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Knicks Fire Mike Woodson

April 21st, 2014 at 9:00am CST by Chuck Myron

The Knicks have announced the firing of coach Mike Woodson and his staff. The move has been expected nearly all season long, as the team struggled to a 37-45 record after winning 54 games and advancing to the conference semifinals last year. Woodson was under contract through next season, and presumably he’ll still receive his $3.4MM salary for 2014/15.

The move follows a meeting between Woodson and Knicks president Phil Jackson, notes Chris Broussard of ESPN.com (on Twitter). It’s Jackson’s first major move with the club, which hired him to run the front office last month.

“I have a tremendous amount of respect for Mike Woodson and his entire staff,” Jackson said in the team’s statement. “The coaches and players on this team had an extremely difficult 2013/14 season, and blame should not be put on one individual. But the time has come for change throughout the franchise as we start the journey to assess and build this team for next season and beyond. Everyone in this franchise owes a great deal of gratitude to what Mike and his staff have done. We wish him the best.”

Carmelo Anthony threw his support behind Woodson last week, but it wasn’t enough to save the job of the coach who went 109-79 in parts of three seasons with the Knicks. He was an assistant coach with the Knicks when he took the head coaching job late in the 2011/12 season after the team let go of Mike D’Antoni. Woodson went 18-6 that year and guided the team to the playoffs, where they lost to the eventual champion Heat in the first round.

The narrative was a positive one for Woodson until last year’s playoff loss to the Pacers. Marc Berman of the New York Post suggested Sunday that when the Knicks exercised their 2014/15 team option on Woodson before this season began, they knew it was unlikely he’d actually coach the team that season unless the team made it to the conference finals this year. Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops reported earlier this month that the Knicks planned to fire Woodson if the team’s late push for the playoffs fell short, and indeed the ax fell soon after New York finished in ninth place in the Eastern Conference, a game out of the final playoff spot.

Assistants Herb Williams, Jim Todd, Darrell Walker, Jerry Dunn, David Hopla and LaSalle Thompson join Woodson in exiting the Knicks, who begin their search for a new head coach at once, according to the team’s statement. Steve Kerr appears to be the front-runner, though there are conflicting reports about whether he’d jump at the job.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Terrence Williams To Play In Puerto Rico

April 18th, 2014 at 6:20pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Former NBA player Terrence Williams has signed a deal to play in Puerto Rico with Brujos de Guayama, reports Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. The details and length of the deal haven’t been announced. The NBA veteran has struggled to earn a roster spot and playing time since showing some flashes in 78 games as a rookie with the Nets in 2009/10. His last NBA stint was during the 2012/13 season when he appeared in 24 games with the Celtics.

Williams has played two games in Turkey with Turk Telekom Ankara and averaged 4.0 PPG this season. He also played in the NBA D-League with Los Angeles D-Fenders scoring 20.6 PPG with 5.1 RPG and 6.3 APG in 34 games.

In parts of four NBA seasons, Williams’ career numbers with the Nets, Rockets, Kings, and Celtics are 7.1 PPG, 3.6 RPG, and 2.4 APG in 19.1 minutes per game.

Dexter Pittman To Play In Puerto Rico

April 18th, 2014 at 5:52pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Puerto Rican team Caciques de Humacao announced the signing of Dexter Pittman, reports Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Terms and length of the deal for the 26-year-old center haven’t been released. He was recently let go by the Rockets to make room for them to sign Josh Powell after only being with the team for five days. He didn’t see any action while with Houston.

Pittman appeared in two games for the Hawks this season and averaged 1.5 RPG, but didn’t score a point. He was released by the team on February 27th. Pittman also played seven games in China with Foshan averaging 12.7 PPG.

In 27 games this season in the NBA D-League with the Austin Toros the big man averaged 11.2 PPG and 6.8 RPG.

Knicks Sign Lamar Odom

April 16th, 2014 at 6:17pm CST by Charlie Adams

The Knicks have signed Lamar Odom for the remainder of the season, the team announced. We heard yesterday that New York was nearing a deal with Odom, but a report earlier today suggested there was a chance the team would opt to sign Ike Diogu instead. However, the Knicks eventually decided on Odom, and the big man inked a two-year, minimum salary pact that covers the final game of 2013/14 and features a non-guaranteed year next season, as Howard Beck of Bleacher Report passes along (via Twitter).

Odom’s injury will keep him from playing in the Knicks’ final contest tonight, but the real value in his signing comes from his non-guaranteed second season. New York will be able to use Odom to help match salaries in any deal the club makes before July. Or, if the Knicks are interested in potentially hanging on to the 34-year-old, they can evaluate his abilities in the offseason and cut him without taking a salary hit if it’s decided he isn’t fit to make the squad.

Over the course of 14 NBA seasons, Odom has averaged 13.3 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. He hasn’t seen action since appearing in all 82 contests for the Clippers in 2012/13, when he played an average of 19.7 minutes per night. He’s represented by Jeff Schwartz of Excel Sports Management. The Knicks roster now stands at a league maximum 15 players to conclude the year.

Rockets Sign Josh Powell

April 16th, 2014 at 11:10am CST by Eddie Scarito

WEDNESDAY, 11:10am: The Rockets have officially announced the deal, via press release. The statement doesn’t mention the team’s reported release of Pittman, but presumably that’s taken place, as well.

10:57pm: Powell passed his physical, signed his contract, and is joining the team soon, tweets Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston.

12:31pm: It’ll be a multiyear deal that’s non-guaranteed beyond this season, reports Shams Charania of RealGM.

TUESDAY, 7:51am: Sources tell Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston that Powell has received his FIBA letter of clearance, and that he’ll sign with the team on Tuesday as long as he passes his physical.

MONDAY, 11:35am: The Rockets will make a move by Wednesday, but no decision regarding Powell has been finalized, Feigen tweets.

SUNDAY, 4:51pm: Reports out of the Philippines say the Rockets, who were earlier reported to be releasing Dexter Pittman, now intend to sign Josh Powell to take his place on the roster, tweets Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Powell had been playing with Barangay Ginebra in the Philippines after signing with the team on March 30th.

Powell was in camp with the Knicks prior to the start of the 2013/14 NBA season, but the team reportedly had no intention of retaining him for opening night, no matter how well he played in preseason. He was waived by the Knicks in October then penned a deal with Guangdong where he averaged 15.0 PPG and 9.9 RPG, before heading to the Philippines.

In six seasons in the NBA he has career averages of 3.9 PPG, 2.9 RPG, and 0.5 APG in 12.5 minutes per contest, but Powell is best known for being a member of two championship winning Lakers teams in 2009 and 2010.

Bucks Re-Sign Chris Wright To Multiyear Deal

April 16th, 2014 at 10:02am CST by Ryan Raroque

WEDNESDAY, 10:02am: The Bucks have officially announced the deal.

TUESDAY, 11:22pm: The Bucks have signed Chris Wright for the remainder of the regular season in addition to a non-guaranteed season in 2014/15, reports Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The 6’9 forward is now expected to participate with Milwaukee’s summer league team and be included in training camp. Gardner adds that the signing will give the Bucks some added flexibility in trade scenarios this summer.

Wright played on a pair of ten-day contracts with Milwaukee this year, one signed on March 14th and the other on April 5th, respectively. In his most recent stint, the Dayton native played 15 MPG in each of the team’s last five games, averaging 6.0 PPG, 2.2 RPG, and one steal per game to go along with 66.7% shooting from the field overall.

Sixers To Re-Sign Casper Ware

April 15th, 2014 at 8:09am CST by Chuck Myron

TUESDAY, 8:09am: Ware and the Sixers have agreed to a deal for the rest of the season, as Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News reports at the end of his latest piece.

MONDAY, 10:31am: Point guard Casper Ware is practicing with the Sixers today even though his second 10-day contract with the team expired Sunday night, as Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer and Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News note (Twitter links). That appears to signal that the Sixers are signing him for at least the rest of the season.

The former Long Beach State standout has averaged 12.6 minutes per game with the team in seven appearances after it signed him out of Italy. Ware’s posted 4.1 points and 1.1 assists per contest, though defense is his strong suit, and he’s notched an impressive 1.1 steals per game in his limited playing time.

Ware is one of a half-dozen players who’ve signed 10-day contracts with the Sixers this season, as our 10-Day Tracker shows. Jarvis Varnado is the only one who’s received a deal covering the rest of the season so far, though the team’s 10-day deal with Adonis Thomas carries through the final day of the regular season. Varnado received a four-year deal that isn’t fully guaranteed beyond this season, a contract structure that GM Sam Hinkie has employed liberally in his first season on the job. The Sixers probably have a similar long-term arrangement with Ware, though that’s just my speculation.

Bulls Sign Greg Smith

April 14th, 2014 at 12:50pm CST by Chuck Myron

12:50pm: Smith’s contract is fully guaranteed for next season, tweets Shams Charania of RealGM. It’s for the minimum salary both this year and next, since the capped-out Bulls are out of exceptions.

12:30pm: The Bulls have signed former Rockets center Greg Smith, the team announced. The move comes just a half hour after the team waived Tornike Shengelia, presumably to make room. Smith is likely out for the season after undergoing surgery on his right knee in January, and that motivated Houston to cut ties. He’s ineligible to play in the postseason for Chicago since the Rockets waived him last week, long after the March 1st deadline for him to retain the ability to take part in the playoffs with another team. Given his unavailability for this season, Chicago’s contract with Smith probably extends into next season.

Chicago strongly pursued the retired Kurt Thomas, but wound up inking Smith and, last week, Lou Amundson instead, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. That might have accounted for the lag between the team’s announcements today.

Smith appeared in only 11 games for the Rockets this year, in part because of injuries and in part because of a crowded frontcourt that includes Dwight Howard and Omer Asik. He was in the team’s rotation last season, averaging 6.0 points and 4.6 rebounds in 15.0 minutes per game across 70 appearances, 10 of which were starts.

Bulls Waive Tornike Shengelia

April 14th, 2014 at 12:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Bulls have waived Tornike Shengelia, the team announced via press release. The team hasn’t announced a corresponding move, making Shengelia’s dismissal a bit curious even though he hasn’t been a part of Chicago’s rotation since coming over from the Nets in a January trade. Shengelia is on an expiring contract that pays him the one-year veteran’s minimum salary of $788,872, but unless a team claims him off waivers, that money will remain on Chicago’s books. It seems less likely that Shengelia, on an expiring deal, would warrant a waiver claim like former Bull Erik Murphy did, as Murphy’s contract includes a non-guaranteed 2014/15.

Shengelia saw a total of just 17 minutes for the Bulls, who acquired him in a cost-cutting move for Marquis Teague, who makes $1,074,720 this season. The difference was not insignificant to Chicago, which has struggled to create room beneath the luxury tax threshold in case Taj Gibson and Joakim Noah trigger bonuses that force the team into the tax for the second year in a row. That would set the team up for the league’s steep repeat offender tax rates if the team made it three straight taxpaying seasons in 2014/15.

The 22-year-old saw slightly more playing time while with the Nets, who acquired him shortly after the Sixers drafted him 54th overall in 2012. He averaged 1.5 points in 8.1 minutes per game in 17 appearances for Brooklyn this season, and 1.6 PPG in 4.9 MPG in 19 contests for the Nets as a rookie.

Pistons, Joe Dumars Part Ways

April 14th, 2014 at 10:49am CST by Chuck Myron

The Pistons have officially announced via press release that Joe Dumars “will step aside” from his job as president of basketball operations, effective immediately. That suggests that Dumars tendered his resignation, as he’d reportedly planned to do, though reports Sunday indicated the team had told Dumars they wouldn’t renew his contract, which was set to expire in the offseason. In any case, the move ends Dumars’ nearly 14-year tenure atop the Pistons basketball operations department. He’ll remain with the team as an adviser, as expected. Director of basketball operations Ken Catanella and assistant GM George David will assume the responsibilities that had been Dumars’ while the club searches for a formal replacement.

“Joe Dumars is a great champion who has meant so much to this franchise and this community,” Pistons owner Tom Gores said in the team’s statement. “We are turning the page with great respect for what he has accomplished not only as a player and a front office executive, but as a person who has represented this team and the NBA with extraordinary dignity.”

The 50-year-old Dumars was the longest-tenured executive in charge of day-to-day basketball operations in the league, with the possible exception of Pat Riley, who’s split much of his more than 18 years with the Heat between the front office and coaching. Dumars became president of basketball operations in Detroit in June of 2000, and he’s been with the Pistons in some capacity since 1985, when he began his Hall of Fame playing career with the club. His time as an executive included the 2004 championship and six straight conference finals appearances, but also the drafting of Darko Milicic at No. 2 overall in 2003 and an ongoing string of five non-playoff seasons.

“It’s time to turn the page on a wonderful chapter and begin writing a new one,” Dumars said as part of the press release. “I’ve had the pleasure of working with some great people throughout the last 29 years as both a player and executive, and I’m proud of our accomplishments. Tom Gores and ownership is committed to winning and they will continue to move the franchise forward.”

Dumars will reportedly have the ability to seek GM jobs with other NBA clubs, and he figures to be much sought after. A report earlier today indicated he already has a gig lined up with another team. The Pistons have already begun their search process for a new head of basketball operations as well as a new coach, since John Loyer is filling in only on an interim basis for Maurice Cheeks, whom the team fired in February.

Gores has appointed a pair of executives with Platinum Equity, his investment firm, to oversee the club’s searches. Those execs, Phil Norment and Bob Wentworth, will also supervise Catanella and David, and Norment, in the team release, says the club has developed a preliminary list of candidates to replace Dumars.