Ryan Gomes

Western Notes: Seattle, Suns, Gomes, Mavs

As Labor Day weekend comes to an end in North America (or Labour Day weekend, for our readers north of the border), let's round up a few holiday Monday items from around the Western Conference….

Contract Details: Oden, Pargo, Williams, Udrih

Mark Deeks of ShamSports.com has updated his invaluable database of NBA salaries with details on many of the players who have signed over the last couple weeks. We hadn't yet heard the specifics on a number of those contracts, so let's round up the new info….

  • Initially reported as a two-year contract with a second-year player option, Greg Oden's deal with the Heat is actually only for one season, according to Deeks.
  • Jannero Pargo's one-year, minimum-salary pact with the Bobcats is only currently guaranteed for $300K. Pargo will be assured of his full salary (about $1.4MM) if he remains on the roster past December 10th.
  • The Trail Blazers signed Mo Williams using their full room exception, and included a 15% trade kicker in his deal.
  • There's also a 15% trade kicker on Beno Udrih's minimum-salary contract with the Knicks.
  • Another Knicks signee, Jeremy Tyler, has a $100K guarantee on his two-year deal.
  • Carrick Felix's four-year deal with the Cavaliers was originally reported as being fully guaranteed for three seasons. However, according to Deeks, the third year is non-guaranteed, and the fourth year is a team option.
  • The first year of Peyton Siva's pact with the Pistons is partially guaranteed for $150K.
  • Jeff Withey has a fully guaranteed rookie year with the Pelicans, while his second-year salary won't become guaranteed until next July.
  • Ryan Gomes' contract with the Thunder is currently non-guaranteed. He'll receive three $25K bonuses if he remains on the roster beyond September 1st, October 1st, and October 30th, but his salary won't become fully guaranteed until January.

Thunder Sign Ryan Gomes

August 7th, 5:14pm: The Thunder have officially announced the signing of Ryan Gomes, according to a press release from the team.

July 29th, 9:05pm: The Thunder reached agreement with Ryan Gomes on a one-year deal, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter).  The forward spent last season in Germany with the with the Artland Dragons.

Gomes last played in the NBA in 2011/12 for the Clippers and averaged 2.3 PPG and 1.9 RPG in 32 games.  The seven-year veteran has career averages of 10.2 PPG and 4.6 RPG for three different teams.

The 30-year-old was released from the Clippers via the amnesty clause, allowing him to cash in on his $4MM salary for last season.  Gomes worked out for the Bobcats and other clubs last fall, but was unable to find a taker in the NBA.  The Spurs also had interest in Gomes during this go-round.

Western Notes: Wolves, Gomes, Mavs, Clark

Grantland's Zach Lowe wrote earlier today that there's about a "99.9999%" chance that the Timberwolves work out a deal to bring back Nikola Pekovic. Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune also suggests that it's just a matter of time, tweeting that he thinks a deal will be completed next week. Whether or not the Wolves re-sign Pekovic, and it seems like a lock that they will, don't expect the team to have any interest in Greg Oden, says Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (via Twitter). According to Wolfson, David Kahn had interest in Oden, but Flip Saunders is passing on the former first overall pick.

Here are a few more items from out of the Western Conference:

  • Ryan Gomes, who says he hopes to be a coach one day, has worked out for the Thunder and Spurs as he weighs his options for the upcoming season, he tells Nick Greene of the Hartford Courant.
  • Mavericks owner Mark Cuban appeared on KESN-FM in Dallas to follow up on his comments about the team potentially being better off without Dwight Howard, and the Dallas Morning News has the details.
  • Undrafted free agent guard Ian Clark put up 33 points in the Warriors' championship win at the Las Vegas Summer League, and is drawing interest from NBA teams, as Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today writes. Zillgitt names the Warriors, Trail Blazers, and Jazz as clubs eyeing Clark.
  • A strong Summer League performance also has NBA teams eyeing Dionte Christmas, according to Shams Charania of RealGM.com. The Suns are among the clubs with interest.

Odds & Ends: Howard, Lakers, Nachbar, Gomes

Here's tonight's look around the Association as the Heat find themselves in a battle with the 15-26 Raptors..

  • When asked about his impending free agency earlier today, Dwight Howard said "We're not discussing that," tweets Brian K. Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel.  Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak might start feeling uneasy if the star big man has the same stance a few weeks from now when the trade deadline comes and goes.
  • Bostjan Nachbar told Beko BBL that he will likely stay with his team in Germany next season, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando.  The forward was a prominent bench player for the Nets in 2006/07 and 2007/08.
  • Former NBA forward Ryan Gomes has parted ways with Germany's Artland Dragons, according to David Pick of Sportando (on Twitter).  Gomes, who played for the Celtics, Wolves, and Clippers, averaged 11 PPG in ten games for the German club.  

Ryan Gomes Signs In Germany

After having been amnestied by the Clippers more than four months ago, Ryan Gomes has finally found a new team. Gomes has signed with the Artland Dragons in Germany, the team confirmed on its website today (German link). Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress first reported (via Twitter) that Gomes would join the Dragons.

Gomes, 30, worked out for the Bobcats in September, but didn't receive a training camp invite from Charlotte or any other NBA club. After a few productive seasons with the Celtics and Timberwolves, Gomes' performance declined with the Clippers over the last two years. In 2011/12, he recorded just 2.3 PPG and a 4.4 PER, along with a .326 FG%, in 32 games. Gomes' career rates (13.2 PPG, 6.0 RPG) and relative youth suggest he could still earn another shot in the NBA if he has success overseas.

Because he was released via the amnesty clause, Gomes is still earning the $4MM salary owed to him by the Clippers. However, that amount doesn't apply to Los Angeles' team salary for this season.

Eastern Notes: Gomes, Bobcats, White, Sixers

This morning, we learned that the Magic are expected to sign Armon Johnson and DeQuan Jones to non-guaranteed contracts. That's one of a handful of items related to Eastern Conference teams today, so let's round up the rest right here:

  • Although he worked out with the team recently, it doesn't sound as if Ryan Gomes will be in training camp with the Bobcats, tweets Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer.
  • Unrestricted free agent D.J. White spent the last season and a half with the Bobcats, but it doesn't appear he'll be back in Charlotte either. David Pick of Sportando reports that White is drawing interest from Israeli team Maccabi Tel Aviv.
  • After receiving head coach consideration this offseason, Michael Curry will return to the 76ers' staff, and coach Doug Collins is elated to have him back, writes Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News.
  • The Celtics have added former Erie BayHawks head coach Jay Larranaga to their staff as an assistant coach, the team announced today in a press release. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports first reported the hire last month.
  • Asked whether Ray Allen or Rashard Lewis will provide the Heat more "bang for the buck," Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel says Lewis "could be a revelation" if he provides some rebounding and defense for Miami.

Ryan Gomes To Work Out For Bobcats

Unrestricted free agent Ryan Gomes is expected to work out in Charlotte for the Bobcats next week, reports Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (via Twitter). Gomes has seemingly drawn little interest since being amnestied by the Clippers in July, but he'll enter the mix of frontcourt players that could fill out Charlotte's roster, says Bonnell.

After five solid years in Boston and Minnesota to start his career, Gomes saw his production fall off significantly over the past two seasons for the Clippers. Entering his stint with the Clippers with a 13.6 career PER, Gomes recorded an 8.2 mark for the team in 108 games, and is coming off a disastrous 2011/12 campaign in which he averaged just 2.3 points and 1.9 rebounds in 13.3 minutes per game.

If Gomes can bounce back this season, he could be an intriguing addition for the Bobcats — the team has reportedly been eyeing power forwards, and could be looking for some outside scoring as well, given their alleged interest in Tracy McGrady. Gomes is slightly undersized for the four, but can play the position, and prior to last season, he was an effective scorer from the outside as well, with a .357 career 3PT%.

The Bobcats currently have 13 players on guaranteed contracts, and are also expected to invite Cory Higgins to training camp.

Unsigned Amnesty Victims

As Hoops Rumors' amnesty tracker shows, exactly half of the NBA's 30 teams have used their amnesty provisions to release a player and eliminate his contract from their books. These teams are still paying the players' salaries, but don't take a cap or tax hit for the contracts.

Many of 2011's and 2012's amnesty victims quickly found other NBA homes, with many of this summer's amnestied players not even clearing waivers before they were snatched up. But for every Luis Scola or Elton Brand, there's a player who has yet to catch on with another NBA club. Most of the following players are still receiving pay checks from their old teams, but are available to be signed as free agents. Here's the latest on them:

  • Baron Davis: Entering the final year of his old contract with the Cavaliers, Davis is unlikely to sign anytime soon, since he's still recovering from the torn MCL/ACL he suffered in May. However, Davis would like to return before the end of the 2012/13 season if possible, and it sounds like the Knicks would be his first choice.
  • Ryan Gomes: Our rumors page for Gomes is empty since he was amnestied by the Clippers, which doesn't necessarily bode well for his chances of signing somewhere for the coming season. Still, I expect him to at least get a training camp invite from a team, and even if he doesn't, he'll earn $4MM this season from the Clips.
  • Gilbert Arenas: A 2011 cut, Arenas managed to catch on with the Grizzlies for part of last season, but didn't blow anyone away with his performance in Memphis. Based on recent reports, the former 20+ PPG scorer is "slimmed down and fully healthy," which could make him a worthwhile risk at the veteran's minimum.
  • Chris Andersen: It seems that the former Nugget is at least drawing interest, with one report suggesting that he's received offers up to $5MM per year. I think if he truly had even a one-year offer worth $5MM, he would've accepted it yesterday, but the Birdman still looks like a good bet to find a bench spot somewhere.
  • Josh Childress: The Wizards were said to be one of a handful of teams with a little interest in Childress, but based on his horrid 2011/12 season in Phoenix, anything more than a minimum salary for the former sixth overall pick seems unlikely. With three years and $21MM still remaining on his Suns deal, Childress is under no pressure to accept the first offer he gets.
  • Darko Milicic: While spending a year overseas could make some sense for Darko, it appears it's not an option he's considering, based on comments made by his agent. The Heat, Nets, Bulls, and Clippers were said to be interested shortly after he was amnestied, but at least two of those teams have signed other big men since then, so Darko's options may be dwindling.
  • Andray Blatche: Blatche reportedly received at least exploratory interest from the Spurs and Heat, but I wonder if the young forward would prefer to try to rebuild his value on a non-contender that would give him more playing time. Given Blatche's upside, I imagine there are teams willing to take a flier on him.
  • James Posey / Charlie Bell: Both Posey and Bell had just one year left on their deals when they were released in December by the Pacers and Warriors respectively, and neither player has signed an NBA deal since. Bell played overseas this year, and neither Posey or Bell has announced his retirement, as far as I know, but it doesn't seem like an NBA return is in the cards for either player.

Clippers Amnesty Ryan Gomes

Just before the 11:00pm CST amnesty deadline, the Clippers used the amnesty provision to waive Ryan Gomes, according to Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. By amnestying Gomes, Los Angeles clears the final year of his deal, worth $4MM, from its cap, though the team will still have to pay him.

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