Bobcats To Work Out Players For Possible 10-Day
THURSDAY, 3:40pm: NBA free agent Chris Johnson is part of the workout session today, league sources tell Shams Charania of RealGM (on Twitter).
WEDNESDAY, 7:19pm: The Bobcats plan to work out Ike Diogu, Mickell Gladness, and Denzel Bowles on Thursday for a possible 10-day contract, reports Shams Charania of RealGM.com (Twitter link). The Bobcats currently have 15 players on the roster, so someone would need to be released. It’s possible they could let go of Justin Hamilton to make space when his 10-day contract expires tomorrow.
Diogu has been playing with Bakersfield in the NBA D-League. In 30 games he is averaging 16.7 PPG, 9.3 RPG, and 1.4 APG in 30.2 MPG. The 6’8″ forward was taken in the first-round of the 2005 draft by the Warriors. He last saw NBA action during the 2011/12 season with the Spurs. His career numbers are 6.0 PPG, and 3.1 RPG over 12.4 MPG.
Gladness went undrafted in 2008 and has been playing for Reno in the D-League this season. His numbers in 30 games are 8.4 PPG, 6.9 RPG, and 0.5 APG in 24.2 MPG. The 6’11” center saw limited NBA action during the 2011/2012 season with the Heat and the Warriors.
Bowles, a 6’10” center who averaged 26.0 PPG and 9.0 RPG in the Chinese Basketball Association this season, is seen as a talented project, according to Charania. Bowles also has received interest from the Heat per Charania’s sources.
D-League Updates: Gladness, Marshall, Diogu
Here is a look at a few D-League moves that went down on Tuesday:
- The Reno Big Horns have acquired Mickell Gladness in a three-team trade with the Santa Cruz Warriors and the Maine Red Claws, the D-League announced. The Red Claws will receive Zeke Marshall from Reno and a second round pick from Santa Cruz. The Warriors will receive a first round pick from Maine. Gladness averaged 6.3 points and 6.1 rebounds in 49 games with the Warriors last year.
- The deal is pending physicals for Gladness and Marshall. As the Red Claws website indicates, Marshall is a rookie out of Akron who most recently averaged 12.7 points and four rebounds in the Taiwanese Super Basketball League. The center is the all-time leading shot blocker in the history of the Mid-American Conference.
- Forward Ike Diogu has been claimed by the Bakersfield Jam, tweets ESPN New York’s Ian Begley. We heard the Arizona State project, who was in camp with the Knicks this offseason, was D-League bound earlier today.
Magic Cut Gladness, Harris, Joseph, Osby
The Magic have waived Mickell Gladness, Manny Harris, Kris Joseph and Romero Osby, the team announced via press release. That means camp invitee Solomon Jones appears to have made the team, since the moves pare Orlando’s roster down to 15 players. The move is also fortuitous news for Kyle O’Quinn, who has a non-guaranteed deal just like Jones and the four who got cut.
Osby may be the most notable subtraction, since he was the team’s second-round pick this past June. His deal called for him to make $682,180 this season, more than every other second-rounder from this year except one, despite the fact he was drafted 51st overall, closer to the end of the second-round than the beginning. It was fully non-guaranteed, but it would have become guaranteed for $100K had he made it to opening night. He appeared to have been battling Jones for a roster spot, and the seven-year veteran’s dependability and experience gave him the edge, according to Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel (Twitter link).
Gladness, Harris and Joseph all have NBA experience, too, though the three of them put together have less than half as many NBA games under their belts as Jones does. All four of the players cut will become free agents once they clear waivers.
Southeast Notes: Magic, Oden, Cole, Wizards
The Magic have 19 players under contract, but only 12 fully guaranteed deals on their books, meaning there could be a couple regular-season roster spots up for grabs in Orlando. And as Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel notes, camp invitees Solomon Jones and Mickell Gladness took advantage of their audition on Monday against the Mavericks — Jones scored 11 points and grabbed eight boards, while Gladness blocked six shots in just 16 minutes of action.
As Jones and Gladness continue to compete for NBA jobs, let’s check out a few other items from around the Southeast Division….
- One of the reasons Greg Oden chose to sign with the Heat over a host of other NBA suitors was because Miami doesn’t have any motivation to rush him onto the court, so a fast start for the Heat this season will help keep the team from hastening his return, writes Ethan Skolnick of Bleacher Report.
- In his latest mailbag, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel suggests Norris Cole‘s performance in 2013/14 could significantly affect the Heat‘s decisions at the point guard position. Cole is the only Miami player on a guaranteed contract beyond this season, while Mario Chalmers will hit unrestricted free agency next summer.
- With a new five-year max extension under his belt, John Wall talks to Howard Beck of Bleacher Report about his increasing expectations for the Wizards‘ coming season and for the long term in Washington.
- Michael Lee of the Washington Post takes a look at Pops Mensah-Bonsu‘s uphill battle to regain a spot on an NBA roster. Mensah-Bonsu is currently in camp with the Wizards.
Southeast Notes: Jefferson, Bosh, Oden, Magic
The Bobcats made their first big splash in free agency this summer by signing Al Jefferson to a 3-year, $40.5MM contract to helm the post for one of the league’s most disappointing teams over the last half decade. The Bobcats announced today that Jefferson sprained his ankle against Miami in last night’s preseason action, and will be in a walking boot for several days:
“[Jefferson] suffered a sprained right ankle in the second half of last night’s preseason game vs. Miami. X-rays taken at the arena proved to be normal. As a precaution, Jefferson is expected to be in a walking boot for several days in an effort to contain the swelling and not put any pressure on the joint. Once out of the walking boot, he will be re-evaluated and will begin the rehab process.”
Here are a few more notes tonight from around the Southeast division, including more on Jefferson:
- Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer tweets that Jefferson was in extensive pain and because it’s preseason the Bobcats are likely to treat the sprain conservatively so as not to endanger the health of their new big man.
- With so much speculation about what LeBron James and Dwyane Wade will do this coming summer when they can opt-out of their contracts with the Heat and become unrestricted free agents, Chris Bosh will have the same opportunity. But he’s grown comfortable with his role on the team as the third wheel of a champion, writes Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel.
- Winderman also reports that Magic CEO Alex Martins said before their preseason matchup against the Heat, that he’d like the Magic to have their own D-League affiliate in Jacksonville.
- Sources say Heat center Greg Oden will be cleared to practice next week, and could see action for the first time in four years in one of the Heat’s final preseason games, reports Michael Wallace of ESPN (by way of the Toronto Sun).
- Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel profiles Magic camp invitees, Mickell Gladness, Manny Harris, Solomon Jones and Kris Joseph. None of the four will see a dime unless they make the Magic’s final roster, which means overcoming the long odds against them, Robbins adds.
Magic Sign Osby, Four Free Agents
SEPTEMBER 27TH: The Magic have officially announced their camp invitees in a press release. However, although Osby, Jones, Joseph, and Harris were confirmed, the team's announcement mentions big man Mickell Gladness rather than Micheal Eric.
It's not clear whether the name was originally misreported, or if an issue arose that led Orlando to bring in Gladness rather than Eric. For now though, it seems as if Eric isn't a part of the team's camp roster, while Gladness is.
SEPTEMBER 19TH: The Magic currently have 14 players on their roster, but will take advantage of increased offseason roster limits to bring five more players to camp, according to Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel. Schmitz reports (via Twitter) that Solomon Jones, Kris Joseph, Manny Harris, and Micheal Eric will be in camp with Orlando. The team is also bringing second-rounder Romero Osby to camp, though the two sides are still negotiating a contract, says Schmitz (Twitter link).
Although Jones and Joseph each saw NBA action in 2012/13, neither played extensive minutes. Jones, a big man who has spent time with five NBA teams, appeared in two games for the Knicks last season. Meanwhile, Joseph shuffled back and forth between the Nets and Celtics, and was included in the summer's Kevin Garnett/Paul Pierce blockbuster before he was waived by Boston. The 24-year-old forward was said to have a deal with a Chinese team, but it appears he'll try to earn an NBA roster spot before exploring options overseas.
Harris and Eric both have some history with the Cavaliers, though Harris is the only one of the two that has NBA experience. Harris, 23, appeared in 80 games for the Cavs from 2010 to 2012, averaging 6.2 PPG in 17.4 minutes per contest. He spent last season playing in the Ukraine, as our international tracker shows. As for Eric, he participated in camp with Cleveland last fall before joining the club's D-League affiliate in Canton.
While the five additions to the camp roster will bring Orlando's roster count to 19, only 12 players have fully guaranteed contracts. Kyle O'Quinn's deal won't become guaranteed until opening night, and Schmitz tweets that the club continues to negotiate a buyout with Hedo Turkoglu, whose $12MM salary is only 50% guaranteed. Assuming O'Quinn is ticketed for the regular-season roster and Turkoglu isn't, there should be one or two spots up for grabs in camp.
Odds & Ends: Bucks, Mavs, Nuggets, Jones
As we all wait with bated breath for game seven tomorrow night between the Heat and the Spurs, let's round up some odds and ends from around the NBA on this Wednesday night:
- Craig Brackins, Tyler Honeycutt, and Mickell Gladness are among the NBA free agents at a mini-camp being held by the Bucks this week, according to Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio.
- Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com explains how the Early Bird exception could help the Mavericks re-sign Brandan Wright this summer.
- While the Mavs are likely to move their first rounder, Mark Cuban tells MacMahon that any rumors about that deal that involve a Shawn Marion salary dump are false.
- In an offseason that's already seen them lose a head coach, a GM, and an assistant GM, the Nuggets will lose two more executives from their front office, as Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post outlines.
- The Jazz, who officially brought Jerry Sloan back to the organization earlier tonight, are close to naming Brad Jones their new bench assistant, tweets Steve Luhm of the Salt Lake Tribune. Jones was previously an assistant coach for player development for the team.
Warriors Rumors: Harden, Free Agents, Ellis, Lin
The commissioner is in attendance at Golden State's game against the Rockets tonight, but David Stern's comments about the fate of the Kings overshadowed talk of the other team in Northern California. Nonetheless, there's plenty of Warriors-related news this evening, as we share here:
- Sources told Grantland's Bill Simmons that the Thunder and Warriors talked about a James Harden deal last year, but Marcus Thompson II of the Bay Area News Group hears differently, tweeting that he was told the rumor wasn't legitimate.
- The Warriors were considering Maalik Wayns, Chris Douglas-Roberts, Josh Childress, Dominic McGuire, Chris Wright (the forward from Dayton, not the guard from Georgetown) and Mickell Gladness before they decided to sign Malcolm Thomas to a 10-day contract, reports Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle. Some of those names could conceivably resurface if the W's don't keep Thomas around, though Wayns signed a 10-day deal with the Clippers.
- Monta Ellis has benefited from the trade that sent him from the Warriors to the Bucks a year ago, as Thompson writes, while fellow Bay Area News Group scribe Tim Kawakami ponders what might have happened if the Warriors had held on to Ellis and Jeremy Lin.
Heat Waive Gladness, Dozier
The Heat have waived Mickell Gladness and Robert Dozier, according to a tweet from the Miami Herald's Joseph Goodman. For the 6'11" Gladness, this is his second time being waived by the Heat, with the first coming last February. Dozier was the last player selected in the 2009 NBA draft, but he's yet to play a single minute of basketball in the NBA.
Miami's roster now stands at 18, tweets Yahoo! NBA reporter Marc J. Spears.
Odds & Ends: Possible Cavs/Heat Cuts, Olshey
- Jodie Valade of The Plain Dealer takes a closer look at the decision the Cavaliers have to make on Sloan and Pargo and lists the pros and cons of keeping both. She also notes that Byron Scott believes one of them currently has an edge over the other, but the coach would not elaborate beyond that.
- Joseph Goodman of The Miami Herald took to Twitter to speculate on what he calls the Heat's "no-doubt-about-it cut list," listing Rodney Carney, Jarvis Varnado, Mickell Gladness, and Robert Dozier. He mentions that the last two spots could come down to a competition among Josh Harrellson, Garrett Temple, and Terrel Harris, adding that he would keep the latter two (Twitter link).
- Interestingly enough, although Juwan Howard is not part of Miami's training camp roster, Goodman points out that the former Heat player still has a locker.
- Ben Golliver of the Blazers Edge shared a transcript of Trail Blazers GM Neil Olshey's in-game interview with CSNNW on Friday. Some notable comments include Olshey's thoughts on Will Barton's potential, Nicolas Batum and the team moving forward after his contract extension, and landing J.J. Hickson.
- In response to a report that Stephen Curry will sit out the rest of pre-season, Tim Kawakami of the Mercury News tweets that Curry's long-term extension talks with the Warriors are on hold.