Suns Sign Deonte Burton
The Suns have signed unrestricted free agent Deonte Burton, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reports (Twitter link). It is a non-guaranteed training camp pact, adds Pincus, and most likely for the league minimum, though that is merely my speculation. The agreement will also include limited injury protection, Pincus adds, so it is likely an Exhibit 9 contract. The addition of Burton will give Phoenix a roster count of 18 players, including 13 with fully guaranteed deals.
Burton, 24, went undrafted out of Nevada in 2014 after averaging 20.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 4.4 assists against 2.0 turnovers in 38.6 MPG as a Senior. His career NCAA numbers were 16.2 PPG, 2.9 RPG, and 4.0 APG to accompany a shooting line of .439/.337/.751.
The guard appeared in the 2014 summer league with the Wizards before catching on with the Kings for training camp. Burton was cut by Sacramento last October and later signed with Germany’s Ratiopharm Ulm for the remainder of the 2014/15 season. His numbers in 31 appearances for Ratiopharm were an underwhelming 2.6 PPG, 0.6 RPG, and 0.5 APG in 10.1 minutes per contest. Burton played in the 2015 NBA Salt Lake City Summer League for the Sixers’ squad.
And-Ones: Williams, Thomas, Nunnally
Alan Williams, who starred at UC Santa Barbara and made an impact during summer league, was surprised that no NBA team was willing to give him a guaranteed contract, according to Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic. Instead, Williams signed with the Double Star Eagles in Qingdao, China, grabbing an overseas spot that usually isn’t available once NBA training camps end in October. “It gave me financial stability, which is something a lot of people don’t get in their first year,” Williams said. “It gives me an opportunity to go out there and develop my game more and play for a pretty good team. Culturally, I get to go to a whole different continent and see how they play.” Williams thought he might get more interest from NBA teams after an impressive performance with the Rockets‘ summer league squad. He averaged 20.5 points and 11.8 rebounds in four games and was named to the all-NBA Summer League second team. Williams is hoping for another shot at the NBA once his CBA season ends in February or March.
There’s more news tonight from around the basketball world:
- Tyrus Thomas, the fourth pick in the 2006 draft, still dreams of returning to the NBA, writes Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. Thomas missed the entire 2013/14 season after undergoing an anterior cervical discectomy and fusion for an arachnoid cyst. He signed a 10-day contract with the Grizzlies in January, but only appeared in two games. At 29, he is training for another shot at the league and hopes to be in someone’s camp next month.
- James Nunnally has signed with Sidigas Avellino of the Italian Serie A, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Nunnally, another UC Santa Barbara product, appeared in a combined 13 games with the Hawks and Sixers during the 2013/14 season. He spent last season with teams in Spain and Israel, and played for the Pacers‘ entry in this year’s summer league.
- Several teams took risks this summer, and Lang Greene of Basketball Insiders evaluates the best and worst of them, including the Lakers‘ and Knicks‘ draft picks, the Rockets‘ deal for Ty Lawson, the Raptors giving big money to DeMarre Carroll and Cory Joseph and the Kings‘ gamble on Rajon Rondo.
Hoops Rumors Community Shootaround 8/17/15
The DeMarcus Cousins saga has been a constant source of news, rumors and innuendo throughout the offseason. The mercurial Kings center is certainly one of the most talented players in the league and, at 25, is just entering the prime years of his career. He’s also locked up contractually through the 2017/18 season.
That hasn’t slowed down the rumor mill that the Kings will deal Cousins well before his contract expires. Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck fueled the fire today by saying that most of the people within the organization want the franchise to trade him away (video link), prompting Cousins, president of basketball operations Vlade Divac and owner Vivek Ranadive to suggest on Twitter Monday that the report was nonsense. Beck added in his video report that coach George Karl would still like to see the team deal Cousins, even though Karl has said otherwise.
Cousins recently met with Karl and later said that they were on the same page. That meeting came after a brief encounter between Cousins and the coach at summer league that was reportedly their first interaction for a period of months. Cousins had tweeted snake and grass emojis shortly after a report surfaced indicating that Karl had actively attempted to have him traded.
Karl’s reported desire to get rid of Cousins upset Ranadive to the point that he considered firing the coach, and a conflicting narrative exists about whether the Kings reached out to John Calipari as a potential replacement.
The Lakers were reportedly in talks to acquire Cousins around draft time. And while Cousins’ personality may rub some people the wrong way, there would undoubtedly be strong interest around the league in his services if the Kings decided to shop him.
Therefore, our question of the day is this: Do you believe DeMarcus Cousins will remain with the Kings throughout the upcoming season? If not, when do you think he will be traded?
Take to the comments section below to sound off with your thoughts and opinions. We look forward to what you have to say.
Note: Since these Shootarounds are meant to be guided by you the reader, we certainly welcome your input on the topics we present. If there is something you’d like to see pop up here for a discussion, shoot us a message at hoopsrumorsmailbag@gmail.com.
Most Within Kings Want DeMarcus Cousins Traded?
5:44pm: Cousins, Divac and Ranadive all took to Twitter in an apparent effort to debunk the latest rumors, with Cousins posting “Blah blah blah…” and Divac chiming in with “I agree…#family.” Ranadive followed with the hashtag #WeAreFamily (hat tip to Marc Stein of ESPN.com).
2:04pm: The vast majority of the people in the Kings organization would prefer to see the team trade DeMarcus Cousins, as Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck says he’s been told (video link). Owner Vivek Ranadive has said publicly since the spring that he has no desire to trade the All-Star center, and while Beck believes that the owner is steadfast against a move, it appears others in the team’s power structure feel differently. Beck adds that coach George Karl would still like to see the team move on from Cousins, even though Karl has said otherwise.
It’s the latest twist in an ongoing saga involving the Kings and Cousins that comes on the heels of weeks of apparent peacemaking. Cousins said last week that he and Karl were on the same page after a meeting that they’d had along with vice president of basketball operations Vlade Divac and assistant GM Mike Bratz. That meeting came after a brief encounter between Cousins and the coach at summer league that was reportedly their first interaction for a period of months. Cousins notoriously tweeted snake and grass emojis shortly after a report surfaced indicating that Karl had actively attempted to have him traded. A person familiar with Karl’s thinking told Beck all the way back in February that the Kings weren’t ruling out trading Cousins at the deadline this past February, and Karl advanced that notion in April when he said that he’d never coached a player who was off-limits for a trade.
Karl’s apparent efforts to trade Cousins reportedly upset Ranadive to the point that he considered firing the coach, and a conflicting narrative exists about whether the Kings reached out to John Calipari as a potential replacement. Indeed, the line of Cousins rumors has been rife with denials and nuance, dating back to concerns over Cousins’ reaction to the pair of coaching changes that Sacramento made this past season. His contract still has three full seasons left, valued at an average of nearly $16.958MM a year, so it doesn’t present an urgency to make a deal.
The Lakers emerged as a strong suitor for Cousins around draft time. The Dan Fegan client reportedly wanted to play with them, and Ranadive apparently gave Fegan permission to see if he could find a workable trade that would take Cousins out of Sacramento. However, no deal materialized as Divac, who has echoed Ranadive in saying publicly many times that he wants to keep Cousins, sought a reconciliation between Cousins and Karl. It had seemed, before today’s news, that the coach and his star player had patched up their relationship, but apparently that effort still has a ways to go.
What do you think of the latest development in the DeMarcus Cousins saga? Leave a comment to tell us.
And-Ones: Jordan, Rondo, Kings
The Knicks did not ultimately factor in DeAndre Jordan‘s decision this summer, but Jordan said it had nothing to do with the team’s presentation, Ken Berger of CBSSports.com reports. Jordan met with the Knicks but re-signed with the Clippers.
“The Knicks had a great presentation,” Jordan said. “Phil Jackson speaks for himself with his resume. [Coach Derek Fisher] did a great job. The whole team, I felt like they had a plan — for the organization, and they had a plan for me, which was cool. But nothing was wrong with their presentation. It was great.”
Here’s more from around the basketball world:
- Rudy Gay believes his friend and new teammate Rajon Rondo is motivated to prove doubters wrong, Berger writes in the same piece. Rondo signed a one-year, $10MM pact with the Kings in July. Rondo will be coming off a down year in terms of production.
- The Kings have hired longtime NBA sabermetrician Roland Beech to head up their analytics department, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports. Beech replaces Dean Oliver, who was let go in July.
Pacific Notes: Kobe, Clarkson, Jordan, Cauley-Stein
Kobe Bryant isn’t making any definitive statements about whether he’ll retire after this coming season, even though that seems the most likely outcome. It’s also uncertain whether he’ll play in the 2016 Olympics, but USA Basketball executive director Jerry Colangelo said Bryant told him he’d love to “ride off into the sunset” with Team USA next summer, providing he’s still playing well enough to earn a roster spot, observes Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com. While we wait to see if Bryant’s storied career has a storybook ending, see more from the Pacific Division:
- Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak envisions D’Angelo Russell and Jordan Clarkson in the team’s backcourt for the next 10-12 years, as he recently told SiriusXM NBA Radio (Twitter link), and Clarkson sees that as a challenge to build on his breakout rookie season, as he said to Serena Winters of Lakers Nation. “If Mitch believes in us, we’re definitely trying to make that happen,” Clarkson said. “We’ve got to put our best foot forward if he believes in us like that and continue to work hard and put in great effort. Coach [Byron] Scott ain’t no easy guy to play for, so you’ve got to leave it all on the line when you play for him! So, we’ve just got to work hard and get better everyday and hopefully bring wins to the organization.”
- DeAndre Jordan knows it’ll take time to heal the wounds that he inflicted on the hearts of the Mavs when he reneged on his agreement to sign with Dallas, but the Clippers center said earlier this week that he’d talked to Chandler Parsons and that they’ll remain cordial, as Ken Berger of CBSSports.com notes. Parsons previously called Jordan’s flip-flop “very unethical and disrespectful.” “I understand the whole situation and I’d be a little iffy too,” Jordan said. “But we were friends before and after basketball. It’s something that I don’t think he’s too happy about, but at the same time, it’s basketball and it happened.”
- No. 6 overall pick Willie Cauley-Stein has a quirky, one-of-a-kind personality, but Kings assistant coach John Welch lights up when talking about his performance in summer league, and Cauley-Stein tells James Herbert of CBSSports.com that Sacramento sees his unique manner as a plus. “The way I see it is, like, it was kind of meant to happen like that because [owner] Vivek [Ranadive] and [executive] Vlade [Divac] love the fact that I’m a bit of an artistic mind and I think outside of the box,” Cauley-Stein said. “They were really intrigued by that. That’s one of the main reasons why they chose me. So it worked out like that.”
Western Notes: Cousins, Karl, Davis, Williams
Rumors about turmoil between DeMarcus Cousins and Kings coach George Karl were overblown, Cousins insisted Tuesday, as Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee observes. The snake and grass emojis that the All-Star tweeted earlier this summer, shortly after the report that Karl wanted to trade him, seemed to indicate otherwise, but it appears their relationship has improved since then.
“There were some things that had to be ironed out,” Cousins said, “but at the same time, I wouldn’t make it as big as it was made out to be. Me and him [Karl] are on the same page, working on our relationship, and getting better every day. That’s all that matters. Things are a lot better. We’re trying to understand each other better. We’re going to make things happen, positive things happen.”
See more from the Western Conference:
- Former Pelicans coach Monty Williams still won’t express dismay over his firing earlier in the offseason, even though it separated him from Anthony Davis, the New Orleans star with whom he shares an uncanny bond, writes Jimmy Smith of The Times Picayune. Williams, now a Thunder assistant, still talks with Davis but insists that he’s careful to leave most of the tutelage to new Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry, Smith notes. Still, Williams makes it clear that he’ll always be friends with Davis, according to Smith.
- The Clippers roster is built to win in the playoffs more so than any other among Western Conference teams, according to metrics that Bradford Doolittle of ESPN.com put together for an Insider-only piece. That’s thanks to the addition of depth to the team’s star core, Doolittle writes. The Lance Stephenson trade and the signings of Paul Pierce, Josh Smith and others bolstered the strong but thin existing group.
- Warriors GM Bob Myers may be the reigning Executive of the Year, but Spurs GM R.C. Buford, who won the award in 2014, is still the league’s top front office boss, opines Cody Taylor of Basketball Insiders. That’s not surprising given San Antonio’s free agent haul, which includes LaMarcus Aldridge and a minimum-salary deal for David West.
Where Last Season’s 10-Day Signees Are Now
Four dozen players signed 10-day contracts last season, and while some remain with their NBA teams, others are long gone. Two are reportedly working out for the Lakers today — Sean Kilpatrick and Toure’ Murry — while another, David Wear, signed with Fuenlabrada of Spain, the team announced today (Twitter link; translation via Sportando’s Enea Trapani). Familiar names like Michael Beasley and Nate Robinson are free agents again, while Kenyon Martin, another notable 10-day signee from 2014/15, called it quits.
With an assist from the Hoops Rumors 10-Day Contract Tracker, which provides a database on 10-day signees dating back several years, we’ve caught up with each of the 10-day signees from this past season. They’re listed alphabetically with their whereabouts below. The teams by their names are the clubs with which they signed their 10-day contracts last season. Players who signed 10-day deals with multiple teams have all of those teams listed.
- Lou Amundson, Knicks — He re-signed with the Knicks this summer after the expiration of the deal he’d signed for the rest of last season on the heels of his pair of 10-day pacts.
- Earl Barron, Suns — Barron is a free agent following the expiration of the contract he signed with the Suns for the rest of the season after his pair of 10-day deals.
- Michael Beasley, Heat — Beasley is a free agent. The Heat declined their team option for this season after signing him late last season to a multiyear deal following the conclusion of his pair of 10-day contracts with the team.
- Jerrelle Benimon, Jazz — Benimon remains a free agent, as he has been since the Jazz elected not to re-sign him after his lone 10-day contract with the team.
- Sim Bhullar, Kings — Bhullar remains a free agent, as he has been since the Kings elected not to re-sign him after his lone 10-day contract with the team.
- Jabari Brown, Lakers — He’s still with the Lakers on the contract he signed following his pair of 10-day deals.
- Lorenzo Brown, Timberwolves — He’s still with the Wolves on the contract he signed following his pair of 10-day deals.
- Dwight Buycks, Lakers — Buycks remains a free agent, as he has been since the Lakers elected not to re-sign him after his lone 10-day contract with the team. The Lakers apparently told him in June that they remain interested in him, however.
- Will Bynum, Wizards — Bynum is a free agent following the expiration of the contract he signed with the Clippers for the rest of the season after his pair of 10-day deals.
- Earl Clark, Nets — He’s still with the Jazz on the contract he signed following his pair of 10-day deals, but they reportedly intend to waive him.
- Jack Cooley, Jazz — He’s still with the Jazz on the contract he signed following his pair of 10-day deals.
- Bryce Cotton, Jazz — He’s still with the Jazz on the contract he signed following his pair of 10-day deals.
- Seth Curry, Suns — The brother of MVP Stephen Curry signed with the Kings last month.
- Andre Dawkins, Celtics — Dawkins remains a free agent, as he has been since the Celtics elected not to re-sign him after his pair of 10-day contracts with the team.
- Austin Daye, Hawks — Daye is a free agent. The Hawks waived him after signing him late last season to a multiyear deal following the conclusion of his pair of 10-day contracts with the team.
- Toney Douglas, Pelicans — The six-year veteran reportedly reached agreement on a deal with the Pacers. The Pelicans had signed him to a multiyear deal following his second 10-day contract, but they waived him in July.
- Larry Drew II — Drew signed with AS Monaco Basket of France.
- Jarell Eddie, Hawks — Eddie remains a free agent, as he has been since the Hawks elected not to re-sign him after his lone 10-day contract with the team.
- Tim Frazier, Sixers — The Trail Blazers signed Frazier to a multiyear deal following his pair of 10-day contracts with Philadelphia.
- Langston Galloway, Knicks — He’s still with the Knicks on the contract he signed following his pair of 10-day deals.
- JaMychal Green, Spurs, Grizzlies — He’s still with the Grizzlies on the contract he signed following his pair of 10-day deals.
- Jorge Gutierrez, Bucks — He’s still with the Bucks on the contract he signed following his pair of 10-day deals.
- Jordan Hamilton, Clippers — Hamilton is a free agent. The Clippers waived him after signing him late last season to a multiyear deal following the conclusion of his pair of 10-day contracts with the team.
- Lester Hudson, Clippers — Hudson is a free agent. The Clippers waived him after signing him late last season to a multiyear deal following the conclusion of his pair of 10-day contracts with the team. He’s reportedly expected to sign with Liaoning of China.
- Bernard James, Mavericks — He signed with the Shanghai Sharks of China this summer following the expiration of his deal for the rest of last season with Dallas that came after his pair of 10-day pacts with the team.
- Dahntay Jones, Clippers — Jones is a free agent following the expiration of the contract he signed with the Clippers for the rest of the season after his pair of 10-day deals.
- Chris Johnson, Bucks, Jazz — He’s still with the Jazz on the contract he signed following his 10-day deal.
- Tyler Johnson, Heat — He’s still with the Heat on the contract he signed following his pair of 10-day deals.
- Sean Kilpatrick, Timberwolves — Kilpatrick is a free agent, but the Lakers are reportedly working him out.
- Ricky Ledo, Knicks — Ledo is a free agent. The Knicks waived him after signing him late last season to a multiyear deal following the conclusion of his pair of 10-day contracts with the team.
- John Lucas III, Pistons — Lucas is a free agent following the expiration of the contract he signed for the rest of the season after his pair of 10-day deals.
- Jerel McNeal, Suns — The Suns waived him after signing him late last season to a multiyear deal following the conclusion of his pair of 10-day contracts with the team. He’s since signed to play for Aris Thessaloniki of Greece.
- James Michael McAdoo, Warriors — He’s still with the Warriors on the contract he signed following his pair of 10-day deals.
- Toure’ Murry, Wizards — Murry is a free agent, but the Lakers are reportedly working him out.
- Kenyon Martin, Bucks — The 37-year-old announced his retirement in July.
- Quincy Miller, Kings, Pistons — He’s still on the contract he signed following his pair of 10-day deals with the Pistons, but Detroit traded him to the Nets, who reportedly plan to keep him at least until the start of training camp.
- Elijah Millsap, Jazz — He’s still with the Jazz on the contract he signed following his pair of 10-day deals.
- A.J. Price, Suns — Price is a free agent. He was reportedly considering an overseas deal, but he remains on the market.
- Miroslav Raduljica, Timberwolves — The two-year NBA veteran signed with Panathinaikos of Greece on a deal that includes an NBA out.
- Nate Robinson, Jazz — Robinson remains a free agent, as he has been since the Clippers elected not to re-sign him after his pair of 10-day contracts with the team.
- David Stockton, Kings — He’s still with the Kings on the contract he signed following his 10-day deal.
- Lance Thomas, Knicks — He re-signed with the Knicks this summer after the expiration of the deal he’d signed for the rest of last season on the heels of his pair of 10-day pacts.
- Tyrus Thomas, Grizzlies — Thomas remains a free agent, as he has been since the Clippers elected not to re-sign him after his lone 10-day contract with the team. The Mavs were reportedly among the teams that watched workouts the former No. 4 overall pick staged last month.
- Henry Walker, Heat —Walker is a free agent. The Heat waived him after signing him late last season to a multiyear deal following the conclusion of his pair of 10-day contracts with the team.
- David Wear, Kings — Signed with Fuenlabrada of Spain.
- Elliot Williams, Jazz, Hornets, Pelicans — Williams didn’t receive a deal for the rest of the season with any of the three teams that gave him 10-day pacts, but he recently re-signed with the Hornets for training camp.
- Reggie Williams, Spurs — He’s still with the Spurs on the contract he signed following his pair of 10-day deals.
- Nate Wolters, Pelicans — Wolters signed with Besiktas of Turkey.
Which of these 10-day signees from last season do you think is most capable of having an impact in the NBA this year? Leave a comment to let us know.
Lakers To Work Out Eric Moreland
The Lakers will work out forward Eric Moreland, a source tells overseas reporter David Pick (on Twitter).
The Kings waived Moreland late last month because, reportedly, his playing style was too similar to that of No. 6 pick Willie Cauley-Stein. If the Kings had not released Moreland, his salary would have became guaranteed. Sacramento, however, is interested in re-signing Moreland, according to vice president of basketball and franchise operations Vlade Divac.
Moreland, 23, had a labral tear in his left shoulder end his rookie year prematurely after he’d made it into only three games this past season. He is known as a good rebounder and averaged double-figures in boards during his final two college seasons and pulled down 12.7 rebounds in 28.7 minutes per game in seven contests for Sacramento’s D-League affiliate before his injury. The Lakers are a team that would benefit from depth in the frontcourt.
Kings Rumors: Rondo, Koufos, Cauley-Stein
George Karl is looking forward to the challenge of handling Rajon Rondo, even though the point guard has clashed with coaches in the past, writes Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. Rondo signed a one-year free agent deal with the Kings last month after a stormy half-season in Dallas. He joins an already-rocky situation in Sacramento where Karl and DeMarcus Cousins are trying to repair their relationship after early-summer trade rumors. Karl is aware of the clashes Rondo had with Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle, but he wants to offer the point guard a new start in Sacramento. “I just sold him on how I like to let my guys have freedom,” Karl said. “I talked to him once before he signed and it’s going to be fun coaching him. I think he wants to lead our team but he also wants to be part of the decision-making, and that can be somewhat combustible but it can also work at a high level because I think we’re all trying to make the team the best.”
There’s more news out of Sacramento:
- Signing Kosta Koufos and drafting Willie Cauley-Stein has given the Kings a logjam at center, Washburn notes in the same story. Although it may mean pushing Cousins to power forward, Karl is confident he can find ample playing time for all three. “Kosta is solid fundamentally, doesn’t make many mistakes, defensive-minded, tough-minded,” the coach said. “Willie is a young athlete. We have to show him how to play. I think it’s a great combination and how much we play big is all going to be determined on how successful it is.”
- The only surprise in Nancy Lieberman being named an NBA assistant coach is that it took so long, writes Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee. Lieberman was a college star and Olympic silver medalist back in the 1970s, coached the Mavericks’ D-League team into the playoffs and has worked as an assistant general manager. Despite that, her entry into coaching at the NBA level didn’t come until after the Spurs broke down the barrier by hiring Becky Hammon. “I’m like the loyal dog,” Lieberman said. “My only frustration was wondering if this was ever going to happen – if somebody was ever going to take a look at me and say, ‘She can do this.’”