Ronny Turiaf

Ronny Turiaf Announces Retirement

Longtime NBA big man Ronny Turiaf has announced that he is retiring, posting a YouTube video to confirm his decision. Turiaf narrates the video in French, discussing his career journey and explaining why he’s deciding to call it a career.

“My objective was always to play for 10 years in the NBA and to play 100 times for Team France,” Turiaf says in the video, as he literally walks toward the sunset. “I can honestly say that I achieved all of my goals. So now, I begin my new life.”

Back in June, Turiaf indicated in an interview with BasketUSA.com (translation via Emiliano Carchia of Sportando) that he’d have some interest in returning to the court, following a hip injury that had sidelined him since 2014. The 33-year-old suggested he’d leave the door open to the possibility of signing with an NBA team or a major European club, but it seems he either decided against a comeback, or didn’t receive the sort of interest he had hoped for.

A second-round pick out of Gonzaga in the 2005 draft, Turiaf spent three years with the Lakers before moving on to the Warriors, Knicks, Wizards, Heat, Clippers, and Timberwolves. Over the course of his 10-year NBA career, Turiaf appeared in 473 total regular season games, averaging 4.7 PPG, 3.7 RPG, and 1.3 BPG. He also played in 47 postseason contests, winning a title with the Heat in 2012.

And-Ones: USA Basketball, Ingram, Lakers, Turiaf

In the wake of reports earlier this week that Stephen Curry and other stars won’t be playing for Team USA this summer in Brazil, USA Basketball announced today that there are plenty of young players set to participate in next month’s training camp as part of a 25-man select team. The select team will train with the Olympic squad as it prepares for the 2016 Olympics, and is made up of players with three years or less of NBA experience, as well as a handful of incoming rookies.

The full roster of Team USA’s select team can be found right here. Among the most interesting names? Top prospects Brandon Ingram and Kris Dunn; dunk contest standouts Zach LaVine and Aaron Gordon; and former top picks Jabari Parker, Julius Randle, D’Angelo Russell, and Jahlil Okafor.

Let’s round up a few more odds and ends from across the NBA…

  • Within a piece that focuses on D’Angelo Russell and his NBA future, Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times writes that Brandon Ingram – the favorite to be selected second overall in this year’s draft – is scheduled to have dinner with Lakers officials on Wednesday night and to work out privately for the club on Thursday.
  • In an interview with BasketUSA.com (translation via Emiliano Carchia of Sportando), former NBA big man Ronny Turiaf expressed some interest in returning to the court following a hip injury that has sidelined him since 2014. According to Sportando’s translation, Turiaf is leaving the door open to a possible return to the NBA or to a major European club.
  • Coming off a season in which he won the D-League’s MVP award, Jarnell Stokes is looking forward to trying to get another shot from an NBA team this offseason, as he tells Cody Taylor of Basketball Insiders. Since being selected in the second round of the 2014 draft, Stokes has been traded three teams and has yet to find a good NBA fit.
  • Former Sixers guard Pierre Jackson will work out this week at the Knicks‘ free agent mini-camp, and is lined up to work out for the Trail Blazers and Mavericks later this month, sources tell Ian Begley of ESPN.com.

Sixers Release Ronny Turiaf

TUESDAY, 5:06pm: The Sixers have released Turiaf, the team announced in a press release.

FRIDAY, 10:58pm: The Sixers will release Ronny Turiaf, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports (Twitter link). Turiaf was acquired by Philadelphia as a part of the three team trade for Corey Brewer earlier today in which the Sixers sent Alexey Shved to Houston. This move will reduce Philadelphia’s roster count to 14 players, leaving one spot open for GM Sam Hinkie to possibly work as a clearinghouse once again for another team looking to get a contact off of its books. After all, there still remain a few second round draft picks out there that Philadelphia hasn’t laid claim to. The Sixers currently hold a total of 14 second-rounders through the 2020 NBA draft.

Turiaf is likely out for the season after undergoing surgery on his right hip on December 16th. The 10th-year big man is on a fully guaranteed contract worth $1.5MM this year, which expires at the end of the season, so Philadelphia will eat the remaining salary owed to Turiaf.

The 31-year-old out of Gonzaga has only appeared in two games this season after playing in just 31 games for Minnesota last season. He started in 10 of those appearances and averaged 4.8 points and 5.6 rebounds in 19.5 minutes per contest. Turiaf’s career numbers are 4.7 PPG and 3.7 RPG. His career slash line is .533/.000/.636.

Rockets Acquire Corey Brewer

8:15pm: The trade is official, the Rockets have announced in a press release. Houston received Alexey Shved from the Sixers and Corey Brewer from the Wolves. Minnesota received Troy Daniels, along with the Kings’ 2015 second round pick (protected for picks 50-60), Houston’s 2016 second round pick (protected for picks 31-45) and cash considerations from the Rockets. Philadelphia received Houston’s 2015 second round pick and the rights to Serhiy Lishchuk from the Rockets, and Ronny Turiaf from Minnesota. The Rockets have also officially waived Francisco Garcia to reduce their roster count to 15.

5:52pm: The Sixers will also receive the rights to Serhiy Lishchuk from the Rockets, Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle reports (Twitter link). Lishouk was the No. 49 overall pick in the 2004 NBA draft.

5:24pm: Alexey Shved is likely to head to the Rockets as part of the deal, and Turiaf will go to the Sixers, Wojnarowski reports (Twitter links). Houston intends to release Garcia rather than include him in the trade, Wojnarowski also notes.

2:58pm: The Wolves receive Sacramento’s 2015 second-round pick, which the Kings previously sent to the Rockets, as long as it’s within the top 49 selections, reports Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune (Twitter link). The 2016 second-rounder going Minnesota’s way is Houston’s own, Zgoda adds.

2:48pm: Minnesota and Houston discussed Rockets swingman Francisco Garcia, Wolfson hears (Twitter link), though it’s unclear if he’ll be part of the final arrangement.

2:22pm: The Rockets are also sending cash to Minnesota in the deal, Feigen tweets.

NBA: Portland Trail Blazers at Minnesota Timberwolves1:36pm: The Wolves and Rockets have struck a deal that will send Corey Brewer to Houston, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Troy Daniels heads to Minnesota as part of the deal, Wojnarowski also tweets. Ronny Turiaf, who’s likely out for the season, is headed to the Rockets, though there’s a decent chance that he’ll wind up on a third team, Wojnarowski adds (on Twitter). Minnesota-Houston deal itself is liable to involve another team, too, a source tells Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). As the deal stands, two future second-round picks are also heading from the Rockets to Minnesota, one of which is the 2015 second-rounder that Houston had acquired from the Kings, though the draft considerations are still being hammered out, according to Wojnarowski (Twitter links).

Houston GM Daryl Morey and his staff had been pushing to use a trade exception worth nearly $8.375MM by no later than today so that the Rockets could flip whomever they acquired in another trade that aggregates that player’s salary prior to the trade deadline. It’s not immediately clear what the other elements of the Brewer deal are, but the Rockets are indeed taking Brewer’s salary of nearly $4.703MM into the exception, as Wojnarowski writes in a full story and Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities tweets.

The teams first discussed a Brewer deal last month before Minnesota appeared to take him off the table amid injury woes. At the time it seemed as though Brewer’s suitors were pushing for him to waive his $4.905MM player option for next season, but it’s unclear if Houston was hung up on that notion or whether Brewer has indeed done so. The Cavs were also keen on acquiring Brewer both in November and this week, when Wolves coach/executive Flip Saunders reignited the talks. Reports indicated that the Clippers had interest at both points, too, and the Heat were apparently eyeing Brewer at least during the initial round of talks.

Houston’s coaching staff is reportedly enamored with Brewer, and, as Wojnarowski writes, it’s primarily his defense at the small forward position that’s driven the Rockets to make the deal. Still, that’s somewhat odd, since the Rockets have given up the second fewest points per 100 possessions in the league so far, per NBA.com, even without Brewer. His game seems an awkward fit for Houston, as I examined when I looked at Brewer’s trade candidacy. A November report from Feigen that first revealed Houston’s eagerness to use the trade exception, a vestige of this summer’s Jeremy Lin trade that doesn’t expire until this coming July, suggested that the Rockets were merely trying to bolster their rotation, regardless of fit. Thus, Houston could put together a more attractive trade offer in pursuit of a star at the deadline, when the Rockets would be able to aggregate the salary of whomever they used the exception on with other salaries.

The Wolves, who are in a rebuilding stage, as Saunders recently admitted, announced earlier this week that Turiaf is expected to miss the rest of the season after undergoing hip surgery. He’d appeared in only two games so far this season because of the lingering hip injury, and his contract, which pays him a guaranteed $1.5MM this year, is up at season’s end. Saunders indicated this week that Minnesota would waive Turiaf if an intriguing free agent came available, but instead the 10th-year veteran is departing the Wolves via trade.

Daniels is heading to Minnesota after re-signing with the Rockets this past summer on a two-year deal that’s fully guaranteed for the minimum salary. The 23-year-old swingman was surprising playoff hero for Houston last spring, but he’s seen just 6.4 minutes per game across 17 appearances for the Rockets this season.

Corey Brewer Back On Trade Block

6:58pm: The discussions between Houston and Minnesota include the possibility of Ronny Turiaf heading to the Rockets as well, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN.com tweets.

THURSDAY, 6:20pm: The Rockets are involved in trade talks with the Wolves regarding Brewer and hope to have an agreement in place by Friday, Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle reports.

WEDNESDAY, 8:25pm: The Timberwolves have placed veteran swingman Corey Brewer back on the trade block, Brian Windhorst and Marc Stein of ESPN.com report. Minnesota, which has been hit hard by injuries and is dead last in the Western Conference with a record of 5-19, are again engaging contending teams in discussions for Brewer. The Rockets, Cavaliers, and Clippers are the franchises most interested in acquiring Brewer, Windhorst and Stein note. The Heat have also been mentioned as being interested in the swingman’s services.

Minnesota had made Brewer available in trade talks back in November, but then pulled hm off of the trade market, with team president Flip Saunders saying that the 28-year-old defensive whiz was “too valuable to trade.” This was due in part to the loss of Kevin Martin to a broken wrist, and Ricky Rubio to an ankle injury, which left Minnesota rather thin in its backcourt, note the ESPN scribes. Saunders had acknowledged last week that the Wolves had switched their focus from retooling to rebuilding in light of the rash of injuries and their poor record, which explains why Brewer is suddenly being made available again.

Houston and Cleveland remain in the best position to make a deal because both teams possess an active trade exception large enough to absorb Brewer’s $4.7MM salary, note Stein and Windhorst. But their sources say that the Wolves are seeking a future first-round pick in exchange for Brewer, something that the Cavaliers are reluctant to surrender. Both the Rockets and the Cavs could certainly benefit from Brewer’s strong perimeter defense and versatility.

As for the Rockets, Houston hopes to sell Minnesota on trading Brewer for the Knicks’ 2015 second-rounder that the Rockets hold the rights to, which is a pick with the potential to be attractive come June given the Knicks’ ongoing struggles, Stein and Windhorst add.

For his part, Brewer would likely welcome a trade since he admitted last week that he wasn’t too keen on going through another rebuild with the Wolves. “It’s tough for me, I’m not going to lie,” Brewer said. “When I came back here, I wasn’t expecting this, to rebuild again. It comes with the territory. It’s business. It’s basketball. It’s what I love to do. So I wake up every day and I come to work.”

For the season, Brewer has appeared in 24 games for Minnesota, including 16 as a starter. He is averaging 10.5 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.3 steals in 28.3 minutes of action per contest.

Ronny Turiaf To Miss Rest Of Season

Ronny Turiaf will miss the rest of the season after undergoing surgery on his right hip today, the team announced (Twitter link). Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune reported the news minutes earlier. Coach/executive Flip Saunders said that the team would waive Turiaf if an intriguing player became available at some point, Zgoda notes. The 10th-year big man is on a fully guaranteed contract worth $1.5MM this year, and it expires at season’s end.

The Wolves already have 16 players on their roster, thanks to the hardship Minnesota qualified for in part because of Turiaf’s lingering hip ailment, and it’s unlikely the team would be granted another extra roster spot. Minnesota can apply for a Disabled Player Exception, but the team can only do so if Turiaf is still on the roster, and it would only be worth $750K, which wouldn’t give the Wolves much additional financial flexibility. The 16th roster spot is only temporary, as the league awards it 10 days at a time, and when the Wolves return to health, the team will have to trim down to 15 players. Minnesota could at that point elect to cut Turiaf and keep Jeff Adrien, whom it added when the league first granted the hardship exception, but it’s unknown whether that’s what Saunders intends to do.

The 31-year-old Turiaf has only seen the floor for two games this season after playing in just 31 games for Minnesota last season. He started in 10 of those appearances and averaged 4.8 points and a stout 5.6 rebounds in 19.5 minutes per contest, but he’s largely failed to give the team much return on its investment in the two-year, $3MM contract he signed in 2013.

Western Rumors: Turiaf, Clippers, Gasol, Lopez

Wolves coach/executive Flip Saunders told reporters today that it’s likely he’ll try to find a way to use Ronny Turiaf‘s roster spot to help the team in the short term, tweets Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune. Turiaf had surgery today on his right hip, and it’s unclear when he’ll be able to return. His contract, which calls for him to make a guaranteed $1.5MM this year, is up at season’s end, as Zgoda notes. Minnesota is already carrying 16 players through a hardship exception granted in part because of Turiaf’s injury, so his extended absence wouldn’t give the team any more ammunition to apply for a 17th roster spot, which it would be unlikely to receive, anyway. There’s more injury-related news amid the latest rumblings from around the Western Conference:

  • Clippers coach/executive Doc Rivers acknowledged a report that the team is interested in Jermaine O’Neal, telling gathered media, including Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times, that he’s casting a wide net (Twitter link). “Hey, count me in for everybody,” Rivers said. “… We’re looking at everything.”
  • Jordan Farmar isn’t enamored with his limited role under Rivers, who’s giving him just 15.0 minutes per night, observes Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Farmar’s deal with the Clippers includes a player option worth more than $2.17MM for next season.
  • Marc Gasol isn’t tiring of hearing his name in rumors as he nears free agency in the summer ahead, but he once more made it clear that he’s quite pleased to be in Memphis, notes Chris Mannix of SI.com (Twitter link). The Raptors are the latest team reportedly gearing up for a run at the Grizzlies big man.
  • Robin Lopez is expected to miss the next four weeks after suffering a broken right hand in Monday’s win for the Blazers against the Spurs, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The Blazers have 15 fully guaranteed contracts, so they have little flexibility to find a replacement.

Central Rumors: Turiaf, Blatt, Bucks, Augustin

The Cavs are still looking to add a big man to their roster, as we passed along earlier tonightRonny Turiaf might be an appealing trade target for Cleveland, observes Jerry Zgoda of the Star-Tribune (on Twitter). The center is a favorite of new Cavs power forward Kevin Love, according to Zgoda. We’ll round up more on Cleveland and the Central below:

  • David Blatt‘s first season coaching the Cavs will be less stressful with talent like Love and LeBron James on the roster, as Blatt tells Chris Fedor of the Northeast Ohio Media Group. Things get a lot easier when LeBron James and Kevin Love come walking into your door,” Blatt said. “It makes my job easier, maybe my responsibility greater but the job easier in terms of having to teach (James) what to do and not to do.”
  • There’s optimism within Milwaukee that the city has the political pieces in place to satisfy the Bucks‘ quest for a new arena, as David Aldridge of NBA.com passes along in his Morning Tip column. Acquiring a top flight talent like Eric Bledsoe would only aid the Bucks in their mission, opines Aldridge,
  • NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum was in Milwaukee last week to meet with the Mayor and the Bucks’ new owners, according to Aldridge, who adds that the group spent time identifying potential locations in the city for a new arena.
  • Pistons president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy was pleasantly surprised that his club was able to afford D.J. Augustin this summer, reports Keith Langlois of NBA.com. Detroit inked the guard to a two-year, $6MM contract in July.

Odds & Ends: Howard, Turiaf, Bobcats, Beasley

Here’s a quick rundown of some notes around the NBA this Saturday:

  • Josh Howard was named to the training camp roster for the Austin Toros, according to Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News. The 10-year veteran, who underwent season-ending ACL surgery last winter, will play for the Spurs’ D-League affiliate as he rehabs his knee. The Spurs signed and waived Howard just last Saturday to ensure that they would retain his D-League rights.
  • McDonald adds that San Antonio camp invitees Courtney Fells and Myck Kabongo will join Howard in Austin.
  • The Timberwolves announced today (via Twitter) that Ronny Turiaf has undergone an MRI revealing a fracture of his right elbow. No timetable for his return has been given. The Wolves are already missing forward Chase Budinger, who is sidelined indefinitely after undergoing arthroscopic surgery. We heard last night that no Wolves roster moves were brewing, but if Turiaf and Budinger miss significant time, the team may need to reconsider its options.
  • Bobcats owner Michael Jordan oversaw a summer in which the team hurt its chances for next year’s No. 1 pick, but he finally showed that he has a legitimate plan in place for the team, argues Tom Sorensen of the Charlotte Observer.
  • Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel notes that Michael Beasley and Roger Mason of the Heat need to prove they can provide value off the bench since their non-guaranteed contracts can be waived until the January 10th NBA guarantee date. Beasley in particular needs to demonstrate that he has grown out of his off-the-court issues that caused many NBA GMs to look past him during free agency.
  • The NBA Player’s Association has started to narrow down candidates for the executive director position, tweets Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. The NBPA aims to have finalists selected by All-Star weekend.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Wolves Notes: Turiaf, Williams, Camp Roster

The Timberwolves held a press conference today to introduce offseason signee Ronny Turiaf to the media, and while no groundbreaking news emerged from the presser, Turiaf did express enthusiasm about joining a potential playoff team in Minnesota.

"I'm so excited about joining this team because of what they already are and what I can bring to the table," Turiaf said, according to Jon Krawczynski of the Associated Press (link via the Star Tribune). "It's this kid excitement, this pureness about really wanting to accomplish something special."

Here's more out of Minnesota…

  • When GM Flip Saunders called him during July's free agent period, Turiaf felt like Minnesota was where he belonged, he told reporters today (Twitter link via Timberwolves PR).
  • Saunders was asked about the looming decision on Derrick Williams' $6.33MM fourth-year option, which is due by the end of October, and replied "I think he's going to be here," according to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link).
  • Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune says that he doesn't think there's any real debate over whether the Wolves will pick up Williams' 2014/15 option, adding that Saunders seems to view it as a straightforward decision (Twitter links). Meanwhile, Wolfson suggests (via Twitter) that he thinks the team will exercise Williams' option, but eventually trade him.
  • The Wolves continue to talk to agents and could add at least one more player to their training camp roster, tweets Zgoda.