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Rockets Waive James Anderson, Tim Ohlbrecht

July 13th, 2013 at 1:24pm CST by Chuck Myron

Rockets GM Daryl Morey confirms that the team has waived James Anderson and Tim Ohlbrecht, tweets Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. The team also renounced its rights to Francisco Garcia and Earl Boykins, Feigen notes via Twitter, but that's just a procedural move in Garcia's case. Renouncing Garcia's $9.15MM cap hold clears space necessary for the Rockets to finalize their other moves this summer before they officially re-sign Garcia to the cheaper two-year, $2.6MM deal they've agreed upon.

Anderson and Ohlbrecht were each about to enter the second year of a three-year minimum-salary deal with the Rockets, but the final two seasons were non-guaranteed for both players, so Houston clears them completely off its books. Anderson was the 20th overall pick in the 2010 draft, but the Spurs declined to pick up the third-year option on his rookie-scale contract, making him a free agent last summer. He spent training camp with the Hawks, re-signed with the Spurs early in the season, and wound up with the Rockets in January after San Antonio let him go. Ohlbrecht was undrafted out of Germany, but Houston picked him up in February in the hopes that the 6'11" center could develop into a frontcourt contributor. Neither he nor Anderson played an integral role for the Rockets this past season.

The Rockets declined their $6.4MM team option on Garcia last month, but the team was still stuck with his hefty cap hold until renouncing his rights today. The team could have made that cap hold disappear simply by formalizing the agreement on Garcia's new contract, but perhaps the club intends to use its cap room to bring aboard Dwight Howard and the rest of its free agent bounty first, and squeeze Garcia's deal in using part of the $2.652MM room exception. The $884,293 cap hold for Boykins, who didn't play in the NBA in 2012/13, was simply a placeholder, so it's no surprise the Rockets renounced him.

Players Still Ineligible To Be Traded

January 15th, 2013 at 8:49am CST by Luke Adams

Today is January 15th, which means that a number of players who had been ineligible to be traded until this point are now free to be moved by their respective teams. As Chuck Myron of Hoops Rumors outlined last month, Eric Gordon, Brook Lopez, Kris Humphries, Ersan Ilyasova, and Jeff Green are among the players who weren't eligible to be dealt until today.

However, in addition to rules that keeps players from being traded until December 15th or January 15th, the CBA also includes a stipulation that a team must have a player on its roster for three months before being able to trade him. That means guys who have signed contracts since October 15th are still ineligible to be dealt.

Here are the players who can't be traded quite yet, along with the dates they'll become trade-eligible:

Leandro Barbosa (Celtics): January 18th
Daniel Orton (Thunder): January 31st
Shaun Livingston (Cavaliers): February 15th

Because the trade deadline arrives on February 21st, players signed after November 21st won't become trade-eligible until after the season. Here are the guys who fit that description:

Jeff Adrien (Bobcats)
James Anderson (Rockets)
Patrick Beverley (Rockets)
Daequan Cook (Bulls)
Kevin Jones (Cavaliers)
Mickael Pietrus (Raptors)
Garrett Temple (Wizards)

In addition to recent signees, players who were claimed off amnesty waivers last July are also ineligible to be traded until July 2013. Some amnesty victims, like Andray Blatche, cleared waivers without being claimed and signed new contracts, so they're trade-eligible now, but the following players can't be moved this season:

Elton Brand (Mavericks)
Brendan Haywood (Bobcats)
Luis Scola (Suns)

Finally, players on 10-day contracts, such as Dominic McGuire, Maalik Wayns, and Josh Harrellson, also won't be trade-eligible at any point this season, even if they eventually receive rest-of-season contracts.

Western Notes: Jazz, Howard, Hickson, Beasley

January 2nd, 2013 at 2:01pm CST by Luke Adams

The Clippers saw their 17-game winning streak finally come to an end last night in Denver, and now sit percentage points behind the Thunder in the Western Conference standings. Still, ESPN.com's Chad Ford gives the Clips the slight edge over OKC as the best team in the West at the moment. Here are a few more Western Conference notes from Ford's chat and from a variety of other writers:

Responding to questions about trade candidates like DeMarcus Cousins and Kevin Love, Ford suggests the Timberwolves should trade Love sooner rather than later (though there's no indication they will), and says the Jazz wouldn't be a logical suitor for Cousins, since Utah isn't the sort of team that would take that risk.
Elsewhere in his chat, Ford questions whether it's a lock that Dwight Howard will sign a long-term deal with the Lakers, noting that D12 "still pines for Brooklyn." Bill Ingram of HoopsWorld also wrote last night (via Sulia) that it's hard to see a long-term marriage between Howard and the Lakers working. I still think L.A. is the overwhelming favorite to sign Howard, but it's not necessarily the sure thing it seemed to be at one point.
J.J. Hickson is an early candidate for Comeback Player of the Year, according to Alex Raskin of HoopsWorld. Hickson, who is playing on a one-year deal and could be a coveted free agent next summer, tells Raskin that he's not sure exactly what his future holds: "I don’t know. All I can do is control what I can control and that’s play the game of basketball and the rest will work itself out."
When Chuck Myron of Hoops Rumors examined some of long-term deals signed last offseason that haven't worked out so far, he didn't mention Michael Beasley's three-year, $18MM contract with the Suns. But as Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic writes, Beasley has "bottomed out" in Phoenix.
Newly-signed James Anderson talks to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle about what he hopes to bring to the Rockets.
Having been recalled by the Mavericks from the D-League earlier this week, Jared Cunningham tells Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News that his time with the Texas Legends was "good for me."

Rockets Sign James Anderson, Cut Cook

January 2nd, 2013 at 10:30am CST by Sean Highkin

WEDNESDAY, 10:30am: The Rockets have officially signed Anderson and waived Cook, the team announced today in a press release.

SUNDAY, 4:44pm: Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle tweets that Anderson's deal with the Rockets will be for three years, the third of which will be a team option. Daequan Cook is expected to be waived in order to clear a roster spot for Anderson.

2:09pm: The Houston Rockets will sign forward James Anderson today, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, via Twitter. It is not yet known whether Anderson's contract is guaranteed.

The timing of the signing is interesting, given the news earlier today that Royce White is refusing an assignment to the D-League on account of his anxiety disorder. The Rockets have previously shown no indication that they are considering waiving White, who has yet to play for the Rockets. The team has 15 players under contract, so waiving a player is necessary to sign him. Of these players, Scott Machado and Greg Smith have nonguaranteed deals, but Smith has been solid in major minutes and the Rockets have shown every indication of wanting to keep Machado. It would seem that White would be next in line to get cut, but the Rockets have yet to make an official announcement on the matter.

In 10 games with the Spurs this season, Anderson averaged 3.4 PPG and 1.4 RPG in 9.4 MPG.

James Anderson Close To Deal With NBA Team

December 29th, 2012 at 4:57pm CST by Chuck Myron

James Anderson is nearing an agreement with an NBA team other than the Wolves, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN. Minnesota passed on Anderson after bringing him in Wednesday for a workout, Wolfson said. Anderson was reportedly set to sign in the D-League with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers as of two days ago.

Anderson, who spent his first two seasons in the NBA with the Spurs, was in training camp with the Hawks and re-signed with the Spurs in November after Atlanta waived him prior to the start of the regular season. The Spurs let him go last week when injured Kawhi Leonard returned to the lineup.

San Antonio took Anderson with the 20th overall pick in 2010, but declined the third-year option on his rookie deal before the start of the 2011/12 season, making him an unrestricted free agent this past summer. The 6'6" swingman has averaged 6.7 points in 11.3 minutes per game over his NBA career.

Joey Graham Worked Out For Timberwolves

December 27th, 2012 at 9:25am CST by Luke Adams

The Timberwolves' search for a wing player has them looking at a former first-round pick that hasn't played an NBA game since the 2010/11 season. According to Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune, the Wolves had Joey Graham in for a workout on Wednesday, as well as James Anderson, who has since agreed to rejoin the D-League's Rio Grande Valley Vipers.

We had previously heard that Anderson would be coming in to work out for the club, but Graham's name is a new one. Minnesota has also worked out Lazar Hayward within the last week and may still have interest in French forward Mickael Gelabale, as the team looks to replace Josh Howard, who was released after suffering an ACL injury. A move isn't expected until the new year.

Graham, who was drafted 16th overall by the Raptors in 2005, spent six NBA seasons in Toronto, Denver, and Cleveland, before playing in the D-League and overseas following the lockout. For his career, he has averaged 5.9 PPG and 2.8 RPG with a .483 FG% in 377 contests (16.2 MPG).

James Anderson To Sign In D-League

December 27th, 2012 at 8:57am CST by Luke Adams

James Anderson, who was recently waived by the Spurs and worked out for the Timberwolves, is heading back to the D-League, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). According to Wojnarowski, Anderson will sign with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the Rockets' D-League affiliate.

It's not clear whether or not the Timberwolves are still interested in signing Anderson, but for the 23-year-old, there's little to lose by returning to the court in the D-League. Because no NBA team holds his rights, he's still essentially a free agent, so if the T-Wolves or another club wanted to sign him, there'd be nothing standing in the way.

Anderson, who appeared in 10 games for the Spurs this season, was on the Valley Vipers' roster during the D-League preseason, but was signed by San Antonio before the regular season got underway. The Wolves were eyeing the 2010 20th overall pick as one candidate to replace the injured Josh Howard on the wing.

Latest On Wolves, Anderson, Potential Signings

December 26th, 2012 at 5:56pm CST by Chuck Myron

5:56pm: Coach Rick Adelman said this evening that there are no new updates on the free agent front, adding that he hasn't seen anyone come in yet (Twitter link via the T-Wolves' PR account).

9:36am: The Timberwolves probably won't make a signing until after New Year's Day, according to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN, who confirms that the team is indeed set to work out James Anderson today (Twitter links). Minnesota is compiling a list of targets to replace Josh Howard, whom the team waived after he tore his ACL last week. Donte Greene and Lazar Hayward are reportedly serious candidates for the open roster spot.

Whoever gets the gig will be on a non-guaranteed deal, according to Wolfson, so there could be more movement on the horizon. With the exception of 10-day contracts, which teams can begin signing on January 5th, all contracts on the books become guaranteed for the entire season on January 10th. That means the Wolves could be waiting until the 5th to ink someone to a 10-day deal, or they could bring a player aboard before the 5th on a de-facto 10-day contract and waive him before the 10th.

Minnesota doesn't have any more than the minimum salary to offer, and the team, which has 14 players, probably won't open up a second available roster spot by waiving injured Malcolm Lee, Wolfson tweets. The Wolves are unlikely to seek a disabled player exception for Lee, either, Wolfson notes. That makes sense, since the exception would be worth half of Lee's second-year minimum salary, not enough money to sign anybody, even a rookie making the minimum. The only way the exception would be of any value to the team is if it traded for a minimum-salary rookie. There's no official word on a timetable for Lee, but Wolfson hears the shooting guard is done for the year with a chrondal injury to his right knee.

Wolves Rumors: Greene, Anderson, Lee

December 23rd, 2012 at 10:59am CST by Chuck Myron

The Timberwolves have been particularly hard hit by injuries this season. They entered the year knowing Ricky Rubio would still need time to recovery from his knee injury last March, and Kevin Love missed the first nine games of the season with a broken hand. Chase Budinger is slated to miss three months because of knee surgery, and the team waived Josh Howard this week after he tore his ACL. There's yet more news on the team's injury front, as we detail here along with other Wolves rumors.

Donte Greene is on the shortlist for the the Wolves as they seek someone to replace Josh Howard, tweets Darren Wolfson. Minnesota is unlikely to sign anyone for another week, but the team worked out Lazar Hayward yesterday and has another audition scheduled on Wednesday for James Anderson, Wolfson reports (Twitter link).
Minnesota will also probably be without guard Malcolm Lee for the balance of the season, though he has yet to decide whether to have surgery to repair the chrondal injury he suffered to his right knee, notes Ray Richardson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
Wolves GM David Kahn outlined the sort of player he'd like to sign, as Alex Conover of Wolves.com chronicles. "We’ve lost Malcolm — in all likelihood for the season — and we’ve lost Josh, who isn’t here right now," Kahn said. "So when you think of that profile, somebody who is 6'5", 6'6", 6'7", long-armed in Josh’s case, defensive-minded in Malcolm’s case, capable of helping us a little bit offensively in both guys’ case … we’re missing two people, not one. So I think that’s the profile of who we’re looking for. We’ll obviously move reasonably quickly, but we want to be thorough."

Timberwolves Work Out Hayward, Anderson On Radar

December 22nd, 2012 at 7:54pm CST by Ryan Raroque

7:54pm: Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN tweets that today's workout was indeed with Hayward, adding that James Anderson is also now on Minnesota's radar.

7:37pm: Ray Richardson of the Pioneer Press reports that although the Timberwolves held a workout today and plan for another one this upcoming Wednesday, GM David Kahn won't look to add another wing player until after the Christmas holiday. Although Kahn did not identify the players on their workout list, Richardson mentions that Lazar Hayward could be one of the team's targets.

After losing guard/forward Josh Howard and Malcolm Lee to season-ending injuries, Minnesota has been reportedly flooded with calls from agents and players looking for an opportunity.