P.j. Tucker Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Thunder, Suns Not Discussing Gortat, Perkins

February 20th, 2013 at 1:02pm CST by Luke Adams

1:02pm: Coro follows up on his initial report, tweeting that apparently talk of a deal between the Suns and Thunder was just a "league rumor" during the All-Star break, rather than the two sides actually talking about it. So it sounds as if there's nothing to this one.

12:31pm: The proposed Gortat/Perkins deal is "not going to happen," according to John Gambadoro of 620 KTAR in Phoenix (via Twitter).

7:34am: According to Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic, the Thunder have been exploring a deal with the Suns that would send Marcin Gortat to Oklahoma City. In the hypothetical trade, the Suns would receive Kendrick Perkins, Jeremy Lamb, and a first-round pick from the Thunder in exchange for Gortat and P.J. Tucker.

Coro writes that the Suns would have some interest in Perkins, who would fit the team's new defensive culture, and that Phoenix likely would have drafted Lamb 14th overall last June had the Rockets not taken him two spots earlier.

Perkins' contract, which is more expensive and lasts a year longer than Gortat's, isn't viewed as a favorable one, and Lamb's stock may have fallen a little since last summer, so I'd imagine the first-round pick in the deal would be Toronto's pick. That choice, acquired by the Thunder in the James Harden trade, figures to be more valuable than any of Oklahoma City's own picks or the Mavericks' heavily-protected first-rounder.

Still, according to Coro, it's not likely that the Suns pull the trigger on a deal with the Thunder. Coro reports that it's more likely Phoenix simply stands pat to protect its future first-round picks and cap space, which should give the club room for a max free agent this summer. Small deals involving players like Sebastian Telfair or Jermaine O'Neal are also possible.

Eastern Notes: Bucks, Nets, Cavs, Oden

January 13th, 2013 at 4:13pm CST by Sean Highkin

The latest news and notes from around the Eastern Conference on Sunday afternoon:

Raptors head coach Dwane Casey tells Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel that he is not surprised that Scott Skiles was fired by the Bucks, noting the heavy turnover among coaches in recent years.
Wes Szafran of the South Jersey Times writes that P.J. Carlesimo has done an excellent job since replacing Avery Johnson as head coach of the Nets.
Cavs owner Dan Gilbert told fans to be patient with the team's rebuild in a recent television interview. Bob Finnan of the News-Herald has quotes.
Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Plain Dealer writes that Greg Oden deserves a chance to rehabilitate his NBA career, comparing his injury-plagued early years to those of former Cavs center Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who was able to put together a productive NBA career.
Michael Lee of the Washington Post wonders if top overall draft picks are cursed, citing the recent injuries to John Wall and Kyrie Irving.
Ryan Anderson tells Fred Kerber of the New York Post that the Dwight Howard drama was a distraction for the Magic players last season.

Odds & Ends: Rubio, Noah, Tucker

November 25th, 2012 at 6:28pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune recently reported that Timberwolves guard Ricky Rubio is scheduled to visit with his surgeon on Monday and hopes to be cleared for contact practice by the time the team concludes its road trip on Wednesday night. While GM David Kahn hasn't put a timetable on Rubio's return, Zgoda writes that it doesn't appear too far off based on the vigorous workouts he's seen the young guard participate in recently. Earlier this month, owner Glen Taylor said he expected Rubio to be cleared by mid-December. With that aside, here is where you'll find more of tonight's odds and ends:

Leandro Barbosa has thrived as a scorer for the Celtics in limited minutes, says A. Sherrod Blakeley of CSNNE.com.
Scott Powers of ESPN Chicago takes a look at how Joakim Noah's numbers currently stack up against the Eastern Conference's most productive centers at this point. Without a doubt though, Powers writes, Noah is having his best season yet since being drafted by the Bulls in 2007.
Paul Coro of AZ Central calls P.J. Tucker the Suns' best find since Goran Dragic. With defenses helping off in addition to two straight games with double figure scoring (11 and 15 points respectively), Tucker has begun to shed the label that he's an offensive liability.
Keith Schlosser or Ridiculous Upside says that Troy Hudson can use his opportunity in the D-League to garner attention from NBA teams the same way Mike James did last year to earn an opportunity with the Bulls.
Jon Marks of Sheridan Hoops examines how Kevin Martin has seamlessly accepted his role as a complementary player on a Thunder team which Martin believes is on a "championship level."

Upcoming Guarantee Dates

November 13th, 2012 at 9:23pm CST by Chuck Myron

Most players on non-guaranteed or partially guaranteed contracts have January 15th circled on their calendars. As long as they don't clear waivers before that day, their contracts become fully guaranteed. A handful of others without full guarantees are working on a different schedule, as negotiated with their teams. The contracts for the players below become fully guaranteed if they're not waived on or before the dates listed.

Suns: P.J. Tucker¹ ($762,195, partially guaranteed for $400K) — December 1st
Bobcats: Cory Higgins ($762,195, fully non-guaranteed) — December 10th
Wizards: Jannero Pargo²($1,229,295, partially guaranteed for $300K) — December 15th
Bulls: Nate Robinson² ($1,146,337, partially guaranteed for $400K) — January 1st

¹— Tucker has already moved past one hurdle, as the size of his partial guarantee increased from $150K when he made the opening-night roster.

²— The Wizards and Bulls would only be obligated to pay $854,389, the amount equal to a third-year veteran's minimum, if they keep Pargo and Robinson, respectively, past their guarantee dates. The league would pay the rest since both are on one-year minimum-salary deals.

ShamSports was used in the creation of this post.

When Non-Guaranteed Deals Become Guaranteed

October 30th, 2012 at 4:19pm CST by Luke Adams

With the dust having settled on preseason cuts, NBA teams have eliminated most players on summer contracts and non-guaranteed deals from their rosters. However, there are still plenty of players on non-guaranteed contracts who made their respective teams' regular season rosters. Does that means their contracts are now guaranteed for the season? Well, in most cases, no.

In order for most non-guaranteed contracts to become fully guaranteed for the season, the player must remain on an NBA roster until January 10th. If the player's contract doesn't clear waivers on or before the 10th, his full salary will become guaranteed for the season. Until that date, he'll receive either a prorated portion of his salary, or some other previously-agreed-upon set amount.

However, there are a handful of players whose contracts will become guaranteed before that January 10th date. E'Twaun Moore's minimum-salary deal with the Magic, for instance, stipulates that his contract will become guaranteed if he's not waived by October 30th, which means he looks to be pretty safe.

Per Mark Deeks of ShamSports, here are the other players on non-guaranteed contracts who will see their deals become fully guaranteed prior to January 10th:

Julyan Stone (Nuggets): October 31st*
DeJuan Blair (Spurs): November 1st
P.J. Tucker (Suns): December 1st*
Cory Higgins (Bobcats): December 10th
Nate Robinson (Bulls): January 1st

Notes: Stone's contract becomes guaranteed if he's not waived by "opening night," which is assumed to be the Nuggets' opening night, rather than the NBA's opening night. Tucker's guarantee increases to $400K as of opening night before becoming fully guaranteed on December 1st.

Odds & Ends: Mavs, Brooks, Suns, Bucks

October 23rd, 2012 at 11:32pm CST by Chuck Myron

Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News believes the Mavs will go "hard" after Chris Paul, and perhaps Dwight Howard, in free agency next summer. That would be no surprise, given the team's effort to position itself to pursue another marquee name next summer after its push to sign Deron Williams fell through. It's hard to envision either turning down a five-year deal in L.A. for a four-year contract in Dallas, especially considering Paul's involvement in the Clippers' offseason moves and Howard's enthusiasm about being with the Lakers, but plenty can happen between now and July. In the meantime, here's a late night look around the Association:

Before signing with the Kings this summer, Aaron Brooks was expecting to return to the Suns, who held the right to match offers for him until they pulled their qualifying offer to him in July, as Paul Coro and Zach Buchanan of the Arizona Republic report.
P.J. Tucker, whose contract with the Suns is partially guaranteed for $150K, has emerged as the team's best perimeter defender, coach Alvin Gentry said, according to Coro and Buchanan.
Camp invitee Alando Tucker is "nearly certain" to be let go by the Bucks, who have 15 other players on fully guaranteed deals, and is considering playing in Europe this season, as Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes.
Geoff Calkins of the Memphis Commercial Appeal argues that incoming Grizzlies owner Robert Pera should keep GM Chris Wallace around.
After the Spurs ran counter to coach Gregg Popovich's previous indication and cut both Eddy Curry and Derrick Brown today, Dan McCarney of the San Antonio Express-News does his best to size up the remaining competitors for the end of the Spurs bench.
HoopsWorld's Alex Kennedy identifies 15 players who have surprised with their performances in the preseason.
Alexey Shved will see significant minutes backing up Brandon Roy at shooting guard for the Wolves, but life in the NBA has been an adjustment on and off the court for the offseason signee from Russia, as Kent Youngblood of the Star Tribune details.
The Clippers' signing of Matt Barnes looks shrewd now that Grant Hill is out with a bone bruise in his right knee, Ben Golliver of SI.com believes.

Suns Sign P.J. Tucker

August 1st, 2012 at 12:06pm CST by Luke Adams

AUGUST 1ST: The Suns have officially signed Tucker, the team announced today (Twitter link).

JULY 24TH: Six years ago, P.J. Tucker was selected 35th overall by the Raptors, and played 17 games with Toronto before finding himself out of the NBA. At age 27, Tucker is prepared to make a comeback. Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic reports that the forward has agreed to a two-year, minimum-salary deal with the Suns, with a partial guarantee on the first year.

Since his time with the Raptors, Tucker has played in Israel, Ukraine, Russia, Puerto Rico, Italy, and Greece. He had been under contract to play in Russia for the coming year, but utilized an NBA out clause to sign with the Suns. The $762,195 he could earn as a second-year, minimum-salary player is less than half what he would have made overseas, but Tucker is looking forward to his second chance in the NBA, as he told Coro.

"When was in Toronto, I wasn't half the player I am now," Tucker said. "First and foremost, I'm going to help the young guys and always be a positive voice in the locker room. I look at myself as a defensive player first but I can rebound and handle the ball. I just stick my neck out and play hard. I never let anyone outwork me."

For the Suns' Summer League team in Las Vegas, Tucker averaged 5.8 points and 6.2 rebounds in 21.6 minutes per game. Wendell Maxey of Ridiculous Upside takes a look at the journey that sees the 27-year-old back on an NBA roster.