Southwest Notes: Thomas, Evans, Harrell
Pelicans swingman Tyreke Evans underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee on Tuesday, and he is expected to be out of action for six to eight weeks, John Reid of The Times Picayune reports. ”If you know Tyreke, if there is any way of getting back earlier, he’ll do that,” coach Alvin Gentry told reporters. ”But I know he will back as soon as he possibly can. He loves to play. He can play in pain. I just want him to get well and get completely healthy.” This was the second procedure on Evans’ knee since May.
Here’s more from the Southwest Division:
- A few teams are interested in Deshaun Thomas, but chances are still good that he ends up with the Spurs‘ D-League affiliate in Austin, Jabari Young of The San Antonio Express-News relays (Twitter link). Thomas was waived by San Antonio earlier today.
- With injuries to Donatas Motiejunas and Terrence Jones, Rockets rookie power forward Montrezl Harrell is getting a crash course in what it takes to be in an NBA rotation, writes Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. “He’s getting a lot of valuable lessons,” coach Kevin McHale said. “Sometimes, they’re painful lessons. He’s got a lot to learn like all rookies do. From a coaching standpoint, I’m happy for him. He gets much more opportunities. I’d much rather see D-Mo and Terrence out there every single day, playing and him playing backup and learning that way. Right now, he’s learning by baptism by fire.”
- Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle was effusive in expressing his appreciation for what Tyson Chandler brought to the organization, and Carlisle understands that the veteran big man may harbor some ill feelings toward the franchise after being allowed to leave as a free agent a second time, Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News writes. “Tyson is one of the most special people I’ve met in my 33 years in this profession,” Carlisle said. “He knows how I feel about him and he has every right to feel the way he feels. He truly is one of the all-time great Mavericks, there’s just no doubt about it. And this past summer was the byproduct of the high-stakes things you go through in this league, the risks you take. We attempted to get the team significantly younger. It didn’t work out and he decided to leave, so that was certainly his prerogative.“
Spurs Waive Keifer Sykes
The Spurs have waived Keifer Sykes, the team announced via press release. He joins Jimmer Fredette, Deshaun Thomas and Youssou Ndoye on the waiver wire, as previous reports from Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports foretold that the Spurs were cutting them, too. Sykes, a 21-year-old point guard who went undrafted out of Wisconsin Green Bay this year, was on a non-guaranteed contract, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders. Today’s moves leave the Spurs with 16 players, including 13 on fully guaranteed deals.
Sykes failed to score, record an assist or commit a turnover in nearly 19 minutes of preseason action spread over three games. He fared better with the Cavs in summer league, averaging 9.4 points in 18.3 minutes per contest.
San Antonio’s final roster spot appears to be a one-on-one battle between veterans Rasual Butler and Reggie Williams, presuming the Spurs keep Matt Bonner and his sizable partial guarantee. Neither Butler nor Williams has any guaranteed salary. The Spurs aren’t obligated to carry more than 13 players, a consideration since the team is over the luxury tax threshold, but most teams carry 15 on opening night.
Who do you think the Spurs should keep for the regular season? Leave a comment to let us know.
Spurs Waive Jimmer Fredette
1:01pm: Fredette’s release is official, the team announced via press release.
10:18am: The Spurs are waiving former No. 10 overall pick Jimmer Fredette today, reports Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). The ex-BYU star signed with San Antonio in late July on a one-year, minimum salary contract that was guaranteed for only $507,711, half of the full season’s salary, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reported. The Spurs will be responsible for that amount if he clears waivers. It’s the latest fall from grace for the popular and once-heralded prospect who’s failed to gain traction in the NBA since the Kings drafted him in 2011.
The partially guaranteed contract meant that a spot on the regular season roster was no certainty, even though his partial guarantee was the league’s third largest for this season. A vaunted outside shooter coming out of college, he averaged only 2.0 points and 13.2 minutes per contest in two preseason appearances for San Antonio, failing to connect on all three of his three-point attempts. He made just 18.8% of his three-pointers last year with the Pelicans, though he’s a 38.1% shooter from behind the arc for his four-year NBA career.
Fredette’s scoring and minutes per game have decreased each year since he put up a modest 7.6 PPG in 18.6 MPG for the Kings in 2011/12. Sacramento waived his rookie scale contract in a buyout deal shortly after the trade deadline in 2014, and he signed with the Bulls soon thereafter. He rarely made it off the bench in Chicago and inked a one-year, fully guaranteed contract for the minimum salary with New Orleans in the summer of 2014.
The move will leave San Antonio with 17 players, since they’re also waiving Deshaun Thomas and Youssou Ndoye, as Charania reported earlier. The Spurs have 13 full guarantees plus a $749,594 commitment to Matt Bonner that represents the league’s largest partial guarantee for 2015/16.
Do you think we’ll see Fredette get another chance in the NBA? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.
Spurs Waive Deshaun Thomas, Youssou Ndoye
1:00pm: The moves are official, the team announced via press release.
10:11am: The Spurs have waived Deshaun Thomas and Youssou Ndoye sources tell Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). The team has yet to make an official announcement, though Charania indicates the moves have already taken place. Ndoye went undrafted out of St. Bonaventure this year, while the Spurs picked Thomas 58th overall in the 2013 draft, so releasing him means the team is relinquishing his draft rights. Both have non-guaranteed contracts, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders. The subtractions will leave San Antonio with 18 players, meaning at least three more cuts have to take place before opening night. The Spurs have 13 fully guaranteed salaries, as our roster count shows.
Thomas, a 24-year-old combo forward, totaled nine points on 2 for 9 shooting in about 29 minutes of play spread over two preseason appearances. The former Ohio State standout who averaged 19.8 points in his final season with the Buckeyes appeared intent on joining the Spurs this season after playing two years overseas, and he signed for the terms of the required tender San Antonio had to make to keep his draft rights. While a release from the Spurs today would give any NBA team a crack at Thomas, San Antonio can elect to keep his D-League rights.
It appears San Antonio will be doing just that with Ndoye, as the expectation when he and the team reached agreement was reportedly that he would end up with the D-League Austin Spurs. Ndoye still plans on signing with San Antonio’s D-League affiliate should he clear waivers, as Charania writes in a full story. The 24-year-old center averaged 3.3 PPG in 10.0 MPG across three preseason appearances.
Jazz, Hawks, Suns, Knicks Eye Jimmer Fredette
The Jazz, Hawks, Suns and Knicks are teams with some level of interest in Jimmer Fredette, as Sam Amico of AmicoHoops.net hears. The Spurs are set to waive Fredette today, as Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports reported. Any of those teams could claim his one-year, minimum-salary contract off waivers, though they’d have to assume responsibility for his $507,711 partial guarantee if they did. They could negotiate a contract without a guarantee if he clears waivers.
A return to Utah would be a homecoming of sorts for the former BYU star. The Jazz are already down to 15 players, but three of them are without full guarantees on their deals, so the team has flexibility. Phoenix is in a similar spot, with 15 players, including two with non-guaranteed contracts. The Hawks have 13 full guarantees, but Mike Muscala seems like a “lock” for the regular season roster, and former second-round pick Lamar Patterson, who’s seen plenty of preseason playing time, has a partially guaranteed deal. The Knicks have 13 full guarantees, but Langston Galloway appears secure for the 14th spot, and like Atlanta, they have a former second-round pick in Thanasis Antetokounmpo competing for spot No. 15.
Of course, Fredette is a former lottery pick, having gone 10th overall to the Kings in 2011. Still, he didn’t make too much impact in his rookie season, and his numbers have declined since. He shot only 18.8% from three-point range last season with the Pelicans and didn’t make a three-pointer in the preseason this month for the Spurs.
Do you think the Jazz, Hawks, Suns or Knicks make sense for Fredette? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.
Southwest Notes: Ginobili, Dekker, Pelicans
Spurs veteran Manu Ginobili has been among the team’s most accurate shooters, making 12 of his 16 shots from the field overall and going 5 for 7 on 3-pointers in four preseason appearances, and entering tonight’s game he was the team’s No. 2 scorer, at 11.7 points per game, a level of play that is even surprising the 39-year-old shooting guard, Mike Monroe of The San Antonio Express-News writes. “I am shocked,” Ginobili said about his level of performance thus far. “To tell you the truth I wasn’t expecting this but I am feeling great; healthy; making shots. I’m playing relaxed. I am really enjoying the experience. That is what I wanted to achieve, this mental state. It’s way easier to do it in preseason when everything is more relaxed but we’ll see how it goes. So far, so good.”
Here’s the latest out of the Southwest:
- Rockets first-rounder Sam Dekker has struggled with his shooting during the preseason, but the rookie feels that he is beginning to acclimate himself to the speed of the pro game, writes Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. “As a rookie there is that little growth process,” Dekker said. “I don’t think I’m anywhere near as comfortable as I’m going to be. I’m learning every day and trying to learn from the best and ask as many questions as I can. I’m trying to pick up as much as I can so I can help this team and learn every day and keep growing and get more comfortable.”
- The Pelicans need to find an effective power forward who can defend and score if the team wants to shift Anthony Davis to the center position, which is being considered under new coach Alvin Gentry, Jonathan Tjarks of RealGM writes. One target for next offseason who Tjarks suggests would be a good fit in New Orleans is current Rockets combo forward Terrence Jones, who will be eligible to become a restricted free agent at the end of the 2015/16 campaign. While Houston will most likely prefer to re-sign Jones, a substantial offer sheet proffered by the Pelicans could dissuade GM Daryl Morey from matching and bring Jones to New Orleans, Tjarks opines.
- Team owner Mark Cuban believes that if the Mavericks‘ top players can remain healthy, Dallas will deploy a potent lineup and have an excellent shot to make the playoffs this season, Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com relays. “We’re going to be fun,” Cuban said. “Our defense is going to be better, and we’re shooting the ball from three a lot more. And that’s with our young guys. Once the vets get in there, it will open things up more for them. … But we’ve got a lot of new, young guys that will be fun to watch. And then watching Dirk Nowitzki and Chandler Parsons and Wesley Matthews and Deron Williams, that’s going to be money right there. You know, that’s a [heck] of a top four.”
And-Ones: Cavs, Davis, Aldridge, Kobe, Teodosic
The Cavaliers are the pick to win it all and LeBron James is the favorite for MVP in the league’s annual GM survey, as John Schuhmann of NBA.com presents. More than half the executives who responded favor the Cavs, while the Warriors garnered only 17.9% of the vote, the third-lowest percentage for a defending champ in the 13-year history of the GM survey. Still, neither of last year’s Finals teams has Anthony Davis, whom a whopping 86.2% of respondents selected as the player they’d most want to build their teams around.
LaMarcus Aldridge drew 79.3% of the vote for the offseason acquisition who’ll make the greatest impact, and the Spurs garnered the same percentage for the team that had the best offseason, unsurprisingly. See more on Aldridge’s decision amid the latest from around the NBA:
- Aldridge thought he would re-sign with the Trail Blazers when he put off thumb surgery last season, and he thinks the Blazers did all they could to keep him, but the lure of playing closer to his home in Texas proved too great when the time came for a decision, as he told Chris Mannix of SI.com. Aldridge said to Mannix that the idea that he left Portland because he couldn’t get along with Damian Lillard was overblown, and that while he and Lillard mutually acknowledged that they could have communicated better with each other, they don’t have a poor relationship. “But I never had an issue playing with him or anything like that or with him being the face or them promoting him or anything like that,” Aldridge said in part. “If I had an issue like that then why go to the Spurs? They don’t promote anybody.”
- Kobe Bryant‘s presence was one of the best parts of meeting with the Lakers this summer, Aldridge insisted to Mannix for the same piece, striking back at the notion that he didn’t want to play with the Lakers star.
- The GM poll also shows 28-year-old shooting guard Milos Teodosic, who plays for CSKA Moscow but whose NBA rights aren’t tied to any team, as the second-best international player outside the NBA aside from Sixers draft-and-stash prospect Dario Saric. Plus, more GMs want to see revamped lottery odds than any other rules change.
Southwest Rumors: Duncan, Mavs, Grizzlies
Tim Duncan is trying to sort out where he fits into the Spurs’ pecking order with the emergence of small forward Kawhi Leonard and the addition of power forward LaMarcus Aldridge, according to Michael C. Wright of ESPN.com. With high-scoring Aldridge at power forward, Duncan is likely to spend more time in the high post and use his passing skills, Wright continues. “My role has changed a little bit this year,” Duncan told Wright. “I’m trying to figure that part of it out. But it’s fun to be out there. It’s fun to be with the guys that I’ve been with for so many years and some new guys that I’m learning.” Even before Aldridge joined the Spurs, Duncan’s role in the offense was reduced, Wright notes. His usage rate of 22.2% last season was the lowest of his career but his true shooting percentage of .560 tied his best since 2006/07, Wright adds.
In other news around the Southwest Division:
- International veteran Salah Mejri has fought his way into the mix for a rotation spot with the Mavericks, Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News reports. The 7’2” Mejri gives the Mavs length at center and has displayed shot-blocking and rebounding skills during the preseason, Sefko continues. However, he needs to work on his strength, Sefko adds. Mejri received a guaranteed rookie minimum of $525,093 from Dallas.
- Power forward Jarnell Stokes seems to have fallen out of favor with the Grizzlies and that could help journeyman center Ryan Hollins gain a roster spot, Chris Herrington of the Memphis Commercial Appeal reports. Stokes only played six minutes in the team’s preseason game on Sunday, while coach Dave Joerger has made a point of praising Hollins, Herrington continues. With Marc Gasol as the only other true center on the roster, Hollins might fill a bigger need, Herrington adds. Stokes has a guaranteed contract worth $845,059 this season, while Hollins’ $947,276 deal is not guaranteed.
- Rookie center Joshua Smith is getting extensive court time as he battles for the Rockets‘ final roster spot, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. Injuries to big men Dwight Howard, Terrence Jones and Clint Capela have allowed Smith, who has a non-guaranteed deal worth $525,093, to make an impression on the coaching staff. “You look at a guy in my position – just trying to make the team – any chance you get to start, you have to take advantage,” Smith told Feigen. “I’m humbled they’re giving me a lot of opportunities. I just have to keep trying to make the best out of them.”
Southwest Notes: Aldridge, Robinson, McCalebb
Free agent addition LaMarcus Aldridge cautions not to expect too much right away from the new-look Spurs, according to Mike Monroe of the Express-News. After a busy offseason, the Spurs have at least five new players to integrate into their lineup. Aldridge was San Antonio’s free agency prize, signing a four-year deal worth approximately $80MM. The team also signed David West, traded for Ray McCallum, signed Euroleague star Boban Marjanovic and signed Jimmer Fredette. “We are all going into this for the first time together,” Aldridge said. “The ups and downs of the season are going to be new to us as a group, just learning how to play together in certain environments, certain games.”
There’s more from the Southwest Division:
- Nate Robinson and Bo McCalebb had just one practice before playing in their first game with the Pelicans, writes John Reid of The Times-Picayune. Both were signed this week due to a rash of injuries, including backup point guard Norris Cole, who is expected to be out of action for six weeks with a high ankle sprain. ”I told them in the locker room after the game that it was really unfair what we asked them to do,” coach Alvin Gentry said. ”I think the thing that everyone has to realize is that these guys have been working but to be in basketball shape, you know you have to actually play basketball. So they struggled a little bit in that area.”
- Robinson received a one-year, non-guaranteed minimum $1.5MM contract, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders, and McCalebb was given a two-year, non-guaranteed minimum deal worth $1.4MM.
- Injuries in the frontcourt are getting in the way of Rockets coach Kevin McHale as he tries to set a rotation for the season, writes Jenny Dial Creech of The Houston Chronicle. Dwight Howard sat out his fifth straight game with a sore back Saturday, and backup center Clint Capela missed the game with a sore shoulder. A back injury has prevented Donatas Motiejunas from playing this preseason, and Terrence Jones was pulled in the fourth quarter for concussion evaluation. “I would like to see what we have and work on those lineups,” McHale said, “but I have to go with what I have, with who is healthy out there.”
Texas Notes: Harden, Smith, Green, Barea
The Rockets‘ James Harden changed teams early in his career, but he told Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle that he doesn’t plan to do it again. “Definitely it’s going to end here,” Harden responded when asked about the rest of his career. Harden was sent to Houston in a 2012 trade after three years in Oklahoma City that included an NBA Finals appearance. He has three seasons left on a contract that will pay him more than $50.35MM.
There’s more from the Lone Star State:
- The Heat were thinking of center Joshua Smith with the D-League in mind, which is why he opted for a camp invitation from the Rockets, tweets Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel. Smith, who was on Miami’s summer league squad, joined Houston on a one-year, minimum salary arrangement with no guaranteed money.
- Danny Green, who re-signed with the Spurs during the offseason, is adjusting to life with free agent addition LaMarcus Aldridge, writes Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News. Green, who received a four-year, $40MM deal to stay in San Antonio, has seen his shooting percentage decline in the preseason as he tries to get used to a lineup with three post players. “Before, we did a lot of drive-and-kick,” Green said. “We can still do that, but I think a lot of my looks are going to come from double teams in the post.”
- J.J. Barea, who signed a four-year, $16MM deal this summer, remains among the Mavericks‘ most popular players as he enters his 10th NBA season, according to Eddie Sefko of SportsDayDFW. Barea will still be an important part of the team, as coach Rick Carlisle has said that he plans to have roles for all four of his point guards. “I look back and think about going into my 10th season, and sometimes I wake up and can’t believe it,” Barea said. “I enjoy it to the max. I have more fun than anybody every day, and I just keep working.”