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D-League Notes: Stampede, Ohlbrecht, Taylor

March 1st, 2014 at 9:53am CST by Cray Allred

The Idaho Stampede will remain a D-League team next year despite the Trail Blazers’ recent decision to end their relationship with Idaho, Idaho managing investor Bill Ilett tells Gino Pilato of D-League Digest: “Rest assured the Idaho Stampede will be in Boise next year, hopefully as a hybrid-affiliate for an NBA team.” Pilato suggests that the Stampede could become an affiliate for multiple teams as a short-term solution, an arrangement they have had in years past. Here’s more from around the D-League:

  • Blazers assistant GM Bill Branch told Pilato that, for their part, the Blazers don’t see the closed partnership as a catastrophe for the Stampede. “We hope with the trades, draft selections and affiliate player acquisitions, (Pierre Jackson, Dee Bost, Richard Howell, E.J. Singler, Scott Machado, C.J. Leslie, Dallas Lauderdale), that we are leaving the Stampede with a strong talent pool.” Branch says. “Boise is a great city, and we feel another team will likely want to establish another hybrid affiliation with the Idaho Stampede.”
  • Tim Ohlbrecht has been traded from the Rio Grande Valley Vipers to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants in exchange for a 2014 D-League first round draft pick, a source tells Pilato. Ohlbrecht’s entire NBA experience came in just three games with the Rockets last year, but the 25-year-old center is still considered an NBA prospect.
  • Tyshawn Taylor tells Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv he was surprised he ended up a free agent playing in the D-League less than two years after getting drafted by the Nets. “It wasn’t a tough situation until I found out I got cut from the Pelicans. My whole thing was to try to get somewhere where I can play. I gotta figure it out, where I can go next.” The Nets traded Taylor in January to the Pelicans, who waived him. The 23-year-old guard hopes to earn a call-up by playing for the Maine Red Claws. “I think this is more for my confidence and being able to play on a consistent basis. In the NBA, I only played one out of every 16 games.”
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Southwest Notes: Mavs, Gordon, Ohlbrecht

January 28th, 2014 at 11:43am CST by Chuck Myron

Mavs executives are optimistic about the team for this season in beyond, believing they have an offense built to win in the playoffs and the flexibility to pounce on desirable free agents this summer, as Grantland’s Zach Lowe details. Execs from other teams tell Lowe that they see coach Rick Carlisle, in the second year of a four-year pact, as the Mavs’ most valuable long-term asset. They also regard the Mavs with respect, fearing the team’s advantages of an appealing owner who’s built top-notch facilities in a large market with a friendly tax environment. There’s more from Lowe’s Dallas-themed piece amid our look at the Southwest Division:

  • Lowe views cap flexibility as the most effective weapon the Mavs possess, but even owner Mark Cuban acknowledges that it’s not as valuable as it used to be, now that so many teams enter offseasons with plenty of leeway to spend. “That could potentially be the case,” Cuban said. “But a lot of that depends on how you spend it, right? A lot of teams choose not to, so we’ll see.”
  • Eric Gordon wishes he knew for sure whether the Pelicans were trading him or not, but he says he could be doing more for the team that matched a four-year offer sheet for more than $58MM to retain him in 2012, observes Brett Martel of The Associated Press. Coach Monty Williams believes Gordon could be doing more, too, but Williams is nonetheless pleased with what he’s seen from the shooting guard this season. Williams says Gordon’s late-game performance on Friday against the Pistons is what the team “paid the big bucks for.”
  • Former Rockets center Tim Ohlbrecht has a longer resume than most in the D-League, but he explains to Gino Pilato of D-League Digest that his NBA experience helped convince him to return to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the affiliate of the Rockets. “I had so much positive feedback from NBA personnel after last season and from training camp,” the 25-year-old Ohlbrecht said. “I’m in my mid-20′s now so I figured why not? We discussed all of my offers and figured that if it doesn’t work out, I’ll have some other options. I’m glad I’m here though.”
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Southwest Notes: Parker, Ohlbrecht, Grizzlies

November 29th, 2013 at 1:20pm CST by Luke Adams

The Spurs saw their 11-game winning streak come to an end in Oklahoma City on Wednesday night, but they’ll look to begin a new streak tonight when they visit the Magic in Orlando. As we look forward to that matchup, here are some items on the Spurs and their Southwest rivals:

  • Assuming Kobe Bryant plays out his new contract, he’ll have spent 20 years with the Lakers, and that’s a feat Tony Parker would like to accomplish with the Spurs, as he tells Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News. “Why not?” Parker said. “The way I play, I think I can definitely play that long…. I take care of my body, and I’ve already told Coach Pop that after 2016 I will be done with the (French) national team. So I think I can play a long time.”
  • Tim Ohlbrecht‘s agency announced today that the big man has returned to the D-League’s Rio Grande Valley Vipers. Ohlbrecht was claimed off waivers from the Rockets by the Sixers over the summer, but he was subsequently waived by Philadlphia, and his D-League rights remained with Houston’s affiliate.
  • In his latest piece for USA Today, Sam Amick explains why the Grizzlies should have no regrets about the Rudy Gay trade and talks to Mike Miller about his move from Miami to Memphis.
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Odds & Ends: Mavs, D-League, Collins, Dragic

November 1st, 2013 at 4:56pm CST by Luke Adams

Dirk Nowitzki publicly questioned Mark Cuban‘s approach to retooling the Mavericks back in January, and the team struck out on its top target again this summer when Dwight Howard decided to join the Rockets. But Nowitzki tells Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com that he’s pleased with the roster Cuban and Donnie Nelson put together this offseason, and he’s encouraged by the club’s direction.

“I think as a franchise, we’ve moved on,” Nowitzki said of the failed attempts to recruit star free agents. “We didn’t go for the whole cap space deal again, like we did last year, so I was obviously pleased to see that.”

Here are a few more Friday afternoon odds and ends:

  • With the D-League draft set to get underway at 6:00pm CT tonight, the Iowa Energy traded the third overall pick as part of a deal with the Sioux Falls Skyforce. Heat camp invitee and NBA champion Jarvis Varnado headed to Iowa in the move, as Keith Schlosser writes at Ridiculous Upside.
  • One player who won’t be playing on a D-League squad anytime soon is free agent big man Jason Collins, according to ESPN.com’s Marc Stein. Stein hears from a source that Collins isn’t considering playing overseas or in the D-League, since he still believes he’s an NBA player and prefers to continue his workout regimen at home in Los Angeles.
  • In a separate ESPN.com story, Stein writes that the Suns are comfortable with Eric Bledsoe heading into free agency next summer. However, it sounds like Phoenix hasn’t ruled out the possibility of facilitating a sign-and-trade involving Bledsoe in July if he gets too pricey, so the team likely won’t shop Goran Dragic for now.
  • John Jenkins tells Lang Greene of HoopsWorld it “feels great” that the Hawks elected to exercise his third-year option for 2014/15 yesterday.
  • $14MM over four years is a reasonable price for Quincy Pondexter, but he’ll have to continue to develop for his new contract to be a good investment for the Grizzlies, says Mark Deeks of ShamSports.com.
  • DeShawn Sims, who was in camp with the Celtics in October, has signed with Galil Gilboa in Israel, agent Mike Silverman tells Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype (Twitter link).
  • Since being released by the Rockets, Tim Ohlbrecht has remained in the U.S. in hopes of landing another NBA job, but continues to consider overseas offers, according to Schlosser at Ridiculous Upside.
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Sixers Sign Daniel Orton, Cut Tim Ohlbrecht

October 16th, 2013 at 8:19am CST by Luke Adams

The Sixers have made their first cut of the fall, but aren’t any closer to finalizing their opening night lineup, having immediately signed another player to bring their roster count back up to 20. Mark Deeks of ShamSports.com reports (via Twitter) that Philadelphia has signed Daniel Orton and waived Tim Ohlbrecht.

Orton, 23, was released by the Thunder last Thursday, giving all 30 teams a chance to claim him on waivers. Although the Sixers have plenty of cap space and could have put in a claim at that point, it seems the team wanted to sign the big man on its own terms. I expect Orton’s new contract is mostly or completely non-guaranteed, like his old deal was, but perhaps Philadelphia made it a four-year pact, as the club has done for several other minimum-salary players.

Orton was selected by the Magic in the first round in 2010, but only lasted two seasons with the team before he became a free agent and signed a minimum deal with the Thunder. In 2012/13, the big man bounced back and forth between OKC and the club’s D-League affiliate at Tulsa. In 29 games for the 66ers, Orton averaged 12.5 PPG and 7.8 RPG.

The Sixers had claimed Ohlbrecht off waivers from the Rockets in July, along with James Anderson. However, while Anderson appears headed for a roster spot in Philadelphia, Ohlbrecht figures to become an unrestricted free agent later this week, assuming he clears waivers.

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Sixers Claim Tim Ohlbrecht, James Anderson

July 15th, 2013 at 8:30pm CST by Zachary Links

The Sixers have claimed Tim Ohlbrecht and James Anderson off of waivers from the Rockets and signed both players to non-guaranteed deals, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.  The Rockets placed both players on waivers this past Saturday.

Anderson and Ohlbrecht were each about to enter the second year of a three-year minimum-salary deal with the Rockets, but the final two seasons were non-guaranteed in both cases.  Philadelphia is a logical landing spot for both players as recently-minted GM Sam Hinkie spent years in the Houston front office.  If they make the 76ers, they'll join another ex-Rocket (sort of) in Royce White.

Anderson was the 20th overall pick in the 2010 draft, but the Spurs declined to pick up the third-year option on his rookie-scale contract, making him a free agent last summer. He spent training camp with the Hawks, re-signed with the Spurs early in the season, and wound up with the Rockets in January after San Antonio let him go.

Ohlbrecht was undrafted out of Germany, but Houston picked him up in February in the hopes that the 6'11" center could develop into a frontcourt contributor. Neither he nor Anderson played an integral role for the Rockets this past season.

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

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Rockets Waive James Anderson, Tim Ohlbrecht

July 13th, 2013 at 1:24pm CST by Chuck Myron

Rockets GM Daryl Morey confirms that the team has waived James Anderson and Tim Ohlbrecht, tweets Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. The team also renounced its rights to Francisco Garcia and Earl Boykins, Feigen notes via Twitter, but that's just a procedural move in Garcia's case. Renouncing Garcia's $9.15MM cap hold clears space necessary for the Rockets to finalize their other moves this summer before they officially re-sign Garcia to the cheaper two-year, $2.6MM deal they've agreed upon.

Anderson and Ohlbrecht were each about to enter the second year of a three-year minimum-salary deal with the Rockets, but the final two seasons were non-guaranteed for both players, so Houston clears them completely off its books. Anderson was the 20th overall pick in the 2010 draft, but the Spurs declined to pick up the third-year option on his rookie-scale contract, making him a free agent last summer. He spent training camp with the Hawks, re-signed with the Spurs early in the season, and wound up with the Rockets in January after San Antonio let him go. Ohlbrecht was undrafted out of Germany, but Houston picked him up in February in the hopes that the 6'11" center could develop into a frontcourt contributor. Neither he nor Anderson played an integral role for the Rockets this past season.

The Rockets declined their $6.4MM team option on Garcia last month, but the team was still stuck with his hefty cap hold until renouncing his rights today. The team could have made that cap hold disappear simply by formalizing the agreement on Garcia's new contract, but perhaps the club intends to use its cap room to bring aboard Dwight Howard and the rest of its free agent bounty first, and squeeze Garcia's deal in using part of the $2.652MM room exception. The $884,293 cap hold for Boykins, who didn't play in the NBA in 2012/13, was simply a placeholder, so it's no surprise the Rockets renounced him.

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Machado, Ohlbrecht Recalled From D-League

April 29th, 2013 at 12:17pm CST by Luke Adams

The D-League's season officially came to an end this weekend, when the Rockets' affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, defeated the Warriors' affiliate, the Santa Cruz Warriors, to win the 2012/13 championship. With the D-League season in the books, the NBA players that had been assigned to each team have now been recalled.

The Warriors announced in a press release that they have recalled Scott Machado from Santa Cruz, while Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle tweets that Tim Ohlbrecht has returned to the Rockets.

Ohlbrecht helped the Vipers go undefeated in the D-League, averaging 11.0 PPG and 6.5 RPG in the Finals against Machado's Warriors. Machado was Santa Cruz's second-leading scorer in the Finals, with 16.0 PPG.

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D-League Moves: Jones, Lamb, Liggins, Ohlbrecht

April 9th, 2013 at 11:59am CST by Luke Adams

Here are today's D-League assignments and recalls, with any additional moves added to the top of the page throughout the day:

  • Perry Jones, Jeremy Lamb, and DeAndre Liggins have been assigned to the D-League by the Thunder, the team announced today in a press release. Jones, Lamb, and Liggins, who all rank among this season's most-assigned players, are expected to be in uniform tomorrow night when the Tulsa 66ers open up their playoff series against the Canton Charge.

Earlier updates:

  • The Rockets have assigned Tim Ohlbrecht to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the team announced today in a press release. As I noted last month, no NBA team has assigned more players to its D-League affiliate than the Rockets — Ohlbrecht becomes the eight player to be sent to Rio Grande Valley this season. The big man, who played with the Vipers for a good chunk of the season, will presumably be in uniform when the team begins its first-round playoff series with the Maine Red Claws on Thursday.
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Southwest Notes: Vasquez, White, Mavs, Dirk

March 2nd, 2013 at 7:59pm CST by Sean Highkin

With the Spurs attempting to mitigate Tony Parker's ankle injury, the Grizzlies and Rockets firmly in the playoff picture, and the Mavericks attempting to stay out of the lottery, the Southwest Division is one of the more fascinating in the league currently. Here is a roundup of the latest updates:

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