Gary Clark Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Faried, CBA, Wembanyama, Thompson Twins

January 24th, 2023 at 3:06pm CST by Luke Adams

In a conversation with Sam Yip of HoopsHype, Kenneth Faried admits that it has been “extremely difficult” to be out of the NBA since 2019, since he believes that he’s still capable of playing at that level and helping a team. Faried is currently suiting up for the Mexico City Capitanes in the G League as he seeks an NBA comeback.

“At the same time, patience is a virtue. I’m very patient,” Faried said. “I’m working hard towards showing that I can still do it at that level. … I’m ready, I’m focused, I’m locked in, I’m a better vet, a better person, a better leader and I don’t even need to be a leader. I can be quiet and sit back and just follow whoever the leader is.”

As Yip points out, Faried is one of several NBA veterans playing for Mexico City’s G League team. Shabazz Napier, Gary Clark, and Mason Jones are among the other Capitanes players hoping for a call-up.

“For us to now be on a team, and all trying to have the same kind of goal to make it back to the NBA and try to find a way is great, because we’re not trying to be selfish to each other,” Faried said. “We’re trying to help each other. And everyone’s here trying to help each other get better, trying to showcase that we’re still good enough in great shape and ready for whatever may happen, ready for a contract for real.”

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Don’t expect the NBA’s next Collective Bargaining Agreement to include an upper spending limit (ie. a hard cap), ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said during the latest episode of his Hoop Collective podcast. The NBA was reportedly pushing a de facto hard cap earlier in CBA discussions, but Windhorst believes negotiations between the two sides would be far more contentious if the league was still prioritizing that concept. He does think there will be changes made to the luxury tax system, however.
Although the 2017 CBA improved the guidelines for veteran contract extensions and led to a huge uptick in those deals, the rule limiting players to a 20% raise for the first year of an extension is outdated, according to Bobby Marks of ESPN, who notes that it makes it virtually impossible for clubs to extend players who are coming off team-friendly deals. Marks suggests tweaking the rule to allow teams to offer the same amount in an extension that they’d be able to in free agency.
Top prospect Victor Wembanyama is expected to play for France’s national team in two World Cup qualifying contests next month, as Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops writes. The February 23 and 26 games conflict with the EuroLeague schedule, but Wembyanama’s Metropolitans 92 aren’t a EuroLeague team.
Twins Amen Thompson and Ausar Thompson, projected top-10 picks in the 2023 NBA draft, are looking forward to competing against other top players from their draft class and showing how the Overtime Elite program has benefited them, writes Jacob Polacheck of ZagsBlog.com.

And-Ones: Russia, Okafor, Clark, Overtime Elite, Kuzminskas

September 22nd, 2022 at 8:16am CST by Arthur Hill

Despite its war with Ukraine and controversial imprisonment of WNBA star Brittney Griner, Russia is still viewed as a viable destination for some U.S. basketball players, writes Jonathan Abrams of The New York Times. There are projected to be about 30 American men participating in Russia this year, which is twice the normal rate. Those who made the decision cited the financial incentives, which include salaries of more than $1MM, along with free housing and cars.

“Everybody’s going to say, ‘Why would you go there?’” said 35-year-old K.C. Rivers, who has played for several Russian teams. “But at the end of the day, you still have mouths to feed. You still have family to provide for. And sometimes it is not always the easiest decision, but you have to do what’s best for you. You can’t make decisions based off of what the general society says.”

Female players, even those in the WNBA, formerly viewed Russia as a great money-making opportunity, but that has largely changed because of the Griner case. However, those who are still willing to travel to Russia are finding offers more lucrative than ever. An agent told Abrams that Russian teams are paying 50% more this year to women and sometimes they triple the salaries offered in other countries.

Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball globe:

The Mexico City Capitanes, who will be a full-fledged participant in the G League regular season for the first time in 2022/23, have acquired the returning rights to NBA veterans Jahlil Okafor and Gary Clark, league sources tell Marc Stein (Twitter link).
Overtime Elite will add three high school teams for its upcoming season, states Jacob Polacheck of Zagsblog. The programs are Hillcrest Prep (Arizona), Our Saviour Lutheran (New York) and Word of God (North Carolina). The league will have 20 players returning from last season, including Amen Thompson and Ausar Thompson, who are both projected as top-10 picks in the 2023 draft. The newest addition to Overtime Elite is 7’0″ high school junior Somto Cyril, who is considered among the 25 best players in the Class of 2024, per Eric Bossi of 247 Sports.
Former Knicks player Mindaugas Kuzminskas has signed with Pinar Karsiyaka in Turkey, according to Eurohoops. The 32-year-old small forward played for Lithuania during EuroBasket.
USA Basketball will resume its Junior National Team minicamp after a two-year absence due to the pandemic, writes Jonathan Givony of ESPN. It will take place October 7-10 in Colorado Springs. “This camp has been an important part of developing our junior national team, and we’re really happy to be back doing it again,” said Sean Ford, national team director of USA Basketball. “The world is getting better at a faster rate than we are improving, so we need to continue to improve with more camps, continuity and teaching.”

And-Ones: Russell, Noel, Paul, Team USA, Baker

September 12th, 2022 at 10:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Bill Russell‘s No. 6 will be retired throughout the league and another Hall of Famer, Alonzo Mourning, said it was much-deserved honor, Marc J. Spears of Andscape writes.

“We still need to celebrate his name, because he paved the way during a time where he had to deal with so many different obstacles,” Mourning said. “Not just on the court, but off the court. He paved the way for all of us.”

Mourning and Jerry West were on stage at the Hall of Fame’s annual ceremony over the weekend to honor Russell before the Class of 2022 was inducted.

We have more from around the basketball world:

Pistons center Nerlens Noel‘s lawsuit against agent Rich Paul is headed to arbitration, Michael McCann of Sportico reports in a subscribers-only article. Noel sued Paul last August, alleging that the agent’s negotiating tactics during 2017 cost him a four-year, $70MM extension with Dallas.
USA Basketball wound up with the bronze medal in the AmeriCup by defeating Canada 84-80 (Twitter link). Former NBA forward Gary Clark led the way with 18 points. Argentina, having defeated Team USA in the semifinals, earned the gold medal with a victory over Brazil.
The G League Lakeland Magic acquired the returning player rights to forward Robert Baker from the Stockton Kings in exchange for a 2022 second-round pick, JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors tweets. Baker, 24, appeared in 26 games with the Stockton Kings last season and one Summer League game with the Thunder.

Team USA Announces Camp Roster For AmeriCup

August 19th, 2022 at 11:56am CST by Luke Adams

At the same time that 24 European nations will be competing in this year’s long-awaited EuroBasket tournament, Team USA will be going for gold in the 2022 AmeriCup, another event that hasn’t taken place in five years. The U.S. team won the 2017 AmeriCup and was preparing to defend its title in 2021 before the event was pushed back a year due to the delay of the Tokyo Olympics.

With the 2022 AmeriCup around the corner, Team USA has announced the 15 players who will take part in training camp from August 23-27 in Las Vegas before the squad chooses a 12-man roster for the September event. Those 15 players are as follows:

Norris Cole, G
Orlando Johnson, G
Frank Mason III, G
Jodie Meeks, G
Jeremy Pargo, G
Elijah Pemberton, G
Kendall Smith, G
Craig Sword, G
Patrick McCaw, G/F
Zylan Cheatham, F
Gary Clark, F
Anthony Lamb, F
Will Davis II, F/C
Derek Culver, C
Stephen Zimmerman, C

While not every player on Team USA’s training camp roster has NBA experience, many do, including Meeks (539 regular season games), Cole (360), McCaw (199), Clark (170), Johnson (103), Mason (103), and Pargo (86). Sword, Cheatham, Lamb, and Zimmerman have also made brief NBA appearances.

The U.S. team will be coached by Jazz assistant Alex Jensen.

The AmeriCup, also known as the Americas Basketball Championship, used to be part of the qualifying process for the Olympics and the FIBA World Cup, but now it’s a stand-alone event.

This year’s tournament will take place from September 2-11 in Recife, Brazil. Sixteen teams have been divided into four groups of four teams apiece. After each team plays three round robin games within its group, the top two teams in each group – along with the two best third-place teams – will move onto the quarterfinals.

Team USA will be seeking its eighth overall AmeriCup gold medal and its first back-to-back golds since winning the event in 1997 and 1999.

Pelicans Sign Gary Clark To Two-Way Deal, Waive Jared Harper

January 9th, 2022 at 4:18pm CST by JD Shaw

The Pelicans have signed forward Gary Clark to a two-way contract, the team announced in a press release. To create space, the club waived two-way guard Jared Harper.

Clark was previously on a non-guaranteed deal with New Orleans, averaging 3.6 points and 2.8 rebounds in eight games (11.9 MPG). The team waived him on Friday before his contract became fully guaranteed.

Prior to signing with the Pelicans, Clark was playing for Mexico City Capitanes in the G League. The 27-year-old went undrafted in 2018 and holds experience with Houston, Orlando, Denver and Philadelphia.

Harper, 24, only appeared in two games for the Pelicans this season, averaging 3.5 points in five minutes per contest. He’s also averaging 21.7 points and 5.1 assists per outing in the G League this year.

Pelicans Waive Gary Clark

January 7th, 2022 at 4:05pm CST by Luke Adams

4:05pm: The Pelicans have officially waived Clark, the club confirmed in a press release.

3:34pm: The Pelicans will waive forward Gary Clark before his full-season salary becomes guaranteed, reports ESPN’s Andrew Lopez (Twitter link).

Clark, 27, signed with New Orleans in early December when the team moved Didi Louzada to the suspended list, freeing up an open spot on the 15-man roster. Louzada’s 25-game suspension is due to end next week, meaning the Pelicans would’ve needed to release Clark at that point anyway in order to reactivate Louzada. Making the move a few days early allows New Orleans to avoid being on the hook for the remainder of Clark’s minimum salary.

In eight games as a Pelican, Clark averaged 3.6 PPG and 2.8 RPG on .429/.474/.500 shooting (11.9 MPG). He should generate some interest as a candidate for a 10-day contract once he clears waivers.

The Pelicans will be on the hook for a prorated portion of Clark’s minimum salary, which works out to $377,645.

Pelicans Sign Gary Clark To Non-Guaranteed Deal

December 3rd, 2021 at 2:08pm CST by Luke Adams

December 3: The Pelicans have officially signed Clark, the team announced in a press release.

December 2: The Pelicans are signing forward Gary Clark to a non-guaranteed contract, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

New Orleans has a full 15-man roster, but will be able to move Didi Louzada to the suspended list now that he has served more than five games of his 25-game ban for violating the league’s anti-drug policy, as Christian Clark of NOLA.com confirms (via Twitter). When Louzada’s suspension ends, the Pelicans will have to get back down to 15 players by trading or waiving Clark or another player.

Clark, 27, has appeared in a total of 132 NBA regular season games since making his debut in 2018. Last season, he averaged 3.1 PPG and 2.9 RPG in 39 games (16.8 MPG) for the Magic, Nuggets, and Sixers. He’s known more for his defense, having put up very modest offensive numbers (3.2 PPG on .346/.311/.889 shooting) in his NBA career.

Clark had been playing for the Mexico City Capitanes in the G League this season, where he was averaging 14.4 PPG and 6.9 RPG with 1.5 SPG through eight games (31.3 MPG). While it’s a small sample, he has been letting it fly from beyond the three-point line in the NBA G League and has made 37.3% of 7.4 attempts per game so far.

Clark’s minimum-salary contract will pay him just over $9,900 per day.

Greg Monroe, Gary Clark, Carsen Edwards Join G League Teams

November 5th, 2021 at 11:33am CST by Luke Adams

A handful of NBA veterans have joined G League teams in advance of the start of the NBAGL’s 2021/22 season, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

As Charania reports, the Capital City Go-Go (Wizards) have added center Greg Monroe, the Mexico City Capitanes have added forward Gary Clark, and the Salt Lake City Stars (Jazz) have acquired swingman Carsen Edwards.

Monroe, 31, has nine years of NBA experience under his belt, but hasn’t played in the league since 2018/19, when he appeared in 43 total games for three teams. In 632 career NBA games, the former Georgetown star averaged 13.2 PPG and 8.3 RPG in 27.7 minutes per contest. He has spent time playing in Germany and Russia since 2019.

An undrafted free agent with three years of NBA experience from 2018-21, Clark appeared in 132 total games for four teams. He’s known more for his defense, having put up very modest offensive numbers (3.2 PPG on .346/.311/.889 shooting) in the NBA. Clark, who will turn 27 later this month, has previous G League experience with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.

Edwards was the 33th overall pick out of Purdue in 2019 and spent his first two professional seasons with the Celtics, but didn’t emerge as a reliable rotation player, posting just 3.6 PPG on .372/.302/.750 shooting in 68 games (9.2 MPG). He was traded to Memphis and subsequently waived during the 2021 offseason.

The G League Ignite have also announced two veteran additions, confirming that center Kosta Koufos and former Jazz guard Kevin Murphy have come aboard. Amir Johnson and Pooh Jeter are among the other veterans on the team.

Atlantic Notes: Celtics Lineup, Clark, Noel, Sixers

September 22nd, 2021 at 7:34pm CST by Dana Gauruder

With Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Robert Williams and Marcus Smart seemingly locked into starting spots for the Celtics, Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston explores the possibilities for the fifth starter. The most likely candidates are Aaron Nesmith, Josh Richardson, Al Horford and Dennis Schröder — Forsberg takes a closer look at what each player could bring to the starting unit.

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

Free agent Gary Clark worked out for the Celtics, Emiliano Carchia of Sportando tweets. Clark, a 6’6” forward, played 39 games in the league last season, including 35 with the Magic. He also played two games apiece for Denver and Philadelphia.
Knicks center Nerlens Noel has filed an amended complaint against super-agent Rich Paul, which includes an October 2017 letter from the legal counsel for Noel’s prior agent, Happy Walters, stating that the decision to reject the Mavericks’ $70MM offer “placed Noel at serious professional and financial risk,” Darren Heitner of SportsAgentBlog tweets. Noel sued Paul and Klutch Sports last month, claiming that he fired Walters in favor of Paul because Paul told him he could get a max contract. Paul also allegedly told Noel to turn down Dallas’ extension offer.
The Sixers have signed a deal with Crypto.com to be their new jersey patch partner, according to a team press release. According to Gina Mizell of the Philadelphia Inquirer, the multiyear deal is worth eight figures annually and is among the top five most lucrative jersey ad deals in the league.

Sixers Sign Gary Clark To Two-Way Contract

May 11th, 2021 at 6:55pm CST by Luke Adams

6:55pm: The Sixers have officially signed Clark, the team announced in a press release.

1:34pm: The Sixers are set to sign free agent forward Gary Clark to a two-way contract, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). Philadelphia opened up a two-way slot last week by waiving Mason Jones.

Clark, who began his career with the Rockets in 2018 after going undrafted out of Cincinnati, has since appeared in a total of 130 games for Houston, Orlando, and Denver, averaging 3.3 points and 2.6 rebounds in 14.6 minutes per contest.

The 26-year-old signed a two-year, $4.1MM contract with the Magic last fall, but was traded to the Nuggets along with Aaron Gordon in March. Because his 2021/22 salary of $2.1MM was non-guaranteed and he was essentially a throw-in in that trade, Clark became expendable and was waived last month, clearing the way for Denver to sign Austin Rivers.

Barring an unexpected development, Clark won’t be part of the Sixers’ rotation in the playoffs, but he could see some action in the team’s final few regular season games, depending on when his two-way deal is finalized. He’ll also provide a little extra depth on the wing in case the team has to deal with injuries in the playoffs.

The Sixers will have a full 17-man roster once Clark’s deal is official.