Western Notes: Fredette, Blazers, Douglas-Roberts
Ben Golliver of SI.com identifies five players on Western Conference contenders who'll be "X-factors" for their teams, meaning their performance this season will go a long way in determining whether their teams will be playing in June. Three of the X-factors are offseason acquisitions: Dwight Howard of the Lakers, Andre Iguodala of the Nuggets and Lamar Odom of the Clippers. A fourth, the Thunder's James Harden, is entering the final season of his contract, while the Spurs have their X-factor, Kawhi Leonard, locked up until 2015 and already talking about staying with the team for a lot longer than that. There's more on others from around the West tonight, and we've got it rounded up here.
- While some Kings teammates say Jimmer Fredette has been the best player in camp, the team has other options at guard that could keep Fredette out of the rotation, as Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com notes. Still, Howard-Cooper makes the case that the Kings still need the 10th overall pick in the 2011 draft to play up to his potential.
- Luke Babbitt and Nolan Smith still have multiple seasons left on their rookie-scale contracts, but if the Blazers don't think they'll develop, Dwight Jaynes of CSNNW.com thinks they could trade one or both of them for draft picks and cap space. Such moves could also allow the team to keep Coby Karl and Adam Morrison, both of whom have impressed Jaynes.
- Blazer's Edge checks in with two-pronged preview of the Blazers, as Tom Ziller looks at what's ahead while Mike Prada gives the team a C for its work this past offseason.
- Chris Douglas-Roberts, in camp with the Lakers on a non-guaranteed deal, talks about his teammates, the challenge of making the regular season roster, and what went wrong during his first stint in the NBA as part of a Q&A with Mike Trudell of Lakers.com.
- Free agent signee Jamal Crawford is showing off his ability to score in crunch time for the Clippers, as Eric Patten of Clippers.com observes.
Kings Exercise Options On Cousins, Fredette
The Kings have officially exercised their 2013/14 team options on DeMarcus Cousins and Jimmer Fredette, the team announced today in a press release. Option decisions had been due by the end of the month.
"We’re looking forward to seeing DeMarcus and Jimmer play this year and continue to grow, improve and help this team be successful," said Geoff Petrie in the statement released by the club.
Cousins, who is entering his third season, is now in line for a guaranteed salary of about $4.92MM in 2013/14, the final year of his rookie contract. Fredette, meanwhile, had his third-year option picked up, and will make about $2.44MM in '13/14. A year from now, Cousins will be eligible for a long-term extension with Sacramento, while the Kings will hold another team option for 2014/15 on Fredette, worth $3.11MM.
Be sure to follow Hoops Rumors' rookie-contract 2013/14 option tracker to see the latest option decisions as the October 31st deadline approaches.
Pacific Notes: Suns, D12, Paul, Lakers, Fredette
Let's head to the west coast and round up a few of Tuesday's items out of the Pacific Division….
- After waiving Othyus Jeffers, the Suns have more difficult roster decisions ahead of them, according to Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. Among those is deciding which big man to keep from a group that includes Ike Diogu, Solomon Jones, and Luke Zeller.
- Although it appears that the Lakers and Clippers are the overwhelming favorites to re-sign Dwight Howard and Chris Paul respectively next summer, the two stars could conceivably decide to team up on a team like the Hawks, says ESPN.com's Chris Broussard (Insider link).
- The Lakers likely wouldn't have Steve Nash, Jordan Hill, and others on this year's roster if it weren't for a handful of small trades in the past, as Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times explains.
- Jimmer Fredette's stock has fallen since he was selected 10th overall in the 2011 draft, but he's showing promise this preseason for the Kings, writes Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com. Sacramento has two more weeks to exercise its $2.44MM option on Fredette for 2013/14.
Odds & Ends: Stone, Ellington, Pistons, Kings
Julyan Stone, recovering from hip surgery, could be out until January, Nuggets coach George Karl tells Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post. Stone's contract is only partially guaranteed for $100K, so it's possible the team decides to cut him, but Hochman stresses that the Nuggets "love" the second-year point guard, suggesting he's still part of their plans going forward. Here are a few more updates from around the NBA:
- Following up on David Aldridge's story on extension candidates that we covered earlier, Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal says Wayne Ellington won't be extended by the Grizzlies due to the pending change in ownership.
- General manager Joe Dumars has the Pistons on an upward trajectory as the team continues to rebuild, writes Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
- Kings coach Keith Smart recently appeared on Sacramento radio station KHTK to discuss Tyreke Evans, DeMarcus Cousins, and changing the culture in Sacramento. Eric Schmoldt of Sports Radio Interviews has the details.
- Jon Pastuszek of NiuBBall.com passes along Chinese reports that indicate the Qingdao Double Star Eagles are still considering signing Jerome Jordan. We'd heard previously of Qingdao's interest in Jordan, but perhaps the seven-footer is more intrigued by the possibility now that Tracy McGrady is on board.
- Gino Pilato of Ridiculous Upside wonders if Kelenna Azubuike could head to the D-League after being released by the Cavaliers.
Kings Waive Cyril Awere
The Kings have officially requested waivers on Cyril Awere, the team announced today in a press release. Having released Awere, who didn't see action in the team's only preseason game to date, the Kings now have 17 players under contract.
Awere a 6'11" center from Nigeria, had been playing for Stade Nabeulien in Tunisia before he was added to the Kings' training camp roster. When the team signed him, I noted that he and fellow camp invitee Willie Reed were extreme long shots to make Sacramento's regular-season roster. However, with 14 players on guaranteed contracts, there is one roster spot available for the Kings' three remaining camp invitees — Reed, Tony Mitchell and Hamady N'Diaye are the candidates for that 15th spot.
Aldridge On Extension Candidates
The latest Morning Tip piece from TNT's David Aldridge is up at NBA.com, and focuses on the first round of the 2009 draft class, most of whom are eligible for contract extensions this month. However, Aldridge doesn't expect many new deals to be inked, since the new CBA doesn't give players a ton of incentive to sign early.
"Now (that) you can only give the same amount of years that they can get next summer, the player isn't as interested," one team executive told Aldridge. "Now, you have no advantage. I used to be able to say 'I can give you a year more today than you can get next year. So let's talk about a deal and maybe the number is more realistic.' But they've taken that away."
Here's what Aldridge has heard on a number of extension candidates:
- The Kings will "probably not" be offering Tyreke Evans an extension, Aldridge hears from a source.
- Things are "pretty quiet" on the Brandon Jennings front, and Aldridge isn't expecting him to work out a long-term extension with the Bucks.
- DeMar DeRozan and the Raptors aren't close to a deal, but have been talking for weeks. Aldridge cautions not to rule out the possibility of the two sides reaching an agreement.
- Aldridge does, however, essentially rule out extensions for Austin Daye (Pistons) and James Johnson (Kings).
- Jrue Holiday's agent will touch base with the 76ers later this week about a possible extension.
- Ty Lawson of the Nuggets is the one player that everyone around the league believes will sign a long-term deal by Halloween.
- The Hawks are talking to Jeff Teague about a new deal, but Aldridge thinks it's unlikely the team commits to anything yet when it could have so much cap space available next summer.
- Agent Mark Bartelstein on Taj Gibson and the Bulls: "They've made it clear they'd like to sign Taj. They're making an effort, and so are we… if we can get something done that everybody feels good about, great. If not, I'm sure he'll have a great year."
Camp Rumors: Christmas, Wilkins, Brown, Harper
Much of the news this time of year has to do with players fighting for roster spots, and we've already passed along a few such items today. The Timberwolves and Cavaliers have also made cuts, indicating that time is running out for NBA hopefuls to make an impression. Here's a roundup on camp invitees across the league.
- Dionte Christmas hasn't seen much playing time in the preseason, but he's still the frontrunner to make the opening-night roster among the five Celtics without fully guaranteed deals, according to Greg Payne of ESPNBoston.com. At $237K, Christmas has the most partially guaranteed money of the team's camp invitees.
- Damien Wilkins is the most likely camp invitee to make the Sixers, writes John Mitchell of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
- Derrick Brown had a "handful" of other training camp invitations, but chose the Spurs even though they only have one roster spot available because of his affinity for the way the organization is run, reports Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News.
- In the same piece, McDonald also passed along a comment from Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, who indicated the battle for the final roster spot is a tight one.
- Justin Harper has a guaranteed deal with the Magic, but it's only for the minimum salary and, as Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel notes, he's competing for a roster spot.
- If 6'6" swingman Tony Mitchell beats out three other camp invitees for the last spot on the Kings, it will be because of his defense, writes Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee.
- Among several observations from the Heat's preseason loss to the Clippers in China, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel wonders if Rodney Carney might have been better served signing with a team that wasn't so deep on the wing.
- Robert Sacre has proven competent as he's started in place of Dwight Howard during the preseason, and Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com argues the Lakers are better off going with younger, cheaper talent for the end of the bench instead of pursuing another veteran.
Coach/Exec Notes: Gentry, Petrie, Drew
While Hoops Rumors focuses primarily on trades and free agency involving NBA players, there's another group entering contract years as the 2012/13 season approaches — coaches and front office personnel. This could be a crucial year for many coaches and executives who are in the final year of their deals, so let's take a look at some stories on a few guys in contract years….
- Alvin Gentry is a good fit for the Suns, and extending his contract would not only be the right move, but would send the right message, argues Paola Boivin of the Arizona Republic. It doesn't sound as if the team is negotiating a new contract for its head coach at the moment though. "It's not an issue for this season," said Suns owner Robert Sarver. "I don't think it's an issue with Alvin, and it's not an issue for us. I've worked with Alvin for the last eight years. I think he's treated the organization fairly, and I think we've treated him fairly."
- Kings president Geoff Petrie is entering the last year of his deal, but doesn't appear concerned about his uncertain future, telling Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee: "I think really for me the only contract I'm concerned about is the one all of us have, and that's the contract with life. And you take that one day at a time."
- Like Petrie, Hawks coach Larry Drew is downplaying any worries about his long-term future as he enters the final year of his contract. New GM Danny Ferry agreed with the team's decision to pick up Drew's 2012/13 option, but the two will wait until after the season to discuss a new contract for the coach, writes Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. If the Hawks underachieve at all this year, it wouldn't be a surprise to see Ferry bring in his own man for the job.
Western Notes: Redd, T-Wolves, Hollins, Harden
It's Media Day for many NBA teams, which means we're in store for plenty of news and notes today, along with a handful of quotes from players in the "best shape of their lives." In the meantime, here are a few updates from some Western Conference clubs:
- The Timberwolves thought they had landed Michael Redd to a non-guaranteed deal, but the veteran shooter changed his mind, reports Darren Wolfson of ESPN 1500 (via Twitter).
- Lionel Hollins has only had "limited discussions" with the Grizzlies about a contract extension, but the head coach expects to have a new deal in place before his current contract expires at season's end, says Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal.
- With just over four weeks until this year's extension deadline, it's beginning to look as if James Harden will hit restricted free agency next summer rather than re-up this month with the Thunder, as Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman writes.
- The Kings haven't found a permanent solution at small forward in recent years, but offseason acquisition James Johnson is the latest candidate for the job, writes Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee.
- Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News profiles one of the Spurs' only offseason additions, Nando De Colo.
Kings Sign Willie Reed, Cyril Awere
The Kings have officially announced their roster for training camp, and there are a couple of new names on the list, in addition to signees like Tony Mitchell and Hamady N'Diaye, which we already knew about. The team has also added a pair of bigs, Willie Reed and Cyril Awere, on non-guaranteed contracts.
Reed, 22, is a 6'9" forward that played his college ball at St. Louis University. He was suspended by the school and entered the NBA draft pool early after sitting out a season, but went undrafted in 2011. ESPN.com's Chad Ford had ranked him as the 70th-best prospect of the class. Awere, meanwhile, is a 6'11" center from Nigeria. The 27-year-old had been playing for Stade Nabeulien in Tunisia.
The Kings head into camp with 18 players on their roster, including 14 on guaranteed deals, so it's unlikely that either Reed or Awere makes the cut. At least one of Mitchell and N'Diaye appears to be a decent bet to earn a roster spot in Sacramento, however.