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Jimmer Fredette

Hoops Rumors Community Shootaround 1/2/16

January 2nd, 2016 at 8:08pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Jimmer Fredette hasn’t lived up to expectation since entering the league as the No. 10 overall pick in the 2011 draft, but he has impressed since re-joining New York’s D-League affiliate, the Westchester Knicks. Ticket sales, and not strictly Fredette’s basketball skills, reportedly fueled the team’s decision to select Fredette in the D-League draft, yet after an impressive stretch of games, I bet the team is happy to have him on its side. The BYU product torched the Delaware 87ers today, accumulating 27 points, 11 rebounds and 8 assists.

The Knicks are looking to add a young scorer or a shooter in the backcourt, as sources told Ian Begley of ESPN.com a few weeks ago. Team president Phil Jackson apparently likes Fredette, as Begley wrote at the time, and he would seem to fit a need. New York is running the triangle much better than last year, but the offense runs stagnant at times, as the team is only scoring 97.5 points per game, which is the seventh worst mark in the league. Adding Fredette, who is a career 38.0% shooter from downtown, might be a good way to bring in some offense without making a drastic change.

That leads us to tonight’s shootaround topic: Should the Knicks sign Jimmer Fredette to bolster their offense and if not New York, is there another team that would be a good fit for him? Being mindful of our commenting policy, let us know in the comments section below what your thoughts are. We look forward to what you have to share.

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Knicks Seek Backcourt Help

December 18th, 2015 at 10:51am CST by Chuck Myron

Some within the Knicks front office recently said they’re interested in adding a young scorer or a shooter to the backcourt, sources told Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com. Still, New York isn’t near any significant move and don’t intend to bring in anyone who would significantly impinge upon their future cap flexibility, Begley also hears.

Knicks team president Phil Jackson apparently likes Jimmer Fredette, Begley writes, but the former 10th overall pick who’s playing for New York’s D-League team said in the days following his initial arrival to the Westchester Knicks roster that he hadn’t heard from Jackson or coach Derek Fisher. Ticket sales, and not strictly Fredette’s on-court ability, fueled the team’s decision to select Fredette in the D-League draft, as Marc Berman of the New York Post wrote at the time.

Few Knicks players are thought of as all that valuable on the trade market, a group that includes only Kristaps Porzingis, Jerian Grant, Arron Afflalo and Robin Lopez, Begley writes. Carmelo Anthony is presumably part of that group, too, but the Knicks have given no indication that they’ve thought about trading him, according to Begley. Anthony has a no-trade clause.

New York reportedly expressed interest in Jamal Crawford this summer, and the Clippers have apparently surveyed interest in him around the league in recent weeks. The Timberwolves have apparently made Kevin Martin available in trade discussions, though it’s unclear if the Knicks are eyeing him, and he has a player option worth nearly $7.378MM for next season, a number that could cut into cap flexibility. Brandon Jennings is on an expiring contract, but he’s only now returning from a torn Achilles tendon and Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy said a few days ago that he’d yet to have a single trade conversation about him with other teams.

The Knicks have more than $55MM in guaranteed salary for next season. The team also has an open roster spot, giving them a measure of flexibility most of the league doesn’t have.

Who do you think the Knicks should target? Comment to share your ideas.

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New York Notes: Prokhorov, Teletovic, Fredette

December 2nd, 2015 at 4:15pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Nets majority owner Mikhail Prokhorov and real estate developer Bruce Ratner’s Forest City Enterprises have reached an agreement that will give Prokhorov sole ownership of the team and the Barclays Center, Scott Soshnick of Bloomberg.com reports. The terms of the potential sale have not been disclosed, and the NBA is in the process of reviewing the proposal, Soshnick notes. Gaining full ownership of the Nets and Barclays Center would make it easier for Prokhorov to sell all or part of either asset if he desired down the line, the Bloomberg scribe adds. The franchise is still undergoing a valuation to assess its worth, but sources have informed NetsDaily (via Twitter) that the team itself, minus the arena, will be second to only the Clippers, which sold to Steve Ballmer for $2 billion.

Here’s more from the Big Apple:

  • Mirza Teletovic, whom the Suns signed to one-year, $5.5MM deal this past offseason, didn’t shut the door on a potential return to the Nets in the future, Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops relays (via Twitter). When asked if he’d consider playing in Brooklyn again, Teletovic said, “Yeah, why not? I enjoyed the time here. Like I said before, I love the city, I love the atmosphere, I love the way people treat basketball and they show respect to it. I really wouldn’t mind.“
  • Jimmer Fredette, who recently returned to the Knicks‘ D-League affiliate after the Pelicans waived him, hopes he can catch the eye of an NBA team and return to the league this season, Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com writes. “I know I can play in the NBA, and I can be a very good player in the NBA. I’m excited to be able to start here,” Fredette told Begley. “Sometimes you’ve got to be able to go backwards in order to get back up to where you want to be.“
  • The Knicks have recalled Cleanthony Early from their D-League affiliate, the team announced, just hours after sending him down. This was Early’s second trip of the season to Westchester.
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Jimmer Fredette Rejoins Knicks D-League Team

November 24th, 2015 at 8:12am CST by Chuck Myron

Jimmer Fredette has gone back to the D-League affiliate of the Knicks after clearing waivers from the Pelicans, reports Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor (Twitter link). The D-League contract that Fredette signed before the Pelicans picked him up remained in effect, but the circuit allows its players out of deals to sign NBA contracts. That same courtesy doesn’t extend to non-NBA contracts, so Fredette would have had to pay a penalty of between $40K and $50K if he’d chosen to sign with an overseas team, as Reichert notes on his D-League FAQ. That would be roughly double what his D-League contract calls for him to make.

Fredette originally signed with the D-League at large after the Spurs let him go from their NBA roster at the end of the preseason. The Knicks snagged his D-League rights with the No. 2 pick in the October 31st D-League draft. Ticket sales were reportedly the primary motivator, and Fredette said nearly a week into his time with the Westchester Knicks that he hadn’t heard from Knicks NBA team president Phil Jackson or coach Derek Fisher, despite an open spot on New York’s NBA roster.

The native of Glens Falls, New York signed with the Pelicans before the Westchester Knicks played their first game of the season. He figures to see much more action on D-League hardwoods than the 13 minutes he saw spread across four games with New Orleans this year.

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Pelicans Waive Jimmer Fredette

November 19th, 2015 at 2:33pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Pelicans have waived Jimmer Fredette, the team announced. The team signed the former BYU star to a non-guaranteed contract November 10th using a 16th roster spot the league granted them via the hardship rule. That provision for an extra player lasts only 10 days, and though the Pelicans are still dealing with copious injuries, Fredette’s release is a signal that the league won’t be giving the team another 10-day exception, likely because one of the injured players is poised to return, as John Reid of The Times Picayune speculates (on Twitter).

Letting go of Fredette is also a financial savings for the Pels, who only used him for a total of 13 minutes spread over four games this month. His prorated minimum salary cost them $5,572 a day. Fredette is also collecting money this season from the Spurs, who guaranteed him $507,711 before cutting him at the end of the preseason. He remains under contract with the D-League affiliate of the Knicks, who drafted him after he inked a D-League deal late last month.

Omer Asik and Anthony Davis are questionable for Friday’s game against the Spurs, but four others have been out with long-term injuries, which gave New Orleans enough to qualify for the extra roster spot. Kendrick Perkins is just a couple of weeks into a three-month recovery timetable and Tyreke Evans still appears to be about two weeks away, judging by the timeframe that Reid reported a month ago, so Norris Cole and Quincy Pondexter, who’ve yet to play this season, look like the candidates to return soon.

What do you think comes next for Fredette? Leave a comment to let us know.

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Western Notes: Dragic, Rondo, Suns, Fredette

November 12th, 2015 at 2:59pm CST by Chuck Myron

Goran Dragic remarked around the time of his trade to Miami that he saw the Lakers as a “perfect fit,” but while the Lakers were initially likely to pursue him in free agency, they abandoned the idea when they became enamored with D’Angelo Russell and were optimistic about signing a big man, according to Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. Dragic, despite his comment about the Lakers, seemed likely to re-sign with Miami in the months prior to his free agency, and he re-upped with the Heat in July. See more from around the Western Conference:

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Pelicans Sign Jimmer Fredette

November 10th, 2015 at 12:20pm CST by Chuck Myron

12:20pm: It’s a non-guaranteed contract, according to Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com (Twitter link).

TUESDAY, 11:39am: The signing is official, the Pelicans announced via press release, adding that they indeed received league approval for a 16th roster spot.

2:39pm: The team has submitted its application for a hardship provision, Reid writes in a full story. Coach Alvin Gentry said uncertainty remains until the league grants approval for the 16th roster spot, adding that the Pelicans hold Fredette in high regard, but Reid hears from sources who confirm that the Pelicans will indeed sign Fredette, pending NBA approval, which could come as early as Tuesday.

11:43am: The team is in the process of applying for the hardship provision, as John Reid of The Times Picayune hears (Twitter link), so it would appear the signing has still yet to occur.

MONDAY, 10:23am: The Pelicans are signing Jimmer Fredette using the hardship provision for a 16th roster spot, reports Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). The team hasn’t made an announcement, but Charania indicates the move has already taken place. The former college star and 10th overall pick had started the season in the D-League with the Knicks affiliate shortly after the Spurs released him from their training camp roster last month. New Orleans, the team for which Fredette played last year, has been dealing with a rash of injuries for several weeks, and Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports reported Friday that Kendrick Perkins is expected to miss the next three months.

Fredette, who made his reputation at BYU as a dead-eye shooter from behind the arc, made just 18.8% of his 3-point attempts for the Pelicans last season, and he didn’t impress during the small sample size of San Antonio’s preseason, going 2 for 10 from the floor and 0 for 3 from 3-point range. Still, New Orleans is in need of healthy players, with Perkins joining Norris Cole, Tyreke Evans and Quincy Pondexter among those currently shelved with long-term injuries. Omer Asik is questionable for Tuesday’s game. Teams need four players who are expected to miss at least two weeks to qualify for the extra roster spot via hardship, so New Orleans fits the bill.

The Pelicans are set to become the second team to use a hardship provision this season. The Sixers last week signed Phil Pressey to become their 16th man. It’s temporary relief, as both the Pelicans and Sixers would have to apply for another hardship provision after 10 days. If the league denies them, the teams would have to cut back to 15 men, though they could elect to keep Fredette and Pressey and offload other players instead. It’s unclear if Fredette is receiving any guaranteed money on his deal.

Fredette is also joining Pressey as the second D-League call-up of the season. New York’s D-League team picked Fredette second overall in the D-League draft on November 1st, after the Jazz affiliate took Jeff Ayres. Fredette, the once-heralded prospect, said recently that he hadn’t heard from Knicks team president Phil Jackson or coach Derek Fisher about joining New York’s NBA roster, which includes an open spot.

Do you think Fredette will stick with the Pelicans for this season, or will he be gone as soon as the team returns to health? Leave a comment to tell us.

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Atlantic Notes: Fredette, Saric, Prokhorov, Celtics

November 5th, 2015 at 1:30pm CST by Chuck Myron
Jimmer Fredette is working with Knicks D-League GM Allan Houston on shooting and the triangle offense, but he said he hasn’t heard from Knicks team president Phil Jackson or coach Derek Fisher, observes Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. Fredette downplays the notion that he’s gunning for the team’s open NBA roster spot, though he acknowledges that roster construction plays into his decision-making, as Zagoria relays. It wasn’t a certainty that Fredette would join the Westchester Knicks when he signed with the D-League, but when the Jazz affiliate took Jeff Ayres No. 2 in Saturday’s D-League draft, Westchester was free to pounce on Fredette with pick No. 2, a move that was apparently designed chiefly to draw fans. See more from around the Atlantic Division:
  • Draft-and-stash prospect Dario Saric wished he could have joined the Sixers this past offseason and confirmed to the Croatian outlet Vecernji list that he intends to sign with Philadelphia when his overseas contract allows him to this coming summer (translation via Matt Lombardo of NJ.com). Saric, the 12th pick of the 2014 draft, added that he’s in constant communication with Sixers officials.
  • The NBA blocked Mikhail Prokhorov’s plan to borrow money against his share of the Nets to purchase the minority portion that Bruce Ratner owns because it would give the team more than $250MM in debt, sources told Josh Kosman and Tim Bontemps of the New York Post. NBA teams can’t borrow more than that amount without a waiver. So, Prokhorov and Ratner are attempting to restructure the deal that would give Prokhorov 100% of the team, the Post scribes write, and it’s still on track to be complete by year’s end, a league source tells NetsDaily.
  • The Celtics recalled Jordan Mickey and James Young from the D-League, the team announced. They received some extra practice reps while with the farm team after the C’s assigned them Tuesday. Keep tabs on all this year’s D-League assignments and recalls with our tracker, which we’ll be updating throughout the season.
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NBA Teams Designate Affiliate Players

November 3rd, 2015 at 4:01pm CST by Chuck Myron

NBA teams cut as much as 25% of their rosters at the end of the preseason, but franchises that have D-League affiliates have a way to maintain ties to many of the players they release from the NBA roster. An NBA team can claim the D-League rights to up to four of the players it waives, as long as the players clear waivers, consent to join the D-League, and don’t already have their D-League rights owned by another team. These are known as affiliate players, as our Hoops Rumors Glossary entry details.

NBA teams allocated 46 affiliate players to the D-League at the beginning of the season last year, and this year, that number has risen to 56, according to the list the D-League announced today. These players are going directly to the D-League affiliate of the NBA team that cut them and weren’t eligible for the D-League draft that took place Saturday. Teams that designated fewer than the maximum four affiliate players retain the ability to snag the D-League rights of players they waive during the regular season, but for now, this is the complete list:

Boston Celtics (Maine Red Claws)

Cleveland Cavaliers (Canton Charge)

Dallas Mavericks (Texas Legends)

Detroit Pistons (Grand Rapids Drive)

Golden State Warriors (Santa Cruz Warriors)

Houston Rockets (Rio Grande Valley Vipers)

Indiana Pacers (Fort Wayne Mad Ants)

Los Angeles Lakers (Los Angeles D-Fenders)

Memphis Grizzlies (Iowa Energy)

Miami Heat (Sioux Falls Skyforce)

New York Knicks (Westchester Knicks)

Oklahoma City Thunder (Oklahoma City Blue)

Orlando Magic (Erie BayHawks)

Philadelphia 76ers (Delaware 87ers)

Phoenix Suns (Bakersfield Jam)

Sacramento Kings (Reno Bighorns)

San Antonio Spurs (Austin Spurs)

Toronto Raptors (Raptors 905)

Utah Jazz (Idaho Stampede)

Also, several players who were on NBA preseason rosters are on D-League rosters through means other than the affiliate player rule. Most of them played under D-League contracts at some point within the last two years, meaning their D-League teams have returning player rights to them. Others entered through last weekend’s D-League draft, while others saw their D-League rights conveyed via trade. Most of these players aren’t with the D-League affiliate of the NBA team they were with last month, with a few exceptions.

Roster information from Adam Johnson of D-League Digest, Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor and freelancer and Hoops Rumors contributor Mark Porcaro was used in the creation of this post.

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Atlantic Rumors: Raptors, Knicks, Celtics

November 1st, 2015 at 7:00pm CST by Will Joseph

Greivis Vasquez said getting traded to the Bucks from the Raptors was hard for him, but he anticipated such a move after the way Toronto’s season ended, Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca relays (All Twitter links). “It was going to be either me or Lou, and it was both,” Vasquez added in reference to Lou Williams‘ departure from the team.

Here’s more from around the Atlantic Division:

  • The Knicks picked Jimmer Fredette in Saturday’s D-League draft mostly to bring in fans, considering Fredette is a product of Glens Falls, and not strictly as a developmental move, Marc Berman of the New York Post reports.
  • David Lee and Amir Johnson seem like good fits on the Celtics because they both bring experience, success and a blue-collar brand of basketball to the team CSNNE.com’s A. Sherrod Blakely writes. The Celtics have a young team and that youth will benefit from the experienced tandem of Lee and Johnson, Blakely adds.
  • Tyler Zeller is working to improve his perimeter shooting skills, Blakely writes in separate story. It was previously reported that the Celtics are interested in rookie scale extensions for Zeller only if he consents to a decidedly team-friendly deal. The extension window closes Monday.
  • Italian coach Andrea Mazzon is now an assistant for the Sixers‘ D-League affiliate, the team announced. Emiliano Carchia of Sportando originally reported that Mazzon joined the affiliate in an important role.
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