Darius Morris Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Contract Details: Inglis, Heat, Jazz, Hamilton

August 24th, 2014 at 10:54am CST by Chuck Myron

The pace of signings is slow this time of year, but teams continue to add to their rosters. Eric Pincus reveals some previously unreported details about a handful of these signings within his latest updates to the salary pages at Basketball Insiders, so we’ll pass along the news here:

The Bucks are giving 31st overall pick Damien Inglis guaranteed salaries of $820K this season and $855K for 2015/16, both amounts that are more than the minimum, as Pincus notes (Twitter link). It’s a three-year deal in all that features a non-guaranteed season at the minimum salary in the contract’s final year. Milwaukee used part of its cap space to accommodate the signing.
Tyler Johnson‘s minimum salary with the Heat this season is guaranteed for $75K, while his minimum salary for next season is without a guarantee, according to Pincus. Reggie Williams is receiving a non-guaranteed minimum salary in his pact with the Heat this year, as Pincus also reveals.
The Jazz gave Dee Bost a $65K guarantee this season, while the other two years of his three-year contract for the minimum salary are non-guaranteed, Pincus reports. Pincus also notes that the team gave Jack Cooley a three-year deal for the minimum, though it remains unclear whether any of Cooley’s pay is guaranteed. Utah used cap space rather than the minimum-salary exception on Bost and Cooley, since the minimum-salary exception only allows for two-year deals.
The Raptors have the means to shell out more than the minimum salary, but they didn’t give Jordan Hamilton any more than that, as Pincus documents. Hamilton’s deal is reportedly partially guaranteed, but just how much he’s guaranteed remains unknown.
Darius Morris is on a one-year deal with the Blazers, Pincus shows.

And-Ones: Morris, D-League, Kings

August 13th, 2014 at 10:31pm CST by Cray Allred

The NBA released its schedule for 2014/15, and it’ll feature an All-Star break that will extend longer than a week. Every team will get at least eight days off, as first reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). That will mean a few more sets of back-to-back games throughout the season, but it’ll be interesting to see the effect on the pre-deadline trade market, since the All-Star break usually falls about a week before the trade deadline. More idle time and a lower risk of injuries that could scuttle a trade might lead to more activity. While we digest the schedule and all of its ramifications, here’s the latest from around the league:

Darius Morris rejected an offer that would have given him a net $450K from a Serbian team, tweets David Pick of Eurobasket.com, who speculates that NBA interest was behind Morris’ decision.
There is no timetable on a decision to install a new D-League president, the league office tells Gino Pilato of DLeagueDigest.com.
Pilato has heard of some candidates for the job, however, naming Tommy Smith, Shawn Smith, Chris Alpert, and Jerry Murphy, all of whom currently work for the D-League
The Jazz announced (via Twitter) that Dean Cooper, whom the Rockets let go from their assistant coaching staff after this past season, has been named head coach of Utah’s D-League affiliate.
Demolition has begun for the Kings new arena, reports Dale Kasler of The Sacramento Bee. The project is moving forward with the expectation that some remaining legal challenges to the arena’s construction will fail.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Darius Morris To Play In D-League

March 17th, 2014 at 6:31pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Darius Morris has been acquired off waivers by the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA D-League, reports Gino Pilato of D-League Digest (Twitter link). The 23-year-old guard has played for three NBA teams already this season. He last played for Memphis on a 10-day contract that expired back on February 13th. He’s still free to sign with any NBA team that comes calling.

This season, Morris appeared in 10 games for the Clippers and averaged 0.9 PPG in 5.4 MPG. He then played in 12 games for the Sixers and averaged 6.9 PPG, and 2.6 APG in 16.1 MPG. His last action was with the Grizzlies where in five games he put up 3.0 PPG, and 1.6 APG in 13.2 minutes per contest.

Morris’ last stint in the D-League was during the 2012/13 season when he appeared in two games for Los Angeles, and he averaged 15.0 PPG, 6.0 RPG, and 5.5 APG in 35.0 minutes per contest.

Grizzlies Sign Darius Morris To 10-Day Deal

February 3rd, 2014 at 11:10am CST by Zachary Links

MONDAY, 11:10am: The Grizzlies have signed Morris to a 10-day contract, according to a press release from the team

SUNDAY, 9:29pm: Darius Morris is meeting with Grizzlies coaches tonight in Oklahoma City and is expected to sign a 10-day deal with Memphis tomorrow, according to Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal (via Twitter). Morris saw his second 10-day deal with the Clippers expire towards the end of January.

The Grizzlies worked Morris out in December after Quincy Pondexter was lost to injury so they have some level of familiarity with the guard. The 23-year-old appeared in 10 games for the Clippers averaging 5.4 MPG with 0.9 PPG and 0.5 APG.

If Morris puts pen to paper with the Grizzlies, it’ll be his fourth NBA stop in just two years. Morris has also seen stints with the Lakers and Sixers over the last two seasons.

Minor Moves: Darius Morris, Faverani, Goodwin

January 26th, 2014 at 12:29pm CST by Jonathan Nehring

Here are a few minor transactions that have occurred so far today.

The Clippers had to decide by today whether they would retain point guard Darius Morris for the remainder of the season or allow him to become a free agent. It appears they opted to let Morris go as Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times tweeted this morning. With Chris Paul hoping to return from injury by the All-Star break, it seems the Clippers will rely primarily on Darren Collison for the nine games prior to the break. Morris appeared in 10 games for the Clippers averaging 5.4 MPG with 0.9 PPG, 0.5 APG. He is now a free agent. The Clippers now have 14 players under contract.
The Celtics announced in a team release they have recalled center Vitor Faverani from their D-League affiliate in time for today’s matchup against the Nets. The move was expected as Celtics GM Danny Ainge stated yesterday when Faverani was sent down that it would be “just a quick assignment to get Vitor some more game action, and he’ll be back with the Celtics for shootaround tomorrow morning.“ Faverani saw 26 minutes of play last night, in which he recorded 13 points and 7 boards.
According to a team release to NBA.com, the Suns have recalled guard Archie Goodwin from their D-League affiliate in time for Phoenix’s matchup against the Cavaliers tonight. Goodwin was sent down Thursday and was able to appear in two games during his short stint. In those two games Goodwin put up impressive numbers, averaging 44.0 MPG, 29.5 PPG, and 6.0 RPG.

Pacific Notes: Warriors, Clippers, Okafor

January 16th, 2014 at 2:10pm CST by Chuck Myron

There’s a compelling race going on for the top spot in the Pacific Division, and the playoff seeding priority that comes with it. The Clippers hold a one and a half game lead, but they’re without Chris Paul for about another month, and the Warriors have won 11 of 13 to move to within a game and a half of the lead. The Suns lurk three games back in the loss column, and could be a factor if they can tread water while Eric Bledsoe is out. Here’s the latest:

The Warriors are about $2.2MM below the luxury tax threshold after adding salary in yesterday’s trade, and GM Bob Myers says ownership hasn’t given him a mandate to stay below that line, tweets Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com. It would nonetheless take a “special deal” to make the team consider it, Howard-Cooper adds.
Myers hinted that additional moves may be coming, telling reporters “Nobody is sitting back and saying, ‘Well, we’re done now. We did our jobs. Let’s see what happens,'” according to Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link).
It’s no surprise that the Clippers chose to retain Darius Morris over fellow point guard Maalik Wayns, tweets Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com, who points out that Doc Rivers likes Morris’ defense and Wayns rarely saw the floor (Twitter link).
Former Magic coach Stan Van Gundy helped sell Rivers on the idea of acquiring J.J. Redick, as Rivers tells Markazi.
Insurance would cover about $5.8MM of Emeka Okafor‘s $14.5MM salary for the Suns if he’s unable to return from injury this season, notes Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic.
The Lakers picked the right time to bottom out since, for once, they hold their own first-round pick for a well-stocked draft class, writes Tom Ziller of SB Nation.

Clippers Re-Sign Darius Morris

January 16th, 2014 at 12:15pm CST by Chuck Myron

12:15pm: Morris has officially signed his second 10-day deal, the Clippers announced. The team will have to decide whether to retain him for the balance of the season or let him go when the contract expires.

8:02am: The Clippers will ink Darius Morris to a second 10-day contract, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. His first 10-day deal expired last night. Wojnarowski doesn’t say when the move will happen, but if it goes down today, it’d be a little surprising, since Doc Rivers said the team will sign Hedo Turkoglu today. The Clippers would have to terminate their 10-day deal with Maalik Wayns a couple days early to accommodate both Morris and Turkoglu today, though the team wouldn’t be on the hook for any additional salary if it cuts Wayns before his deal ends Friday night.

Morris has played 27 minutes over a total of four games so far with the Clippers, scoring five points and dishing out four assists. The 23-year-old Brian Dyke client is in his third NBA season after the Lakers made him the 41st overall pick in 2011. The 6’4″ point guard is serving as a backup to Darren Collison, who’s set to start at the position for about another month or so as Chris Paul‘s injured shoulder heals.

The Clippers have used other ball-handlers at times during Morris’ stint, and Turkoglu has proven a capable leader of an offense during his career. Rivers, who’s in charge of the team’s front office, nonetheless seems to want to keep Morris around, perhaps as insurance. The Clippers have been linked to Lamar Odom and Sasha Vujacic, though it seems neither will join the club in the immediate future.

Clippers Sign Darius Morris

January 6th, 2014 at 7:41pm CST by Zachary Links

8:30pm: The Clippers offically announced the signing. The 23-year-old’s jersey was made in “record time,” tweets Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com, and he’ll be in action for tonight’s game against the Magic.

7:41pm: The Clippers will sign Darius Morris to a 10-day deal today, according to Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times (on Twitter). The guard has picked up the interest of multiple clubs in recent days but Doc Rivers & Co. came out on top.

Morris was cut loose by the Sixers earlier this season along with Kwame Brown. The guard, 23 in January, has an offer in hand from Turkey but he’ll instead ply his craft in the NBA, at least for the next week and change. He auditioned for the Grizzlies along with Reggie Williams, but Seth Curry wound up getting that spot.

Odds & Ends: Lakers, Pierce, Austin

December 12th, 2013 at 11:00pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak directly addressed questions about the team’s point guard situation and didn’t seem too confident about finding anyone on the free agent market who could play big rotation minutes immediately (Dave McMenamin of ESPN Los Angeles):

“I think for the time being we’re going to roll with what we’ve got…To find a player that doesn’t belong to somebody right now that can come in and play in front of (Kobe Bryant), in front of Xavier Henry), in front of (Jodie Meeks), it’s unlikely…But maybe there’s a player out there that we can take a look at…It’s a good time to perhaps look at a player, but I don’t think there’s somebody that we’re going to bring in and we’re going to start or is going to play big minutes.”

As it stands, the team doesn’t appear to have any immediate plans to add a point guard via trade, free agency, or D-League call up. Here’s more of tonight’s miscellaneous news and notes, including more from McMenamin’s piece:

Ryan Lillis of the Sacramento Bee reports that mayor Kevin Johnson has launched a political campaign aimed at defeating a June ballot measure in Sacramento that would require voter approval of subsidies to sports arenas. The Kings are expected to play a role in the effort along with Johnson, although team president Chris Granger said the role hasn’t been decided yet.
When specifically asked about Leandro Barbosa, as well as former Lakers Darius Morris and Chris Duhon, Kupchak said that they’re “all on the list” of players being considered.
Whether or not the Lakers decide to make a move to address their backcourt issues, ESPN LA’s Ramona Shelburne gets the sense that they’ll look for the best available point guard and not necessarily put a priority on those with past familiarity of Mike D’Antoni’s system. She also makes note that the team still has luxury tax considerations to factor into their decision-making (All Twitter links).
Clippers coach Doc Rivers weighed in on the Nets, saying he was disappointed in how the situation between Jason Kidd and Lawrence Frank developed, endorsed the idea that Paul Pierce would be willing to come off the bench, and suggested that Pierce still has plenty of basketball left in the tank beyond this season (All Twitter links).
RealGM’s Jonathan Tjarks examines how Baylor center Isaiah Austin helped his draft stock after his 13-point/5-block performance against a highly touted Kentucky frontline that included Julius Randle, Willie Cauley-Stein, and Alex Poythress last week.
ESPN’s J.A. Adande and Israel Gutierrez discuss ideas on how to correct competitive imbalance in the NBA.

Lakers To Target Leandro Barbosa, Other PGs

December 12th, 2013 at 3:06pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Lakers announced that Steve Blake will miss at least six weeks with a torn ulnar ligament in his right elbow, and while GM Mitch Kupchak doesn’t expect to find a player worth signing, he’ll nonetheless look for one, tweets Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times. Kupchak says players with ties to coach Mike D’Antoni, including Leandro Barbosa, Chris Duhon and Darius Morris, are among those the team will pursue, Pincus adds (via Twitter).

The injury to Blake leaves the Lakers without a healthy point guard, as Steve Nash and Jordan Farmar are also hurt. They plan to go with Kobe Bryant as the starter with Xavier Henry backing him up.

Barbosa is scorching the Brazilian league and appears fully recovered from his torn ACL, as Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com notes (Twitter link). Morris was supposed to work out with the Grizzlies this week, but Memphis appears to be looking in a different direction. There’s been little recent chatter about Duhon, who wasn’t in camp with an NBA team.

The Lakers have an open roster spot, so they wouldn’t have to waive anyone to sign a free agent. If they want to make a splashy trade, Kyle Lowry is available, but the Lakers aren’t among the teams that have reportedly been pursuing him.