill Oram of the Orange Country Register and Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter links). Price racked up 10 assists Sunday against the Jazz.
The Jazz organization remains high on Carlos Boozer, Oram notes (on Twitter). The Lakers can’t trade the former Utah power forward this year, but he hits free agency in the summer.
Dahntay Jones appears to have the inside track for the 15th opening-night roster spot on the Jazz if the team elects to keep that many players, as Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune examines.
The Warriors have opened the season with just 14 players two of the last three years, but they’re leaning toward keeping 15 men until at least the leaguewide guarantee date in January based on the impressive play of many in camp, writes Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle. Golden State has 13 contracts with full guarantees, five with partial guarantees, and a non-guaranteed deal with Jason Kapono, as our roster counts show.

Southwest Notes: Pelicans, Togashi, Mavs, Asik

October 14th, 2014 at 10:08pm CST by Charlie Adams

With Tyreke Evans‘ spot as a starter for the Pelicans all but assured, Darius Miller, Luke Babbitt, and John Salmons are all essentially competing to make the roster and land the reserve small forward role, observes Jimmy Smith of the Times-Picayune. Given that Salmons is the only member of the trio with a fully guaranteed deal, he might be the early favorite to secure the backup spot. Still, it’s too early dismiss Miller and Babbitt’s chances to make the team, since both players have contracts featuring partial guarantees on a New Orleans roster carrying just 12 completely guaranteed pacts. It wouldn’t be surprising if all three of the wings in question find themselves on the club past opening night. As we wait to see how the Pelicans’ roster shapes up, let’s look at more from the Southwest:

The Mavs will officially sign Yuki Togashi after he passes his physical today, reveals Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News, who adds that Togashi will be waived before the regular season begins, allowing Dallas to retain his D-League rights going forward. We passed along that the two sides were set on a deal last week and suspected that Togashi was a long-shot to make the opening night roster.
Charlie Villanueva‘s strong play in camp means one of the 15 guaranteed contracts on the Mavs’ roster might be waived in order to make room for the big man. Sefko takes a look at the players who seemingly have the greatest chance of being cut before opening night rolls around.
The Pelicans and Rockets squared off in a preseason matchup tonight, marking the first time Omer Asik faced his old team since being traded away in July. Although the big man was involved in trade rumors for much of the season and summer, Rockets coach Kevin McHale confessed he’ll miss having big man around this season, tweets Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.
Nate Duncan of Basketball Insiders examines the pros and cons of locking up Kawhi Leonard to a rookie scale extension versus waiting until restricted free agency to work out a new deal. The Basketball Insiders scribe concludes that it would be the in San Antonio’s best interest to wait until the summer of 2015 to re-sign the reigning Finals MVP.

Western Notes: Mavs, Grizzlies, Aldridge, Barea

October 6th, 2014 at 3:04pm CST by Chuck Myron

Charlie Villanueva has impressed Mavs coach Rick Carlisle, who insists Villanueva’s lack of guaranteed money won’t prevent the team from keeping him for opening night, as Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com chronicles.

“It’s going to come down to who plays the best, who fills needs,” Carlisle said. “And we’ll go from there. Mark [Cuban]’s the kind of owner, he’s not going to let a few dollars get in the way of keeping the right team together.”

Still, it’d cost the Mavs, who have 15 guaranteed contracts plus partial guarantees with Eric Griffin and Ivan Johnson, at least $991,482 in dead money to waive the players necessary for them to keep Villanueva, unless they can work out some sort of trade. While we wait to see just how much Cuban is willing to sacrifice, here’s more from the Western Conference:

Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace told Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal that he wasn’t explicitly told not to perform his duties while former CEO Jason Levien was in charge of the team, as Tillery writes in a subscription-only piece. Wallace clarified that he made his own choice to remove himself from player personnel, Tillery notes. Wallace also made a run at openings with the Kings last year and Cavs earlier this year, according to Tillery.
The new TV deal won’t affect LaMarcus Aldridge‘s plan to sign a long-term deal with the Blazers this summer, a source tells The Oregonian’s Joe Freeman, pointing out that the maximum salary goes up as the salary cap does. Still, it’s worth noting that cap figures only affect the amount of a max contract for the first season of the deal, and since it appears unlikely the cap will rise dramatically until the summer of 2016, there’s still plenty of incentive for Aldridge to sign a short-term deal instead.
Wolves coach/executive Flip Saunders didn’t seem merely to be trying to up J.J. Barea‘s trade value when he said the guard was one of the team’s best performers in camp again this year, writes Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune.
The NBA’s national TV deal isn’t the only one due for a sharp increase, as some predictions have the Clippers local TV rights fees increasing to $80MM annually from the $20MM the team receives each year under the current arrangement, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. The existing deal is up after the 2015/16 season, Kennedy notes (on Twitter).

Mavs Sign Charlie Villanueva For Camp

September 23rd, 2014 at 2:53pm CST by Chuck Myron

SEPTEMBER 23RD: The deal is official, as Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com confirms (Twitter link).

SEPTEMBER 8TH: 3:58pm: It will be a one-year contract, Charania tweets.

3:05pm: The Mavericks will sign Charlie Villanueva to a non-guaranteed deal, a source tells Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com (Twitter link). It’s almost certainly for the minimum salary, since that’s all Dallas can give, and Shams Charania of RealGM reported this morning that Villanueva was choosing between minimum-salary offers from the Clippers and Mavs.

It’ll be a healthy drop in salary from the $8.58MM he saw last season in the final year of a player-friendly five-year, $37.7MM contract with the Pistons. The Excel Sports Management client reportedly worked out for multiple teams earlier this summer, but there didn’t appear to be much of a market for Villanueva until the Mavs and Clippers became involved. The nine-year veteran averaged career lows in just about every category last season as he saw just 9.0 minutes per contest across 20 appearances.

The 30-year-old’s choice of Dallas over L.A. is somewhat curious, since the Mavs already have 15 guaranteed deals, while the Clippers only have 13, as our roster counts show. To make the opening-night roster, Villanueva would also have to beat out Ivan Johnson and Eric Griffin, who both possess partial guarantees on their deals and who both can play at power forward, Villanueva’s position.

Charlie Villanueva Mulls Clippers, Mavs Offers

September 8th, 2014 at 10:26am CST by Chuck Myron

The Mavericks and the Clippers have made minimum-salary offers to free agent Charlie Villanueva, who’s close to making a decision between the two, a source tells RealGM (Twitter link). The teams are the first to have been directly connected this summer to the 30-year-old former 7th overall pick.

A report in July indicated that Villanueva had worked out for multiple teams, though it’s not clear whether the Mavs or the Clippers were among them. The Excel Sports Management client is coming off an exceedingly player-friendly five-year, $37.7MM contract with the Pistons, but it looks like he’s in line to make much less this time around. His points per game decreased in each of those five seasons in Detroit, and last year, he notched 4.6 points in 9.0 minutes per night across just 20 appearances. He shot a career-low 25.0% from behind the three-point arc in the small sample size, but the 6’11” power forward is a career 34.3% three-point shooter capable of stretching the floor.

Joining the Clippers would appear to give Villanueva a better shot at making the opening-night roster, since they only have 13 guaranteed deals while the Mavs have 15, as our roster counts show. Hedo Turkoglu is reportedly on track to sign with the Clippers, but even if he receives a fully guaranteed contract, there’d still be room enough for the team to give one to Villanueva, too.

And-Ones: Villanueva, Grizzlies, Clippers

July 26th, 2014 at 2:31pm CST by Charlie Adams

The NBA is looking to extend the All-Star break into a seven day hiatus from regular season play, reports Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel. The longer break will likely be in effect for the 2014/15 campaign, says Winderman, who adds that the increased time off at midseason will mean an extra set or two of back-to-back games for clubs around the league. Let’s look at a few more miscellaneous notes from around the NBA..

Free agent Charlie Villanueva remains unsigned after working out for multiple teams, but is excited about chronicling the process in his own web series despite the uncertainty, as he tells Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press. “It’s been five years with the Pistons and that road has come to an end, but I have a couple things lined up,” Villanueva said. “One of the things obviously is working out for some teams, but at the same time capturing every moment of free agency and what I’m going through.”
After recently narrowing the field of candidates, the Grizzlies search for a GM-in-waiting has stalled, according to Grantland’s Zach Lowe (on Twitter). Lowe’s sources say that it’s now possible Memphis doesn’t hire anyone as the successor in waiting for current GM Chris Wallace. The Grantland scribe suggests the team could promote from within the organization, citing in-house counsel Joe Abadi as a hot name.
Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe clues readers in about Natalie Nakase, an assistant video coordinator for the Clippers with ambitions of becoming the first female head coach in NBA history.

Cray Allred contributed to this post.

Pistons Waive Josh Harrellson, Peyton Siva

July 15th, 2014 at 8:34am CST by Chuck Myron

The Pistons have waived Josh Harrellson and Peyton Siva, according to a trio of reports. There’s been no official statement from the team, but Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders, Mark Deeks of ShamSports and Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News are all reporting that the team has released both of them (All Twitter links). Shams Charania of RealGM reported late Monday that the Pistons intended to waive Siva (Twitter link).

Both were on non-guaranteed minimum-salary contracts that were to become fully guaranteed if the Pistons didn’t waive them on or before July 20th. Siva’s guarantee date was listed as July 12, but multiple sources recently cited the date as July 20th, as I noted Monday. The team’s five contract agreements so far in free agency gave the team 16 players, so the releases of Siva and Harrellson help alleviate that numbers crunch, bringing the total down to 14. Detroit would be back up at 15 if it brought back restricted free agent Greg Monroe.

The Pistons also renounced their rights to Rodney Stuckey, Chauncey Billups and Charlie Villanueva, meaning they can’t exceed the salary cap to re-sign any of those players. That likely means none of them will be back with the team, Stuckey in particular.

Siva saw action in just 24 NBA games last season, averaging 9.3 minutes per contest, after the Pistons drafted him 56th overall in 2013. Harrellson, a three-year veteran, saw slightly more time, getting in 32 games and averaging 9.9 MPG.

Charlie Villanueva Open To Buyout, Eyes Rockets

February 24th, 2014 at 11:48am CST by Chuck Myron

FEBRUARY 24TH: Villanueva would consider joining the Rockets if he and the Pistons reach a buyout agreement, tweets Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times.

FEBRUARY 21ST: Charlie Villanueva would consider a buyout if the Pistons want to negotiate one, as he tells reporters, including Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News. The 29-year-old wasn’t in many trade rumors leading up to the deadline as the Pistons were unable find a new home for his expiring contract, which pays $8.58MM this season.

“Anything’s possible. Right now, it is what it is,” Villanueva said. “I wish I could help this team in any way possible, but they’re going in a different direction. It’s part of the business, but if it presented itself, that’s something we’d look at, for sure.”

The Excel Sports Management client has played sparingly for Detroit this season, averaging just 8.9 minutes in 14 appearances. He’s never averaged as many as 24 minutes a game for the Pistons after signing a five-year, $37.7MM deal in 2009 that’s sparked widespread criticism of president of basketball operations Joe Dumars.

Central Notes: Karasev, Barnes, Ilyasova, Pistons

February 19th, 2014 at 11:21pm CST by Alex Lee

Here is the latest coming out of the Eastern Conference’s Central Division on Wednesday night:

The Cavaliers have recalled rookie Sergey Karasev from the D-League, the team tweeted earlier tonight. Karasev returned to the Canton Charge for last night’s contest after being recalled to the NBA a week ago.
Despite a recent uptick in Harrison Barnes rumors, Zach Lowe of Grantland tweets that any buzz about the UNC product likely ending up in Cleveland is inaccurate for now.
Acting Cavaliers general manager David Griffin is a “breath of fresh air” in trade talks according to one opposing GM, tweets Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio. Griffin took over general manager duties after Chris Grant was fired earlier this month.
The asking price for Ersan Ilyasova is very high, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders, who adds that Bucks owner Herb Kohl believes the 6’10” Turk could eventually be a star. Ilyasova requested a trade from Milwaukee last week.
While the Pistons are hardly without their problems, things are pretty quiet on the trade front in Detroit, writes Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News. Players like Charlie Villanueva, Will Bynum, Rodney Stuckey and Jonas Jerebko were thought to be on the block, but there has been next to no movement since the surprise firing of head coach Maurice Cheeks.