Upcoming Guarantee Dates
Most players on non-guaranteed or partially guaranteed contracts have January 15th circled on their calendars. As long as they don't clear waivers before that day, their contracts become fully guaranteed. A handful of others without full guarantees are working on a different schedule, as negotiated with their teams. The contracts for the players below become fully guaranteed if they're not waived on or before the dates listed.
- Suns: P.J. Tucker1 ($762,195, partially guaranteed for $400K) — December 1st
- Bobcats: Cory Higgins ($762,195, fully non-guaranteed) — December 10th
- Wizards: Jannero Pargo2 ($1,229,295, partially guaranteed for $300K) — December 15th
- Bulls: Nate Robinson2 ($1,146,337, partially guaranteed for $400K) — January 1st
1— Tucker has already moved past one hurdle, as the size of his partial guarantee increased from $150K when he made the opening-night roster.
2— The Wizards and Bulls would only be obligated to pay $854,389, the amount equal to a third-year veteran's minimum, if they keep Pargo and Robinson, respectively, past their guarantee dates. The league would pay the rest since both are on one-year minimum-salary deals.
ShamSports was used in the creation of this post.
Odds & Ends: Smith, Dorsey, Suns, Pacers
There seems to be an increasing reluctance to lock fourth-year players up to extensions prior to their restricted free agency, Sean Deveney writes in his latest piece for The Sporting News. With this year's extension deadline looming, only Blake Griffin and Serge Ibaka have re-upped with their respective teams so far. As we wait to see which other extension candidates may sign new deals in the next few days, let's tackle a few odds and ends from around the Association:
- Emiliano Carchia of Sportando passes along word that Jamar Smith, who was cut from Celtics camp, has joined Gilboa Galil in Israel.
- There are whispers that Greek team Olympiacos has agreed to release Joey Dorsey, tweets David Pick of Sportando. Dorsey may have an agreement lined up to join an NBA team — he hinted as much on his Facebook page, but has since deleted the post (hat tip to Sportando).
- The Suns will carry a pair of undrafted rookies, Luke Zeller and Diante Garrett, on their roster to start the regular season, says Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. Neither player figures to see regular time in the Suns' rotation, but GM Lance Blanks is optimistic about the Suns' player development staff working with the young duo.
- The last of the Pacers on a fully non-guaranteed contract, Ben Hansbrough is hoping to stick around Indiana, writes Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star.
- With Robert Pera's purchase of the Grizzlies having been approved by the league, the team will remain in Memphis long-term, and Geoff Calkins of the Memphis Commercial Appeal thinks that's worth celebrating.
- Sam Smith's latest mailbag at Bulls.com touches on James Harden, Gilbert Arenas, and plenty of Bulls-related topics.
- The Jazz brought Randy Foye aboard this season to be a shooter, but it turns out Foye is seeing plenty of time at the point, says Bill Oram of the Salt Lake Tribune.
Odds & Ends: Green, Mohammed, Raptors, Magic
Let's check out a few Tuesday afternoon odds and ends from around the NBA:
- So far this preseason, Jeff Green has been what the Celtics thought they were getting when they acquired him from the Thunder two years ago, says Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald.
- Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau says offseason addition Nazr Mohammed came "highly recommended" and that he has lived up to expectations so far, as K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune writes.
- According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter), the Raptors have made an addition to their pro personnel department, hiring former Hawks assistant GM David Pendergraft, who played a large role in Atlanta's drafts under former GM Rick Sund.
- Josh Cohen of OrlandoMagic.com wonders if the Magic's plans could be affected by whether or not the Thunder extend James Harden.
- In an Insider-only piece, ESPN.com's Chad Ford identifies a few of his top prospects for 2013 draft that don't play at major-conference schools.
- Jamar Smith, who was cut from Celtics camp, is drawing interest from multiple clubs in Italy, according to a pair of articles from Emiliano Carchia of Sportando.
Celtics Waive Dionte Christmas, Jamar Smith
4:18pm: The Celtics have officially waived Christmas and Smith, according to a press release from the team.
3:43pm: The Celtics have decided to release camp invitees Dionte Christmas and Jamar Smith, reports Peter Yannopoulos of TSN Radio 690 Montreal (via Twitter). While no official announcement has been made yet, Gary Tanguay of CSNNE.com confirms the report, citing an NBA source. With Christmas and Smith no longer on the roster, the Celtics will be keeping Kris Joseph, according to Yannopoulos.
The Celtics' moves are a little surprising, since half of Christmas' contract was guaranteed, and Smith had a $25K guarantee on his deal as well. With 13 players on fully guaranteed deals for Boston, it was expected that at least one of Christmas and Smith would earn one of the final two roster spots. Joseph will be the Celtics' 14th man, and it appears the club will keep an open 15th spot, since invitees Rob Kurz and Micah Downs are unlikely to survive cuts.
When the Celtics officially place Christmas and Smith on waivers, they'll have committed money to three players that won't be on their regular-season roster. Boston is expected to still be on the hook for Keyon Dooling's minimum-salary deal after the veteran retired last month.
Camp Notes: Curry, Douglas-Roberts, Roberts
Thursday night brought another round of roster cuts, as the Rockets, Spurs, and Hawks all released players, moving a step closer to finalizing their regular-season rosters. Plenty of camp invitees around the league remain on the bubble though, so let's round up the latest updates on a few roster hopefuls….
- Eddy Curry has performed well for the Spurs in camp and preseason so far, and is optimistic about his chances of making the team, as he tells Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News."I think I’m going to make it," Curry said. "Until they tell me I’m not, I feel like I’m part of this team."
- In a Q&A with Brian Kamenetzky of ESPNLosAngeles.com, Chris Douglas-Roberts says he was talking to a few teams before signing with the Lakers. According to Douglas-Roberts, he passed up a situation or two where earning a roster spot likely would have been easier.
- Although he graduated from Dayton four years ago, Brian Roberts has yet to play in a regular season NBA game. However, he has made a good early impression in Hornets camp, as Jim Eichenhofer of Hornets.com writes.
- Displaying an ability to play point guard appears to be Jamar
Smith's best chance to earn a spot on the Celtics, but coach Doc Rivers
isn't sure yet whether the Southern Indiana product is a point or not,
according to Greg Payne of ESPNBoston.com.
Atlantic Notes: Celtics, Smith, Prigioni, Melo
On this Sunday afternoon, here are a few bits of notes from around the Atlantic Division.
- Rajon Rondo tells CSNNE.com that this year's Celtics team has the most talent of any he's been a part of.
- Raptors rookie Terrence Ross will be expected to push fourth-year guard DeMar DeRozan, writes Eric Koreen of the National Post.
- After finishing their second preseason game with a better performance than their first, the Celtics are looking like a very strong basketball team, writes WEEI.com's Paul Flannery.
- Being that the Celtics have no true backup point guard on their roster, Jamar Smith has a great chance at making the team if he can fill that role, tweets the Boston Globe's Gary Washburn.
- Knicks rookie point guard Pablo Prigioni is ready to put his disappointing Olympics performance behind him as he heads into his first NBA training camp, writes the New York Post's Marc Berman.
- Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside wonders if the Celtics would be wise to send Fab Melo to the D-League.
Training Camp Rumors: Varnado, Green, Young
Many of the players signed between now and the start of training camps will receive non-guaranteed or partially guaranteed contracts, allowing them to attend camp with the opportunity to earn a regular-season roster spot. A handful of rumors about those candidates for training camp invites are swirling this morning, so let's round them up right here:
- Jarvis Varnado has received a training camp invitation from the Heat, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. We heard last week that the 24-year-old forward was hoping to sign with the Heat, who drafted him 41st overall in 2010. According to Carchia, Varnado has already informed his old club, Italy's Virtus Roma, of his decision.
- Former Florida point guard Taurean Green is contemplating accepting an invite to an NBA training camp, but also has offers from teams in Italy, Germany, France, and Belgium, according to Kevin Brockway of the Gainesville Sun.
- Jahmar Young, formerly of New Mexico State, has signed in France, but his contract includes an NBA opt-out if a team shows interest in bringing him to training camp, tweets Carchia.
- The Celtics have already signed a couple players to partially guaranteed contracts to compete for the team's final roster spot. Chris Forsberg and the ESPNBoston.com crew predict that Dionte Christmas will beat out Jamar Smith as the team's 15th man.
Odds & Ends: Celtics, Hawks, Miles, Brewer
- With only four players remaining on the Hawks roster from last season, new general manager Danny Ferry has managed to clean his team's salary structure while keeping hopes high for the future, writes HoopsWorld.com's Lang Greene.
- C.J. Miles, a free agent who most expected to have found a new team by now, will meet with the Cavaliers this week, writes The Dallas Morning News' Eddie Sefko.
- The Timberwolves made Ronnie Brewer a "generous" offer, but the free agent forward decided to sign with the Knicks instead, according to TwinCities.com's Ray Richardson.
- Before signing A.J. Price, the Wizards were interested in signing Jonny Flynn to be John Wall's backup, but decided against it, writes the Washington Post's Michael Lee.
- ESPNNewYork.com's Jared Zwerling breaks down the Knicks decision to acquire Ronnie Brewer and Pablo Prigioni.
- Mavericks second-round pick Bernard James is expected to sign a contract with the team in the next day or two, reports ESPNDallas.com's Jeff Caplan.
- The Trail Blazers reportedly interviewed as many as 10 candidates to fill their empty head coach position in Las Vegas last week, but have yet to contact any of them to say they were advancing to a second round of discussion, according to The Oregonian's Jason Quick. The process remains in its infant stage.
- Agent Mark Bartelstein tells Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle that he hopes Carl Landry and Dominic McGuire will make decisions in the next few days. Those two players, including free agent Brandon Rush, could be part of the Warriors' plan moving forward (Sulia links).
Celtics Sign Jamar Smith
The Celtics have signed free agent guard Jamar Smith, according to Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald. Bulpett says the move was made earlier this month, and though the team has yet to confirm the signing, Greg Payne of ESPNBoston.com says Smith has earned an official invitation to training camp in the fall. So, it's likely Smith has a non-guaranteed deal, perhaps with a team option for a second season, as RealGM.com suggests.
The 6'3" Smith, 25, went undrafted in 2010 out of Southern Indiana and played last season for BK Prostejov in the Czech Republic. The Celtics had him in camp in 2010, and he's a part of the Celtics summer league team this year. He appeared in 48 games for the Maine Red Claws, Boston's D-League affiliate, in 2010/11, racking up 13.7 points and 5.0 assists per game to go with 43.2% three-point shooting.
Bulpett adds that the team is also pursuing Dionte Christmas, a 6'5" guard out of Temple who went to camp with the Sixers in 2009.