Jamaal Franklin Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Jamaal Franklin Signs With Lakers D-League Team

December 4th, 2015 at 3:13pm CST by Chuck Myron

Former Grizzlies and Nuggets shooting guard Jamaal Franklin has joined the D-League affiliate of the Lakers, the team announced (Twitter link). It’s the second stint with the Los Angeles D-Fenders for the 24-year-old Franklin, who played 21 games for the club last season in between his time with China’s Zhejiang Guangsha and his brief encounter with Denver. He remains eligible to join any NBA team.

The Grizzlies made Franklin the 41st overall pick in 2013, but they waived him the following summer after he appeared in only 21 NBA games his rookie season. Memphis still owes him about $163K each season through 2018/19 because the team used the stretch provision to spread out the remaining guaranteed salary on his deal. The Nuggets inked him shortly before the end of the regular season this past spring to a three-year deal that didn’t include guaranteed salary beyond 2014/15, and they took advantage of that, waiving him in mid-July, though he continued to play for Denver’s summer league squad.

The 6’5″ Franklin only started in eight of his 21 appearances with the D-Fenders last season, but he proved an all-around threat. He averaged 19.2 points, 8.9 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 3.7 turnovers in 34.1 minutes per contest.

Western Notes: Upshaw, Claver, Franklin

August 30th, 2015 at 7:45pm CST by Will Joseph

The Lakers hope to have Robert Upshaw in training camp, but he has some private things he needs to take care of first, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders relays in a series of tweets. As Pincus points out, Upshaw has battled personal issues that plagued him in college. Pincus adds that Upshaw has the Lakers’ support. The undrafted center reportedly reached an agreement with the Lakers a month ago, but Pincus later clarified that he was merely a possibility for the team.

Here’s more from around the Western Conference:

Victor Claver, who played in 10 games last season with the Blazers, is finalizing an agreement with Russia’s PBC Lokomotiv Kuban, international reporter David Pick tweets. Claver, whom Portland chose with the 22nd overall pick in 2009, averaged only 3.2 points per game in his three seasons in the league. The big man finished up this past season playing in Russia after the Nuggets waived him following his inclusion in the Arron Afflalo trade.
China’s Guangdong Southern Tigers are considering signing Jamaal Franklin, Enea Trapani of Sportando reports. Franklin was waived by the Nuggets in July. Franklin is just two years removed from having been the 41st overall pick in 2013. The Grizzlies waived him using the stretch provision last summer, so the Brian Elfus client will continue to pick up NBA paychecks through 2018/19. The shooting guard spent time playing in China and for the Lakers D-League affiliate last season before the Nuggets picked him up.

Nuggets Waive Jamaal Franklin

July 13th, 2015 at 8:36am CST by Chuck Myron

The Nuggets have waived Jamaal Franklin, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets and as the RealGM transactions log shows. The team has yet to make any formal announcement, but it appears the move has indeed taken place. Franklin, whom Denver signed during the final week of the regular season to a three-year deal, didn’t have any guaranteed salary remaining on his contract. He’ll become a free agent, assuming he clears waivers.

Franklin’s release may well be part of an effort to clear cap room to accommodate the extension and renegotiation of Wilson Chandler‘s contract. The Nuggets also released their cap holds for Darrell Arthur, Rudy Fernandez, Ian Clark, Wesley Person and Jan Vesely, Pincus notes (Twitter link). Dropping Franklin’s $947,276 minimum salary brings Denver’s cap figure to $64,149,043, based on the data that Pincus has compiled. That leaves $5,850,957 under the $70MM cap to add to Chandler’s $7,171,662 salary, enough to bring it to $13,022,619, which would be a front-loaded figure for the first season of Chandler’s new deal, which reportedly is to give him $46MM over the next for years. That isn’t necessarily the reason for Franklin’s release, as Denver doesn’t have to front-load the Chandler deal. The Nuggets have already officially announced Chandler’s new deal, but RealGM nonetheless doesn’t show the move having taken place just yet, leaving room for Denver to make moves to clear the way for it.

Franklin, who turns 24 this month, is just two years removed from having been the 41st overall pick in 2013. The Grizzlies waived him using the stretch provision last summer, so the Brian Elfus client continue to pick up NBA paychecks through 2018/19. The shooting guard spent time playing in China and for the Lakers D-League affiliate last season before the Nuggets picked him up.

Northwest Notes: Kanter, Franklin, Jazz

April 14th, 2015 at 10:14am CST by Chuck Myron

The Thunder‘s first-round pick no longer has any chance to fall outside the top 18 selections, so Oklahoma City will retain the selection for this year rather than convey it to the Sixers, note Anthony Slater and Erik Horne of The Oklahoman. Oklahoma originally traded the pick to Cleveland in the Dion Waiters deal, and the Cavs sent it to Denver two days later in the Timofey Mozgov trade before the Nuggets attached it to JaVale McGee to send him to Philadelphia at the deadline. The Thunder would send the pick to Philly next year if it’s not in the top 15, and the same protection applies in 2017. If the Thunder still have the pick after 2017, they’ll owe only a pair of second-rounders instead, according to RealGM, and as our Traded Picks by Round table shows. There’s more on the Thunder amid the latest from the Northwest Division:

Enes Kanter is hopeful of a long-term stay with the Thunder as restricted free agency looms in the offseason, as he tells Slater for a separate piece. “I hope so,” he said. “It’s an amazing place. I don’t know how to explain it.”
Slater’s Kanter story delves into his fractured relationship with the Jazz, one that began even though Kanter didn’t want Utah to draft him, The Oklahoman scribe writes. Slater suggests that a poor experience with Fenerbahce of Turkey and the NCAA left the big man with a wariness of organizations that led him to question the Jazz when they drafted him against his wishes and didn’t give him much playing time his first two seasons.
The Nuggets used a $200K prorated sliver of the mid-level exception to sign Jamaal Franklin this past weekend to a contract that covers three seasons, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter links). The deal is non-guaranteed for 2015/16 and 2016/17, Pincus adds, noting that the net cost of the contract need not be more than zero for the Nuggets if they don’t keep Franklin for his non-guaranteed seasons, since they’re still shy of the salary floor.
The Jazz have shown promise in the second half of the season, but the roster is still a long way from championship contention, as Brad Rock of the Deseret News examines.

Nuggets Sign Jamaal Franklin

April 12th, 2015 at 3:16pm CST by Chuck Myron

SUNDAY, 3:16pm: The signing is official, according to the team’s website.

FRIDAY, 12:17pm: The Nuggets plan to sign former Grizzlies shooting guard Jamaal Franklin, reports Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). Presumably, Denver will slide Franklin into the roster spot that they filled with Shavlik Randolph earlier this week, since they’re reportedly poised to waive Randolph. The 23-year-old Franklin has been playing for the D-League affiliate of the Lakers.

Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports wrote a month ago that Franklin was likely to sign with some NBA team in the near future. He’s not far removed from having been the 41st overall pick in the 2013 draft, and while he saw just 7.7 minutes per game in 21 appearances for the Grizzlies last season, it’s not at all surprising to see him resurface in the NBA. He displayed an all-around game in 21 D-League contests this season, averaging 19.2 points, 8.9 rebounds and 6.5 assists in 34.1 minutes per game, numbers that were significant improvements on his D-League performance while on assignment from Memphis last season.

The Grizzlies waived Franklin at the end of August so they could use the stretch provision to spread his guaranteed salary for this season over a five-year period. The resulting payment this year, which came to less than $200K, left the Brian Elfus client with plenty of financial incentive to seek a lucrative deal wherever he could find one, and he signed with China’s Zhejiang Guangsha Lions in early October after workouts with the Spurs and Wizards. He averaged 28.5 PPG, 6.2 RPG and 4.6 APG in 33.8 MPG in 26 Chinese Basketball Association games before returning stateside.

Charania indicates that it’s a rest-of-season deal, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the Nuggets include an extra year in the arrangement to give themselves a greater degree of control, perhaps with a partial guarantee or guarantee dates built in, though that’s just my speculation. Even if his deal covers only the final days of this season, the Nuggets would be able to dictate his next NBA destination, since he’d be eligible for restricted free agency.

And-Ones: Franklin, Draft, Matthews

March 10th, 2015 at 10:38pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Based strictly on his skills on offense, Jahlil Okafor is likely to be the No. 1 overall pick in June’s NBA draft, Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com writes. The Duke freshman doesn’t project as a good enough defender to become an impact pro on both sides of the ball, and he isn’t a good enough athlete to have an extremely high ceiling, Howard-Cooper adds. “His offensive ability on the box,” one NBA executive said of the draft appeal of Okafor. “I’m not a huge Okafor guy. But I think the general consensus is that he’s the best player in college basketball.” Both ESPN and DraftExpress have Okafor projected to be the first player selected in this year’s draft.

Here’s more from around the league:

Jamaal Franklin, who currently plays for the Los Angeles D-Fenders, the Lakers’ D-League affiliate, is likely to receive an NBA callup soon, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link). Franklin appeared in 21 games for the Grizzlies last season, averaging 1.9 points in 7.7 minutes per game.
Karl-Anthony Towns has overtaken Okafor for the top spot in Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com‘s (Insider subscription required) latest mock draft.
Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy said that he likes Quincy Miller, who is inked to a 10-day pact, and the team is considering signing him for the remainder of the season, Vincent Ellis of The Detroit Free Press tweets.
Wesley Matthews is scheduled to undergo surgery to repair his torn left Achilles on Wednesday, the Blazers announced. Matthews, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, is out for the season courtesy of the injury.

Jamaal Franklin To Join Lakers D-League Team

January 21st, 2015 at 11:49am CST by Arthur Hill

WEDNESDAY, 11:49am: Franklin will play for the D-League affiliate of the Lakers, who’ve claimed him off D-League waivers, a source tells Pilato (Twitter link).

MONDAY, 10:18pm: Jamaal Franklin, who spent time with the Grizzlies last season, will be joining the D-League, according to Gino Pilato of D-League Digest (Twitter link). Franklin saw limited action last year in Memphis, appearing in 21 games and averaging 7.7 minutes, 1.9 points and 1.1 rebounds.

The Grizzlies chose Franklin with the 41st overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft. He spent much of his rookie season with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants in the D-League. He played with Memphis’ 2014 summer league team, but was waived by the Grizzlies on August 31st of last year.

Most recently, Franklin was with the Zhejiang Lions in the Chinese Basketball Association. He appeared in 26 games before leaving the league on January 5th.

Southwest Notes: Pelicans, Franklin, Chandler

November 26th, 2014 at 6:26pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Despite their early-season success, the Pelicans‘ core isn’t likely to become a championship-contending one, Nate Duncan of Basketball Insiders opines. One of the main issues with the current roster is the lack of talent on the perimeter, and with Eric Gordon likely to exercise his $15.5MM player option for next season, it will be difficult to upgrade the roster until the summer of 2016, notes Duncan. One option Duncan suggests for the Pelicans to rid themselves of Gordon’s deal earlier is for New Orleans to package its 2016 first-rounder in a trade along with Gordon in order to encourage a team to take on his expiring contract, though the Pelicans owe a protected 2015 first-round pick to Houston, so they would have trouble sending out a 2016 first-rounder, thanks to the Stepien Rule.

Here’s more from the Southwest Division:

Duncan also added that re-signing Omer Asik this offseason will be an organizational priority because of that protected first-round pick that the Pelicans surrendered to the Rockets in order to acquire him.
Jamaal Franklin recently agreed to a one month extension to his contract with the Zhejiang Guangsha Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link). Franklin’s original agreement with the team was for two months, and this extension will still allow him to return to the NBA in January when teams are able to sign players to 10-day contracts, Wojnarowski adds. The 23-year-old shooting guard appeared in 21 contests for the Grizzlies last season and he averaged 1.9 points in 7.7 minutes per game.
It’s possible that if Tyson Chandler had not broken his leg last season, New York’s 2013/14 campaign wouldn’t have been such a disaster and the Knicks wouldn’t have traded the big man to the Mavericks, Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com writes. Chandler is happy to be back in Dallas and while he stops short of being thankful for the injury, he is pleased with how things turned out for him this offseason, MacMahon adds. “I look at life as like everything happens for a reason,” Chandler said. “There’s no mistakes made. At the time, [the injury] was devastating clearly, but I feel like everything happens for a reason.”
The Iowa Energy have acquired former first round pick Jordan Hamilton via waivers, the team has announced. Hamilton reportedly worked out for the Lakers last week after a brief stint with the Jazz earlier this month. Though he’ll play for the Grizzlies‘ D-League affiliate, Hamilton is free to sign with any NBA team that would desire his services.

Jamaal Franklin Signs To Play In China

October 8th, 2014 at 8:50am CST by Chuck Myron

Former Grizzlies shooting guard Jamaal Franklin has signed a two-month deal with the Zhejiang Guangsha Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association, as he tells Mark Zeigler of The San Diego Union-Tribune. Chema de Lucas of Gigantes del Basket was the first to report that the 41st overall pick from 2013 was headed to China (Twitter link; translation via HoopsHype). Franklin will serve as a replacement for Jonathan Gibson, an injured Lions guard. It’s unclear just how much Franklin will make as part of the arrangement.

Franklin, 23, worked out for the Spurs shortly after the Grizzlies waived him at the end of August, and it appears as though he auditioned for the Wizards, too. The Brian Elfus client indicated to Zeigler that he had opportunities to join an NBA team for camp on a non-guaranteed deal but decided against doing so for financial reasons. Franklin saw limited action this past season with Memphis, racking up nearly three times as many total minutes on D-League assignment as he saw in the NBA. He averaged 1.9 points and 1.1 rebounds in 7.7 minutes per game across 21 NBA appearances. Still, he displayed a better long-range shooting stroke than he demonstrated in college at San Diego State, nailing 38.2% of his three-point attempts in the NBA and the D-League combined.

Memphis used the stretch provision to reduce Franklin’s guaranteed minimum salary for this season to just $163,296. Since the value of his Chinese deal is unknown, it’s not clear whether it’ll be enough to trigger the right of set-off to further reduce the amount the Grizzlies owe him.

Franklin, Blue Work Out For Wizards

September 22nd, 2014 at 2:42pm CST by Chuck Myron

Free agent shooting guards Jamaal Franklin and Vander Blue are working out today at the Verizon Center in Washington, the home court of the Wizards, as Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post observes (Twitter link). It’s not entirely clear whether the Wizards are putting Franklin and Blue through their paces or if they’re working out on their own, but it nonetheless seems as though they’re auditioning for the club one way or another.

Franklin was reportedly in San Antonio last week to work out for the Spurs, with whom he presumably has an in thanks to his connection with former San Diego State teammate Kawhi Leonard. Rumors have been sparse surrounding Blue since the Celtics elected not to re-sign the former Marquette standout following the expiration of his 10-day contract with the team this past season. Blue was in camp last fall with the Sixers, who cut him before opening night, while Franklin spent the season on the Grizzlies roster after Memphis made him the 41st overall pick in 2013. Franklin saw only 165 total minutes in the regular season and playoffs combined, and the Grizzlies waived him in August, using the stretch provision to defray the immediate cost of his guaranteed salary.

The Wizards struck camp deals with Xavier Silas and Damion James last week, bringing their roster to 16. Washington has fully guaranteed deals with 13 players and a partially guaranteed arrangement with Glen Rice Jr., but J. Michael of CSNWashington.com wrote last week that there’s a strong chance that Washington will open the regular season with fewer than 15 players. Even so, Silas told Michael that the Wizards are giving him a “legitimate chance” to make it to opening night, so GM Ernie Grunfeld is apparently in no rush to make decisions.