Rockets Sign Joey Dorsey
FRIDAY, 8:44pm: The signing is official, the Rockets have announced (hat tip to Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle).
6:23pm: The deal is for the minimum salary, and it’s fully guaranteed, Feigen writes in his full story
11:50am: The deal is guaranteed, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle, though it remains unclear if its fully so or just partially guaranteed (Twitter link).
11:28am: Agent Giorgios Dimitropoulos confirms the deal to Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia (Twitter link).
TUESDAY, 11:14am: Center Joey Dorsey is returning to the NBA after agreeing to a two-year, $2MM deal with the Rockets, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The 30-year-old has been out of the NBA since the 2010/11 season after playing a total of 61 NBA games over three years with the Rockets, Kings and Raptors. He spent this past season playing for FC Barcelona Regal in Spain, a Euroleague Final Four team, as Wojnarowski points out. The minimum salary would provide $1,963,584 over two seasons for Dorsey, so it would appear that the Rockets are using the minimum-salary exception. It’s not clear how much guaranteed money is involved.
Dorsey started just 10 games and averaged 5.2 points and 5.4 rebounds in 15.4 minutes per game for Barcelona this past season. He played with Olympiacos in Greece the season before, so his teammate the past two years has been Kostas Papanikolaou, with whom the Rockets have reportedly been engaged in advanced discussions about a deal. Houston’s agreement with Dorsey wouldn’t necessarily preclude a deal for Papanikolaou, particularly if Dorsey is only getting the minimum salary.
The Rockets were set to be without a legitimate backup center in the wake of their agreement to send Omer Asik to the Pelicans, though it remains to be seen whether Dorsey is capable of assuming a role in the team’s rotation. He’s nonetheless familiar to the Houston front office, which originally acquired him on draft night in 2008 after the Blazers drafted him 33rd overall.
Josh Powell Signs In Greece
Shortly after failing to earn a spot on the Spurs' regular season roster, Josh Powell has signed with Greek's Olympiacos, according to the team's website (hat tip to Sportando). Powell was San Antonio's final cut of the offseason after spending the preseason in camp with the Spurs.
Powell, 29, has played 315 games with six teams over the course of his six-year NBA career. He last appeared in the league in 2010/11, when he averaged 4.1 PPG and 2.5 RPG in 54 contests for the Hawks.
For Olympiacos, Powell will take the place of Joey Dorsey, who recently published a frustrated post on his Facebook page indicating that he'd played his last game in Greece. Dorsey apologized for the post and said he hoped to remain with Olympiacos, but it appears the team has released him anyway.
Odds & Ends: Tinsley, Martin, Pekovic, Dorsey
- According to Mark Deeks of ShamSports.com, Jamaal Tinsley's current contract is completely non-guaranteed.
- Kevin Martin is thrilled to be in a winning situation for the first time in his career, writes the Oklahoman's Darnell Mayberry.
- This season should be a breakout year for Timberwolves center Nikola Pekovic, writes TwinCities.com's Ray Richardson.
- After posting comments on his Facebook page regarding a pending future in the NBA, former University of Memphis forward Joey Dorsey apologized to his current team, Olympiacos, saying he did not in fact receive any offers from an NBA team, and would like to continue his career in Greece. He'll likely be waived by the team anyway, according to Sportando.net.
- According to a tweet from Yahoo! NBA reporter Adrian Wojnarowski, Scott Machado has made the Rockets final roster. He'll develop in the D-league this season.
- According to a tweet from the team, the Trail Blazers have named Chris McGowan their new President and CEO, replacing Larry Miller.
- Josh Cohen from NBA.com discusses a few possible trade scenarios that could work out for both teams involved.
- Bill Ingram from Hoopsworld.com asks if James Harden is truly a max contract player.
Northwest Rumors: Harden, Dorsey, Lawson
The James Harden trade continues to make news, as Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman weighs in with a lengthy list of observations while Ken Berger of CBSSports.com deems the trade a success for the Thunder, the Rockets and Harden. Berger holds it up as an illustration of the bold, proactive moves that small-market teams must make to stay competitive. As the rest of the NBA digests what the move means, here's more news on the Thunder and their Northwest Division rivals.
- The swap likely results in a trade exception worth $2,445,480 for the Thunder, an amount equal to Cole Aldrich's salary, as Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors observes. The Rockets seem to be in line for an exception worth $2,354,236, based on a portion of Kevin Martin's salary. Both exceptions expire one year from yesterday, as noted on our list of trade exceptions for every NBA team.
- The Thunder and Blazers could be interested in former NBA forward Joey Dorsey, whose status with the Greek club Olympiacos is in limbo, reports Wendell Maxey of Ridiculous Upside.
- Mark Kiszla of the Denver Post believes the Nuggets overpaid for JaVale McGee, putting the onus on the need to rectify the move by giving Ty Lawson an extension worth no less than $48MM over four seasons.
- Will Conroy's contract is partially guaranteed for $100K, and according to Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune, he'll likely remain on the Timberwolves roster until Ricky Rubio proves he's healthy.
- It's the first season with a full training camp for Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin, who could use a successful year to influence the Jazz to pick up the team option on his contract for 2013/14, as Steve Luhm of The Salt Lake Tribune observes.
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.
Joey Dorsey To Stay In Greece
After winning the most recent Euro League title as a member of Olympiakos, Joey Dorsey's agent has told Yahoo! Sports columnist Adrian Wojnarowski that the former Raptor will re-sign with Olympiakos. As recent as mid-July, several NBA teams, including the Rockets, reportedly had interest in signing the 28-year-old big man. But he's chosen to stay in Greece.
Dorsey's played for three different teams since being drafted out of Memphis in 2008. He hasn't competed in the NBA since 2010/11, when he posted averages of 3.1PPG and 4.4RPG in only 12 MPG.
Free Agent Rumors: Wallace, Grizzlies, Fisher
We're into the home stretch of the July moratorium, and it won't be long before all the moves that have been agreed upon in the last week are made official. In the meantime, teams have two more days to prepare for the next stage of free agency, and the rumors continue to swirl. You can track all of the contract agreements to date using our Free Agent Tracker, and you can follow many of today's free agent rumors right here, with the latest up top….
- There's a "pretty good chance" that Ben Wallace will return to the Pistons next season, a source tells Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News.
- A source told The Commercial Appeal (via Twitter) that it's unlikely that the Grizzlies will sign Russian guard Alexey Shved. Shved allegedly received offers from the Grizzlies, Cavs, and T'Wolves.
- However, the Grizzlies are working to bring veteran guard Willie Green to Memphis, The Commercial Appeal tweets. The soon-to-be 31-year-old averaged 7.6 PPG last year for the Hawks.
Earlier updates:
Joey Dorsey Drawing Interest From Rockets
After Joey Dorsey's Olympiacos squad advanced to the Final Four in the Euroleague postseason, the former Memphis Tiger took the opportunity to discuss his future. The original story from Superbasket is in Greek, but Sportando provides a translation of some of Dorsey's more interesting comments:
"It would be nice to continue here," Dorsey said. "There are several NBA teams that are already interested in me and watched me live. But I feel my priority is Olympiacos. I am a sentimental guy. I will talk with Olympiacos before anyone else. In Toronto I used to play 13-14 minutes per game — here I feel I am much more important for the team. The Rockets came to see me recently. They believe in me and they show it. We talk a lot and I think in the summer they will make me an offer."
Dorsey, 28, was a second-round pick in the 2008 draft, spending time with the Rockets, Kings, and Raptors over the next three years. He played 43 of his 61 career games with Toronto in 2010/11, before heading overseas for this season.