Portland Trail Blazers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Odds & Ends: Bobcats, Smith, D-League, Pippen

November 1st, 2012 at 1:15pm CST by Luke Adams

Earlier this week, we heard that there were a number of teams that at least touched base with the Thunder about James Harden before he was traded to the Rockets. We can add the Bobcats to that list as well, as owner Michael Jordan tells Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer that his team "made a couple calls" about Harden's availability. Jordan, who says he's "in it for the long haul" as Bobcats owner, adds that he believes Charlotte can still be an attractive destination for free agents down the road, though he acknowledges the team needs to get its house in order first.

Here are a few more notes from around the NBA, as the Thunder and Spurs prepare for the only game on tonight's schedule:

On the heels of some surprising contract extensions, Tom Ziller of SBNation.com shares his five rules for teams thinking about extending players.
Nolan Smith tells Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com that he understands the Blazers' cap situation and has no problem with the team's decision to turn down his 2013/14 option, adding that he views it as a "blessing in disguise" (Twitter links).
A few intriguing names will be in camp with the Maine Red Claws, the Celtics' D-League affiliate, as Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com. Xavier Silas, Micah Downs, Chris Wright, and Chamberlain Oguchi are among the invitees.
Nets GM Billy King tells Newsday's Roderick Boone that one of the lessons he learned at his previous job in Philadelphia: "At the end, I was just trying to keep my job. Once you start trying to keep your job and not do it, it's not going to work."
The Bulls have appointed Scottie Pippen a Senior Advisor to the President and COO of the team, according to an official release.

Minor Moves: Johnson, Blazers, Brown

October 31st, 2012 at 7:40pm CST by Chuck Myron

With the D-League draft two days away and several training camp invitees out on the open market after cuts this week, there's plenty of player movement going on outside the NBA. We'll round up the latest here.

JaJuan Johnson, whom the Rockets recently waived, has entered his name into the D-League draft and is expected to be the No. 1 pick, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).
Blazers camp invitees Coby Karl, Dallas Lauderdale and Justin Holiday have all been added to the roster of the Idaho Stampede, Portland's D-League affiliate, tweets Ben Golliver of Blazer's Edge. Presumably, that means the Blazers elected not to protect the D-League rights of Demonte Harper and Adam Morrison, the other two camp invitees the team waived this weekend.
A Russian team has announced that they've signed free agent forward Derrick Brown, reports Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. The newest member of the club Lokomotiv Kuban was competing for a roster spot with the Spurs until San Antonio waived him last week.

Western Notes: Meeks, Tinsley, Roy, Blazers

October 30th, 2012 at 8:21pm CST by Chuck Myron

The NBA released its annual report on the growing international presence on its rosters, noting the Spurs have a record eight players from overseas, notes Art Garcia of Fox Sports Southwest, and that includes players from Australia, Brazil, Canada, France and the U.S. Virgin Islands, as HoopsWorld's Alex Kennedy points out (Twitter links). The Timberwolves have five of the league's international players from four different countries, according to the team (Twitter link). As the league continues to attract talent from around the world, here's what's going on around the Western Conference.

Jodie Meeks couldn't be more content with his decision to sign with the Lakers, even though the Wizards and Bucks offered him more money this summer, Kennedy reports.
In the same piece, Kennedy also checks in with Jamaal Tinsley, whose deal with the Jazz is non-guaranteed, as we learned last night. The backup point guard is enthusiastic about Utah's veteran offseason additions, but Brad Rock of the Deseret News believes the team's younger players are the key.
Ray Richardson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press looks at how the Timberwolves plan to use Brandon Roy this season, noting that the plan is for him to see 30 to 32 minutes per game, down from his career 35.6 MPG average.
The Blazers hired Chris McGowan as team president last night, but he'll take a hands-off approach to the basketball operations side of the franchise, reports Mike Tokito of The Oregonian.
No. 1 overall pick Anthony Davis is set to make his debut for the Hornets on Wednesday against the Spurs, and Davis believes he gained much from going against Duncan as the Hornets conducted voluntary scrimmages against the Spurs in the summer, writes John Reid of The Times-Picayune.
The focus is on the present in Memphis, where Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace largely stood pat over the summer with a roster on the fringes of contention amid the ownership transfer from Michael Heisley to Robert Pera, as Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal examines.

Blazers Obtain Disabled Player Exception

October 30th, 2012 at 3:46pm CST by Luke Adams

OCTOBER 30TH: Olshey confirmed today that the Blazers have obtained a disabled player exception for Williams, tweets Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com. The GM says it's a financial tool, rather than a roster tool, which presumably means it'll only be kept on the books for cap purposes, rather than actually used to acquire a player.

OCTOBER 1ST: With Elliot Williams expected to miss the entire 2012/13 season after undergoing surgery on his ruptured achilles tendon, the Trail Blazers will not waive him, GM Neil Olshey told the media today. However, as Joe Freeman of the Oregonian tweets, the team will apply for a disabled player exception worth half Williams' salary.

Freeman adds within the same tweet that Olshey says the Trail Blazers still have about $2MM in cap space, but the GM is likely referring to the room exception, rather than actual cap space. Despite only spending about $56MM on team salary, Portland has a traded player exception worth about $2.25MM from this summer's Raymond Felton trade that the club would have to renounce to claim that cap room. Also, disabled player exceptions are only available to over-the-cap teams, so the Blazers wouldn't receive a DPE if they still had cap space.

Even if the league approves the disabled player exception for Williams, it likely won't be of much use for the Blazers. By rule, the team would receive an exception worth 50% of Williams' $1.443MM salary, which would be about $721K, less than the veteran's minimum.

Olshey also told the media today that the Blazers will make option decisions on Williams, Nolan Smith, and Luke Babbitt later this month (Twitter link via Freeman).

Blazers Decline Options On Babbitt, Williams, Smith

October 30th, 2012 at 3:29pm CST by Luke Adams

3:29pm: According to GM Neil Olshey, the Blazers have declined their options on Babbitt, Williams, and Smith, tweets Joe Freeman of the Oregonian. As I noted below, this will free up about $6.7MM of potential cap space for the Blazers next summer.

8:21am: The Trail Blazers will not exercise Luke Babbitt's fourth-year option for 2013/14, meaning he'll become an unrestricted free agent next summer, according to Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com. Babbitt had been in line for a $2.9MM salary, but the Blazers will elect to gain that amount in cap flexibility instead.

Portland also holds 2013/14 options on Elliot Williams and Nolan Smith, worth $2.37MM and $1.42MM respectively. While the team still could decide to exercise one or both of those options, Haynes says they'll likely be declined as well. Turning down all three options would allow the Blazers to gain about $6.7MM in extra cap room next summer.

As we heard yesterday, the Blazers are hoping to add an accomplished veteran player in free agency next summer, and declining their three rookie-contract options will give the club the flexibility to offer a significant, eight-digit annual salary. Depending on how free agency plays out, the Blazers could still decide to bring back Babbitt, Williams, and/or Smith for the 2013/14 season.

Odds & Ends: Tinsley, Martin, Pekovic, Dorsey

October 29th, 2012 at 10:02pm CST by Michael Pina

Here are a few bits of news from around the league on this Monday evening.

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.

Blazers Have No Plans To Trade LaMarcus Aldridge

October 29th, 2012 at 11:42am CST by Luke Adams

LaMarcus Aldridge and Trail Blazers GM Neil Olshey met earlier this month to discuss Aldridge's future in Portland and the team's direction over the next several years, reports Jason Quick of the Oregonian. Quick hears from Aldridge and Olshey that two main points came out of the meeting: The Blazers have no plans to trade Aldridge over the next two years, and the team intends to pursue an accomplished veteran in free agency next summer.

Having undergone a significant roster overhaul this summer, the Blazers have a young team this season. At age 27, Aldridge represents the veteran presence on a roster whose core pieces include Nicolas Batum (23), Wesley Matthews (26), Damian Lillard (22), and Meyers Leonard (20). Given the Blazers' relative youth and inexperience, and the way Portland's last franchise player, Brandon Roy, was set aside by the club, Aldridge approached Olshey to inquire about the rebuilding process and his role with the franchise. He left the meeting pleased with the answers he received.

"What I took from this meeting that made me more confident was that this isn't a total rehaul," Aldridge said. "He said we have young guys this year, but we have cap room next year, and we can bring in another older player, another good player, and that can help us get over the hump next year. He also said they still want this to be my team, for me to lead it, and that we aren't trying to get rid of you or trade you in the next year or two. That's the number one thing I wanted to hear."

With three years and nearly $44MM left on his current contract, Aldridge will be eligible for free agency in the summer of 2015. As for next summer, the Blazers figure to have about $50MM in contracts on the team's books, giving them room to be a player on the free agent market. The team could also clear close to another $7MM in salary if it turns down 2013/14 options for Luke Babbitt, Nolan Smith, and Elliot Williams.

Cavaliers Offered Batum $52MM

October 28th, 2012 at 8:23pm CST by Sean Highkin

According to a new report by the Oregonian's Joe Freeman, the Cleveland Cavaliers made Trail Blazers forward Nicolas Batum an offer of four years and $52MM when he was a restricted free agent this summer. That offer is significantly higher than the offer sheet Batum signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves, worth $46MM over four years. Portland matched that offer after it was signed.

In Freeman's article, Batum discussed the free-agency process, which was contentious at times between the Blazers and Timberwolves:

"The thing is, I wanted to challenge them," he says. "Because I'm European. And when people say, 'We love you,' they show you they love you. That's a stupid European, French thing. But it's true. After what happened in January, I wanted them to show me they loved me."

Northwest Rumors: Harden, Dorsey, Lawson

October 28th, 2012 at 10:43am CST by Chuck Myron

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.

Trail Blazers Cut Five, Including Morrison

October 27th, 2012 at 12:47pm CST by Michael Pina

SATURDAY, 12:47pm: The Blazers confirmed the roster cuts via press release.

FRIDAY, 5:51pm: According to CSNNW.com's Chris Haynes, the Trail Blazers have informed Adam Morrison, Coby Karl, Dallas Lauderdale, Demonte Harper, and Justin Holiday that they will be released on Saturday, bringing the team's roster down to 15 for the season. Harper and Holiday will be assigned down to the D-League affiliate Idaho Stampede.

One factor to be considered in Portland's decision to take forward Sasha Pavlovic instead of Morrison is the fact that the Celtics are paying Pavlovic's salary.