Spurs Pick Up 2016/17 Option On Kyle Anderson
The Spurs have exercised their 2016/17 team option on small forward Kyle Anderson‘s rookie scale contract, the team announced via press release. That locks in a guaranteed salary of $1,192,080 for the 2014 No. 30 overall pick. The move appeared generally likely, though his option pickup wasn’t quite the certainty that others were.
Anderson, nicknamed Slow Mo for his lack of quickness, found his place in the NBA thanks to his canny on-court moves and and 6’8″ size. He saw limited playing time on a Spurs team that was trying to repeat as champions last season, averaging 2.2 points and 2.2 rebounds in 10.8 minutes per game across 33 appearances, though he did make eight starts. San Antonio assigned Anderson to the D-League seven times last season, and he played in 26 D-League games.
The option doesn’t do much to affect the math for San Antonio next summer. The Spurs now have about $70.4MM in guaranteed salary against a projected $89MM cap for 2016/17, though that doesn’t count any salary for Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili or David West, all of whom have player options. Anderson has one more team option left on his contract, for 2017/18.
And-Ones: Diogu, Silver, Labissiere
Ike Diogu has signed with Guangdong Southern Tigers of Chinese Basketball Association (CBA), according to Orazio Cauchi of Sportando reports. The power forward played last season with Dongguan Leopards of the CBA and he last played in the NBA for the Spurs during the 2011/12 campaign.
Here are a few more notes from the basketball world:
- During his press conference on Friday, commissioner Adam Silver emphasized transparency and the sharing of financial information, which could be a big issue for the NBPA, Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN.com tweets.
- Silver also admitted that the influx of TV money into NBA will reduce the number of teams losing money, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today tweets.
- Kentucky Freshman Skal Labissiere has received NCAA eligibility to play the 2015/16 season, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports tweets. Labissiere is projected to be a top pick in the 2016 draft.
- Jeff Green, who will be a free agent after the 2015/16 season, hopes to stay in Memphis long-term, but the forward also understands that basketball is a business and that a lot can change between now and the end of the season, Lang Greene of Basketball Insiders writes. “It’s too far [away] for me to think about,” Green said. “You just have to take it one game at a time. If we do what we have to do and win, everything will take care of itself. My main approach is to continue to be Jeff Green, continue to be aggressive and more consistent. Then, everything will fall into place next summer.”
Spurs Release Julian Washburn
The Spurs have waived Julian Washburn, the team announced via press release. San Antonio had just signed the swingman two days ago in a move that appears geared toward securing his D-League rights, since NBA teams can claim the D-League rights to as many as four players they cut from the NBA roster. The subtraction of Washburn, coupled with the team’s decision to waive Reggie Williams, takes San Antonio’s roster to 15 players, the regular season limit.
Washburn, a 23-year-old Texas native, went undrafted out of UTEP this year. He played with the Warriors in summer league, totaling two points in about 14 minutes spread over a pair of games, but he didn’t see any preseason action in his brief tenure on the Spurs roster.
San Antonio moves forward with Matt Bonner, who has a sizable $749,594 partial guarantee, and Rasual Butler, who’s on a non-guaranteed deal. The 13 other Spurs have full guarantees.
Spurs Waive Reggie Williams
SATURDAY, 2:18pm: The move is official, the Spurs announced via press release. The team also announced it waived recent signee Julian Washburn, so San Antonio is at 15 players.
FRIDAY, 11:07pm: The Spurs intend to waive small forward Reggie Williams, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports reports (via Twitter). Williams was in camp on a non-guaranteed deal, so San Antonio won’t owe any salary as a result of this move.
Williams, 29, appeared in 20 contests for the Spurs last season, averaging 1.9 points in 5.3 minutes per game. His career averages through 200 career NBA regular season contests are 7.9 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 1.5 assists to go along with a slash line of .458/.363/.747.
Releasing Williams will pare down the Spurs’ roster to 16 players, including 13 with fully guaranteed deals. San Antonio still has to release one more player prior to Monday’s deadline to reach the regular season maximum of 15 players. The departure of Williams likely means that Rasual Butler will make the team with his non-guaranteed deal, Charania adds.
Gregg Popovich To Become Team USA Coach
Spurs coach/president Gregg Popovich will succeed Mike Krzyzewski as head coach of Team USA, as USA Basketball announced via press release. He’ll retain his Spurs duties but expand his role with the national team once Krzyzewski steps down following the 2016 Olympics. Popovich served Team USA in the past as an assistant coach from 2002-04.
“I’m extremely humbled and honored to have the opportunity to represent our country as the coach of the USA National Team,” Popovich said in the USA Basketball statement. “What the program has accomplished over the last decade under the leadership of [USA Basketball Chairman] Jerry Colangelo and Mike Krzyzewski is truly impressive. I will do my utmost to maintain the high standards of success, class and character established by Jerry, Coach K and the many players who have sacrificed their time on behalf of USA Basketball.”
Popovich, 66, will serve through the 2020 Olympics, and Colangelo, 75, will remain in his job through then, too, but it’s unclear if either will stay with USA Basketball beyond that. Krzyzewski, who confirmed earlier this week that he’s stepping down next year, will remain with the program as a special adviser.
Today’s news is no surprise, as a coaching source had told Ken Berger of CBSSports.com that Popovich was the No. 1 choice for the job, though the swift timing of the announcement, almost a year before the transition will take place, was unexpected. He’ll have to balance his Team USA duties with coaching as well as his front office capacity as president of Spurs basketball, though GM R.C. Buford has long taken a leading role in personnel decisions.
Do you think Popovich should be taking the Team USA job, or should he simply focus on the Spurs? Leave a comment to let us know.
Spurs Sign Julian Washburn
The Spurs have signed undrafted swingman Julian Washburn, the team announced via a press release. The length and details of the deal were not announced, but it is most likely a minimum salary arrangement that includes little or no guaranteed money, though that is merely my speculation.
Washburn, 23, spent four years at the University of Texas at El Paso, where he averaged 11.7 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 34.2 minutes over 130 career games. He finished first in school history in total minutes (4,448), fourth in field goals (592) and sixth in scoring (1,526 points). Washburn played summer league ball for the Warriors this year, making two appearances and averaging a single point per contest.
The addition of Washburn gives San Antonio a roster count of 17 players, including 13 with full guarantees on their pacts. The 6’8″ forward is most likely being inked with an eye on sending him to the team’s D-League affiliate in Austin.
And-Ones: Amerileague, Fredette, Draft, Coaches
The viability of the Amerileague plunged further into question Wednesday as a former spokesperson for the league revealed to freelance journalist Erin Ashley Simon that the league’s CEO was using a fictitious name and is actually Glendon Alexander, a former McDonald’s All-American with multiple fraud convictions. Amerileague operations manager Marcus Bass confirmed the news to Jeff Goodman and Paula Lavigne of ESPN’s Outside the Lines. Alexander has resigned as CEO, reports Adam Johnson of D-League Digest (Twitter link), ending a trail of suspicion about his involvement that Kami Mattioli of The Sporting News first detailed in May. Henry Walker recently became the first player who appeared in the NBA during the 2014/15 season to sign with the Amerileague, but Walker’s agent, Mike Naiditch, tells Hoops Rumors that, “If there was never a league, then [there] was never a deal.”
The Amerileague draft was to take place today, but Bass tells Johnson that the event is on hold (Twitter link). See more from around basketball:
- An unwillingness to adjust his freewheeling college game to the NBA style of play led to Jimmer Fredette‘s lack of success in the league, one of his former NBA assistant asserts to Michael Lee of Yahoo Sports. The Spurs waived Fredette on Wednesday, though four other NBA teams still reportedly have some level of interest in him.
- Vanderbilt junior center/forward Damian Jones says he plans to enter the 2016 draft, as Adam Sparks of The Tennessean relays. Chad Ford of ESPN.com ranks the 6’10” Jones as the 14th-best draft prospect, while Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress has him at No. 16.
- Hawks assistant Kenny Atkinson, Magic assistant Adrian Griffin and Pelicans assistant Darren Erman are future head coaching candidates to watch, according to Chris Mannix of SI.com. Heat assistant David Fizdale draws an honorable mention on Mannix’s list.
Southwest Notes: Chandler, Mavs, Anderson, Sykes
It caught Tyson Chandler off guard when the Mavs pursued DeAndre Jordan instead of him, and Chandler felt as though he needn’t take a backseat to anyone, as Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News details. An extension was on the table before the start of last season, as Chandler and Mavs owner Mark Cuban both confirmed to Sefko, but Chandler elected to become a free agent, since doing so would have allowed him to re-sign with Dallas for five years instead of three, Sefko notes. Instead, the Mavs looked elsewhere, and Chandler signed with the Suns, a turn of events that left Chandler with a right to be bitter about what happened in Dallas, as Cuban said, according to Sefko.
“I would be, too,” Cuban said. “We had extension discussions for a reason. And then we went for it on a player that wasn’t ready to be gone for.”
Still, Cuban added he felt justified in going after Jordan, saying he’d “rather swing and miss than not step up to the plate,” as Sefko relays. See more on Chandler amid the latest from around the NBA:
- Chandler made it clear Wednesday that he doesn’t feel animosity toward Cuban, observes Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com, though comments the center made on Tuesday that Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic conveyed showed that his feelings are still raw. “I definitely felt like, after winning a championship and [helping] bring it there, that I was going to be there for the long run,” Chandler said Tuesday. “I never heard of a championship team being broken up like that. When they traded for me to come back, I sat at the podium with everybody else and heard them say this was going to be a long-term deal and they weren’t going to make the same mistake as last time and blah-blah-blah. Seven months later, the same thing happens again. But I learned in this business that you can’t trust everybody. That’s why it is what it is.”
- Ryan Anderson endured personal and physical hardships the last two years, but this summer, he finally had a chance to concentrate on his game, and new Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry is impressed so far, as Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel details. Anderson is entering the final season of his contract.
- Spurs camp cut Keifer Sykes plans to join the team’s D-League affiliate once he clears waivers, a league source tells Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).
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.