Mobile Menu
HEADLINES

Jarvis Varnado

Central Rumors: Turner, Bulls, Pacers, Cavs

February 20th, 2014 at 7:38pm CST by Zachary Links

NBA executives are praising the Pacers for their acquisition of Evan Turner because it improves their team, reduces payroll, and gives them leverage with Lance Stephenson when he’s a free agent next summer, tweets Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com.  This may prove to be just a short-term rental for the Pacers as they swapped one pending free agent for another, but it’s definitely an upgrade for their club in the here and now.  Here’s more out of the Central..

  • Despite some rumors to the contrary, the Bulls showed no desire to move Mike Dunleavy because he’s an affordable rotation player who fits next season, writes K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune.  For his part, Tom Thibodeau is satisfied with what was a quiet deadline for the Bulls.
  • The Cavs have a vacant roster spot and will fill it through free agency or a D-League signing, but GM David Griffin says that he’ll take his time to identify the club’s biggest need, tweets Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio.
  • With the Turner deal, the Pacers have sent a strong message to the Heat that they are ready to take it all this season, writes Sean Deveney of the Sporting News.  Turner will allow the Pacers to play small at times, matching up with teams that use quick lineups.  More importantly, he brings serious ball-handling skills to the table, which should help round out the Indiana offense nicely.
  • While the addition of Turner could be a boost on paper, Lang Greene of Basketball Insiders fears that the Pacers could be making a mistake by messing with their chemistry.
  • With the smart (but painful) trade, the Pacers put themselves in great position for the remainder of the year, writes Ken Berger of CBSSports.com.
  • If Roger Mason Jr, clears waivers, he could be a candidate for the Bulls when Jarvis Varnado‘s 10-day pact expires, tweets K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune.
  • In today’s presser, a reporter asked Griffin if he considers Cavs star Kyrie Irving an untouchable.  He explained that his philosophy is that no one is untouchable, tweets the Plain Dealer.  Meanwhile, Griffin says that he wasn’t close to a deal for Luol Deng, tweets Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio, but he added that if he didn’t listen, he wouldn’t be doing his job.
  • Amico gives Griffin a thumbs up for his first trade deadline as Cavs GM.
Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Bulls Sign Jarvis Varnado

February 18th, 2014 at 12:25pm CST by Zachary Links

TUESDAY, 12:25pm: Chicago has officially announced the deal.

MONDAY, 10:44pm: The Bulls are set to sign Jarvis Varnado to a 10-day deal, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter).  The big man worked out for Chicago on Monday and they apparently liked what they saw.

Varnado worked out for the 76ers back in January along with other big men but didn’t make the cut for their vacant roster spot.  Earlier this month, it was reported that Varnado, a shot-blocking specialist, was drawing interest from multiple NBA clubs.  The 25-year-old probably hopes to see more burn than he did last season.  In 13 games with Boston and Miami, Varnado logged a grand total of 58 minutes.

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Jarvis Varnado Drawing NBA Interest

February 5th, 2014 at 2:50pm CST by Chuck Myron

An injury scuttled the audition that former Celtics and Heat big man Jarvis Varnado had set up with the Sixers last month, but he continues to hear from NBA teams, reports Gino Pilato of D-League Digest. The former second-round pick suffered a hip strain just before trying out with Philadelphia, but he’s almost fully healthy and is preparing to take part in the D-League All-Star game this month.

Pilato suggests multiple NBA teams are in touch with the Impact Sports Basketball client, but it’s unclear which teams are in the mix. The Sixers plucked Dewayne Dedmon from the audition that Varnado missed, signing him to a pair of 10-day deals, but they elected not to re-sign Dedmon for the season, so the Sixers have an open roster spot if they want to circle back to Varnado.

Varnado is averaging an eye-popping five blocks per game for the Iowa Energy, and it’s a skill he also displayed during his time in the D-League last year and in college at Mississippi State. He didn’t get much chance to do so in the NBA last season, playing only a total of 58 minutes for Boston and Miami. The Heat brought him camp this past fall, but cut him before opening night.

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Sixers Auditioning Four Big Men

January 13th, 2014 at 1:59pm CST by Zachary Links

MONDAY, 1:59pm: Spears adds Kyrylo Fesenko and Hamady N’Diaye to the list of players working out for Philadelphia today (Twitter link).

SUNDAY, 5:11pm: The Sixers are working out free agent big men Monday, including the D-League’s Dewayne Dedmon and Jarvis Varnado, sources tell Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter).   Philadelphia lost some frontcourt depth last week when they waived center Daniel Orton.

Dedmon is currently with the Santa Cruz Warriors after a short stint with the Warriors’ varsity squad earlier this season.  The 7’0” center appeared in four games with Golden State, logging a whopping six minutes.  The Warriors flirted with bringing him back at different points since cutting him loose and as recently as last week they were mulling it over.

Varnado, a shot-blocking forward who spent time with the Celtics and Heat last season, is with the Iowa Energy this year.  The 25-year-old has averaged 14.5 PPG and 9.9 RPG in 23 D-League games this season.

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Odds & Ends: Mavs, D-League, Collins, Dragic

November 1st, 2013 at 4:56pm CST by Luke Adams

Dirk Nowitzki publicly questioned Mark Cuban‘s approach to retooling the Mavericks back in January, and the team struck out on its top target again this summer when Dwight Howard decided to join the Rockets. But Nowitzki tells Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com that he’s pleased with the roster Cuban and Donnie Nelson put together this offseason, and he’s encouraged by the club’s direction.

“I think as a franchise, we’ve moved on,” Nowitzki said of the failed attempts to recruit star free agents. “We didn’t go for the whole cap space deal again, like we did last year, so I was obviously pleased to see that.”

Here are a few more Friday afternoon odds and ends:

  • With the D-League draft set to get underway at 6:00pm CT tonight, the Iowa Energy traded the third overall pick as part of a deal with the Sioux Falls Skyforce. Heat camp invitee and NBA champion Jarvis Varnado headed to Iowa in the move, as Keith Schlosser writes at Ridiculous Upside.
  • One player who won’t be playing on a D-League squad anytime soon is free agent big man Jason Collins, according to ESPN.com’s Marc Stein. Stein hears from a source that Collins isn’t considering playing overseas or in the D-League, since he still believes he’s an NBA player and prefers to continue his workout regimen at home in Los Angeles.
  • In a separate ESPN.com story, Stein writes that the Suns are comfortable with Eric Bledsoe heading into free agency next summer. However, it sounds like Phoenix hasn’t ruled out the possibility of facilitating a sign-and-trade involving Bledsoe in July if he gets too pricey, so the team likely won’t shop Goran Dragic for now.
  • John Jenkins tells Lang Greene of HoopsWorld it “feels great” that the Hawks elected to exercise his third-year option for 2014/15 yesterday.
  • $14MM over four years is a reasonable price for Quincy Pondexter, but he’ll have to continue to develop for his new contract to be a good investment for the Grizzlies, says Mark Deeks of ShamSports.com.
  • DeShawn Sims, who was in camp with the Celtics in October, has signed with Galil Gilboa in Israel, agent Mike Silverman tells Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype (Twitter link).
  • Since being released by the Rockets, Tim Ohlbrecht has remained in the U.S. in hopes of landing another NBA job, but continues to consider overseas offers, according to Schlosser at Ridiculous Upside.
Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Eastern Links: Knicks, Sanders, Cavs, Heat

October 31st, 2013 at 2:21pm CST by Luke Adams

As we look forward to Derrick Rose and the Bulls hosting the Knicks in Chicago tonight, let’s round up a few Eastern Conference notes….

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Heat Waive Varnado, Drew, Westbrook

October 21st, 2013 at 11:31am CST by Luke Adams

The Heat have parted ways with three players on non-guaranteed contracts, according to a release from the team. The club announced today that it has waived Jarvis Varnado, Larry Drew II, and Charlie Westbrook.

Varnado, 25, signed a deal with the Heat last season that included a non-guaranteed salary for 2013/14. He was set to receive a partial guarantee of $250K if he remained on the roster until opening night, but the likelihood of camp invitees Michael Beasley and Roger Mason Jr. making the team reduced Varnado’s chances. As for Drew and Westbrook, both players were on summer contracts, and could end up joining Miami’s D-League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce.

After releasing Varnado, Drew, and Westbrook, the Heat are now carrying 17 players. Eric Griffin and Justin Hamilton look like they’ll be the last two roster casualties, but the club still has a few more days to make its final decision.

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Eastern Notes: Heat, Pistons, Pierce, Williams

September 8th, 2013 at 9:26pm CST by Zachary Links

We learned earlier today that the Heat are bringing Justin Hamilton to camp, which wasn't a huge surprise since the former LSU big man has been working out at AmericanAirlines Arena for the last few weeks.  Hamilton had his moments with the Heat during the 2012 offseason, after he was acquired in a draft-night trade with the 76ers, leading some on the Heat staff at the time to see him as a more promising prospect than Jarvis Varnado.  However, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel writes that Hamilton still faces long camp odds with Greg Oden already something of a long-term developmental project and the Heat possibly keeping the minimum of 13 players to start the year.  Hamilton's chances of making the team could also rest on the Heat's ability to move Joel Anthony's pesky contract.  Here's more out of the Eastern Conference.. 

  • The Central Division is one of the most fascinating divisions in the NBA because of the expectations of competitiveness from each team, writes Zach Harper of CBSSports.com.  For the Pistons, their best-case scenario will be seeing Brandon Jennings and Josh Smith become bona fide NBA stars.  For the Bulls and Pacers, their ceilings see them as real championship contenders.
  • John Havlicek told Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe (Sulia link) that he believes the departed Paul Pierce is the greatest one-on-one Celtics player of all-time.
  • Former Nets big man Jordan Williams signed with Spanish club Bilbao Basket last week but was waived over the weekend, according to HoopsHype (via Twitter).
Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Teams With Preseason Cap Decisions

September 6th, 2013 at 8:56am CST by Luke Adams

Most NBA teams will have to make a handful of personnel decisions next month, paring down their roster sizes from the 20-player summer max to the 15-man regular season limit. However, just because a camp invitee earns a spot on the regular season roster doesn't mean his contract automatically becomes guaranteed.

For most players on non-guaranteed deals, the date of truth won't come until January 7th. January 10th is the day that all full-season contracts become guaranteed for the season, so if players aren't released on or before the 7th, clearing waivers by the 10th, they'll be assured of a full-season salary. Until that point though, teams can release non-guaranteed players and only pay a pro-rated portion of their salaries.

That January 7th deadline doesn't apply to everyone on non-guaranteed deals though. As our schedule shows, a few players have contracts that specifically included earlier guarantee dates, with many coming by the end of October. So while many teams will only face preseason decisions on who to keep and who to cut, this handful of clubs will be facing decisions on larger commitments. Let's break them down, case by case….

Oklahoma City Thunder: Ryan Gomes
Currently guaranteed for $25,000.
Becomes guaranteed for $50,000 if not released on or before October 1st.
Becomes guaranteed for $75,000 if not released on or before October 30th.

Gomes' bonuses are awfully insignificant in the big picture, but for a small-market team hovering right around the tax line, they're not entirely inconsequential. I imagine OKC will guarantee Gomes at least $50K, allowing him to try to earn a roster spot in October, but if he doesn't impress, the team could save a little cash by cutting him before October 30th.

Denver Nuggets: Quincy Miller
Currently guaranteed for $150,000.
Becomes fully guaranteed ($788,872) if not released on or before opening night (October 29th).

Miller is just entering his second year and is on a minimum-salary contract. We've also seen the Nuggets carry projects at the end of the bench before, such as Julyan Stone. But there's also a new GM and coach in place, and Miller's production last year was extremely limited — he appeared in just seven games for the Nuggets, and didn't blow anyone away in 26 D-League games either (11.3 PPG, .391 FG%). Without an impressive preseason, Miller could be in danger of being cut before Denver's regular-season opener.

Orlando Magic: Kyle O'Quinn
Becomes fully guaranteed ($788,872) if not released on or before opening night (October 29th).

Unlike Miller, O'Quinn gave his NBA team some solid minutes last season, recording a 15.8 PER in 57 contests (11.2 MPG). Based on his rookie season and the fact that the Magic aren't exactly in win-now mode, O'Quinn looks like a safe bet to remain on the regular-season roster and earn a fully guaranteed salary.

Miami Heat: Jarvis Varnado
Becomes guaranteed for $250,000 if not released on or before opening night (October 29th).

Varnado earned a championship ring with the Heat last season, but with the team more conscious of cutting costs due to increasing tax penalties, he may become a cap casualty this time around. Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel views Varnado as a long shot to stay with the club long enough to earn that $250K bonus.

Philadelphia 76ers: James Anderson
Becomes fully guaranteed ($916,099) if not released on or before October 31st.

Sixers GM Sam Hinkie nabbed Anderson and Tim Ohlbrecht off waivers from his old team in Houston earlier this summer, and based on Philadelphia's free agent activity since then, there's no reason to think both players don't have a great chance to earn roster spots. A poor camp could derail Anderson's chances, but with the Sixers prioritizing player development over playoff contention for 2013/14, the ex-Spur is in good position for a guaranteed salary for now.

Portland Trail Blazers: Terrel Harris
Becomes guaranteed for $150,000 if not released on or before October 31st.

Because Harris was a throw-in for salary-matching purposes in the three-team deal that also sent Robin Lopez to Portland, it's possible the Blazers always intended to cut him eventually. That became more of a certainty after he was suspended for violating the NBA's drug policy. Now, it sounds like Harris won't even start camp with the team, let alone finish it.

Utah Jazz: Jerel McNeal
Becomes fully guaranteed ($884,293) if not released on or before October 31st.

Despite never actually appearing in a regular-season game, McNeal has spent parts of two seasons on NBA rosters, meaning he could be in line for a fully guaranteed third-year salary before he even makes his NBA debut. And like the Sixers, the Jazz aren't a team that will cut young players to ensure that veterans get playing time, so I would guess McNeal earns a regular-season roster spot, barring a disastrous camp or injury.

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Heat Notes: Wade, Oden, Varnado, Bosh

August 19th, 2013 at 8:57am CST by Luke Adams

While Dwyane Wade stressed last week that he expects to remain with the Heat beyond the coming season, it still sounds as if he could exercise his early termination option next summer, as Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes. By opting out, Wade could sign a new deal with the team, potentially for more years or more dollars.

"We’ll see," Wade said of the opt-out. "You have to figure out what’s best for yourself and what’s best for the team and then you come up with that answer."

Here's more on the Heat:

  • Greg Oden's deal with the Heat was originally reported as having a second-year player option, but was ultimately revealed to just be a one-year pact. Agent Mike Conley tells Jackson that the two sides agreed to modify the agreement since it helps both the team and the player. Miami obviously assumes less risk and doesn't have to pay Oden's full salary, but it also benefits Oden, according to Conley, because of a league ruling involving injury contingency language in his contract.
  • Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel continues to view Jarvis Varnado as a long shot for Miami's regular season roster, due to the $250K he'll be owed if he remains on the roster by opening night. In Winderman's view, it may make more sense for the club to take a flier on another big man on a fully non-guaranteed contract.
  • Winderman adds that Varnado could end up on Miami's D-League squad in Sioux Falls if he's cut by the Heat, but notes that it would be far less lucrative for the 25-year-old than a deal overseas.
  • Within his mailbag, Winderman also shoots down the idea of a potential trade centered around Chris Bosh and LaMarcus Aldridge, rightly pointing out that the Heat aren't about to make huge changes to a roster that has won back-to-back titles.
Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0
Load More Posts