Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Wizards Re-Sign Drew Gooden For Season

March 18th, 2014 at 1:54pm CST by Chuck Myron

MARCH 18TH: Washington has indeed signed Gooden for the season, the team announced.

MARCH 12TH: The Wizards will keep Drew Gooden on a deal that covers the rest of the season when his latest 10-day contract expires, a source tells Michael Lee of The Washington Post. Washington signed the 32-year-old to his second 10-day contract on Saturday, and that deal is up after this coming Monday night.

Gooden has become a significant contributor off the bench, averaging 13.3 points on 67.4% shooting over the last three games for the Wizards, including a 15-point effort Monday against the Heat. Coach Randy Wittman and John Wall have praised the 12th-year veteran, who spent most of the season out of the league following Milwaukee’s decision to cut him via amnesty waivers this summer. He’s appeared in a total of five games for Washington, notching 8.0 points, 3.6 rebounds and shooting 59.4% in 13.4 minutes per contest.

Injuries in the front court precipitated the Dan Fegan client‘s first 10-day contract with the team, and Nene will be out at least another couple of weeks with a sprained MCL. Kevin Seraphin hasn’t played since Gooden’s addition because of a sore right knee, though he’s due to return soon. Regardless, the Wizards are set to make Gooden the 15th player on their roster with a guaranteed contract. That means he and the team have come full circle from 2010, when Gooden was displeased with a trade that brought him to Washington and spurred the team to ship him away a few days later in another swap.

Knicks Hire Phil Jackson As President

March 18th, 2014 at 10:10am CST by Ryan Raroque

The Knicks have formally hired Phil Jackson as president, the team officially announced in a press conference today. The deal will pay him $12MM a season for five years, a record salary for an executive. Jackson originally agreed to join the Knicks on March 8th, but it appeared that he and the Knicks changed the terms of the deal before it became official. It’s Jackson’s first time in a front office role after he won 11 championships in his 21 seasons as an NBA coach.

This isn’t the first instance in which Knicks owner James Dolan opted to make a significant change within the front office during the regular season. The Madison Square Garden Chairman hired Donnie Walsh in April of 2008 and replaced Scott Layden with Isiah Thomas in December of 2003.

Jackson’s arrival comes a little over five months since the hiring of president and GM Steve Mills, who replaced GM Glen Grunwald prior to the start of the 2013/14 season. As part of their announcement, the Knicks confirmed that Mills will be retained as GM alongside Jackson, and Mills’ comprehensive web of contacts among NBA agents and rival GMs will surely be helpful.

Jackson will likely have to evaluate and make a decision on Mike Woodson. Despite having his option picked up for 2014/15 last September, the current Knicks head coach has been on the hot seat for a good part of this season. It’s also probably not a good sign for Woodson that the team initially approached Jackson about taking over as coach before ultimately offering a front office position. On a larger scale, Jackson will have to deal with Carmelo Anthony‘s impending future, as the star forward can choose to opt out of his contract this summer. Jackson once described the pairing of Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire as a “clumsy” fit, so it seems the Zen Master envisions fundamental change to the roster.

There has been question about whether Jackson, whose fiancee is Lakers co-owner Jeanie Buss, would live in New York, though it appears as though he will. Jackson lived there during the 1970s, when he played for the Knicks during the most successful era in franchise history.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Marc Berman of the New York Post first reported that Jackson had an agreement in principle, that the Knicks would retain Steve Mills, and that Jackson will likely live in New York during the season. Frank Isola of the New York Daily News noted that Jackson was behind changes to the original agreement (Twitter link). Ramona Shelburne and Chris Broussard of ESPN.com reported that Jackson had put pen to paper, and that the contract was a five-year arrangement for $12MM per season.

Darius Morris To Play In D-League

March 17th, 2014 at 6:31pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Darius Morris has been acquired off waivers by the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA D-League, reports Gino Pilato of D-League Digest (Twitter link). The 23-year-old guard has played for three NBA teams already this season. He last played for Memphis on a 10-day contract that expired back on February 13th. He’s still free to sign with any NBA team that comes calling.

This season, Morris appeared in 10 games for the Clippers and averaged 0.9 PPG in 5.4 MPG. He then played in 12 games for the Sixers and averaged 6.9 PPG, and 2.6 APG in 16.1 MPG. His last action was with the Grizzlies where in five games he put up 3.0 PPG, and 1.6 APG in 13.2 minutes per contest.

Morris’ last stint in the D-League was during the 2012/13 season when he appeared in two games for Los Angeles, and he averaged 15.0 PPG, 6.0 RPG, and 5.5 APG in 35.0 minutes per contest.

Magic Re-Sign Dewayne Dedmon For Season

March 17th, 2014 at 2:05pm CST by Zachary Links

2:05pm: The Magic have officially re-signed Dedmon, the team announced.

10:20am: Dedmon’s deal also includes team options for the next two seasons, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports.

8:41am: The Magic will sign rookie center Dewayne Dedmon for the remainder of this season, according to Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. The big man’s second 10-day contract expired at 11:59 ET (10:59 CT) Sunday night.

Dedmon gives the Magic frontcourt depth, something they’ve needed since waiving Solomon Jones in January and buying out Glen Davis’ contract in February. Dedmon’s signing is expected to be made official today and Robbins writes that he will travel with the team for its four-game road trip to the West Coast.

While 24-year-old former USC Trojan’s skills are raw, he runs the floor well and he has shown the ability to improve during his time in Orlando. While they’re keeping Dedmon for the remainder of the season, they won’t be keeping rookie swingman Adonis Thomas, we learned over the weekend. With Dedmon staying put and Thomas headed elsewhere, the Magic have 13 men on their roster.

Sixers Waive Eric Maynor

March 17th, 2014 at 10:31am CST by Zachary Links

MONDAY, 10:31am: The Sixers announced that Maynor has been waived.

SUNDAY, 4:38pm: The Sixers have waived guard Eric Maynor, according to Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer (on Twitter). The move will make room for the incoming James Nunnally, who was just signed to a 10-day earlier today.

The Sixers acquired the former VCU hero from the Wizards in a three-team deal on February 20th. In that deal, which shipped Andre Miller to the Wizards and Jan Vesely to the Nuggets, Philly received the Nuggets’ 2016 second-round pick and the Pelicans’ 2015 second-round selection in exchange for absorbing Maynor’s contract. The Sixers will still owe Maynor $2.1MM on his player option for 2014/15 after severing ties.

In eight games for the Sixers this season, Maynor averaged 3.8 PPG in 14 minutes per contest.

Sixers Sign James Nunnally

March 17th, 2014 at 10:31am CST by Zachary Links

MONDAY, 10:31am: The Sixers announced that they have signed Nunnally, making the deal official.

SUNDAY, 4:05pm:The Sixers are set to sign D-League forward James Nunnally to a 10-day contract today, league sources tell Shams Charania of RealGM (on Twitter). Nunnally previously had a pair of 10-day deals with the Hawks.

Nunnally, 24, auditioned for the Sixers at the same time as Darius Johnson-Odom, who also got a 10-day deal with the club. He’s done most of his work this season with the Bakersfield Jam of the D-League, averaging 18.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game.

In four games with the Hawks (his only time in the NBA), Nunnally averaged 4.5 points on .333 shooting and 2 rebounds per game in 13.5 minutes. Before the Hawks gave him a look, the Cavs, Bulls, and Thunder all showed some interest in the 23-year-old. Nunnally spent time in the Suns’ training camp over the summer before being waived.

Nets Re-Sign Jorge Gutierrez

March 17th, 2014 at 8:50am CST by Zachary Links

8:50am: The Nets announced the deal via press release.

8:27am: It sounds like Jorge Gutierrez will be getting a second 10-day contract from the Nets, according to Tim Bontemps of the New York Post (on Twitter). The former Cal star saw his first 10-day deal expire Saturday night.

Gutierrez, 25, has played in just one game for the Nets, logging five minutes versus the Kings last Sunday. The guard was with the Nets during the preseason and even though he saw limited action in exhibition games, his performance during camp was key in the team’s decision to bring him back.

Gutierrez has spent time the past two seasons with the D-League affiliate of the Cavs, and he’s averaged 13.9 points and 6.9 assists in 32.7 minutes per game so far this year. The 6’3″ Gutierrez went undrafted in 2012 out of Cal, where he received Pac-12 Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year honors. He’s seen short minutes in summer league with the Nuggets and Kings the past two offseasons.

Thunder Sign Mustafa Shakur

March 16th, 2014 at 3:29pm CST by Zachary Links

The Thunder have signed guard Mustafa Shakur to a 10-day contract, tweets Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman. Shakur was previously with the Tulsa 66ers of the D-League.

Shakur, 29, has averaged 18.6 points, 4.6 rebounds and 6.7 assists in 20 games with the 66ers this season. The 6’3″ point guard should add backcourt depth for the upcoming back-to-backs since Russell Westbrook will not play in games on consecutive days, Mayberry tweets. The one-guard is also familiar with the Thunder’s system through his time with their D-League affiliate and had some time in OKC during the 2009-10 season.

Oklahoma City already has a spot available for Shakur after allowing Reggie Williams‘ 10-day contract to expire.

Lamar Odom’s Comeback Cut Short By Injury

March 15th, 2014 at 9:03am CST by Cray Allred

Two games into his professional comeback, Lamar Odom is leaving his Spanish team due to a back injury, as first reported by Marc Stein of ESPN. Enea Trapani of Sportando reports that the Baskonia club has terminated Odom’s contract. Odom is returning stateside for at least two months to have his back evaluated and treated. That process would have lasted the duration of his two-month deal, but the team could have extended the deal another two months. While the team hopes to have Odom back, they opted to scrap the current deal and work on re-signing him when the time comes, per Trapani.

Odom told Baskonia’s official website that he is grateful for the short time he played there, and said he wants to return as soon as possible (translation via Trapani). “I want to say thank you. I’m grateful to the fans for their support and understanding. Not only people, but the whole of Vitoria has shown me much appreciation as a person and not just as a basketball player. I would like to thank you for your continued support. I am a bit embarrassed, but at the same time I am proud to say I’m injured and I still have a team that understands and continues to support me,” Odom said. “This means a lot to me and forces me to have a lot of respect.”

While both team and player sound positive about the chances of a reunion, Trapani tweets that he is less optimistic one will occur. Odom had hoped to revive his NBA career, using international play as his first stepping stone back. This is an unfortunate roadblock for Odom, who is trying to overcome a tumultuous stretch in his personal and professional life that has kept the 34-year-old out of the league this year.

Nets Sign Jason Collins For Rest Of Season

March 15th, 2014 at 8:07am CST by Ryan Raroque

SATURDAY, 8:07am: The deal is official per a team release. Terms of the contract have not been released, but it is most likely a pro-rated deal for the veteran’s minimum.

FRIDAY, 11:32pm: It’s still not official, but Nets coach Jason Kidd confirmed to reporters, including Rod Boone of Newsday (on Twitter), that the club will sign Collins for the rest of the season once his 10-day expires.

TUESDAY, 7:15pm: The Nets plan to sign center Jason Collins for the rest of the season once his second 10-day deal expires on Friday, writes Ohm Youngmisuk and Marc Stein of ESPN.com. TNT’s David Aldridge (via Twitter) first reported the likelihood of a deal earlier this evening.

Brooklyn is reportedly operating under the premise that the 34-year-old center will finish the season as a Net even though he’s still a few days away from completing his current deal. According to Youngmisuk and Stein’s sources, the internal expectation from the moment that Collins signed his first 10-day contract was that he’d remain with the team for the rest of 2013/14 as long as he proved he could still be an effective defender, and did so immediately.

The Arn Tellem client has played a total of eight games since joining the Nets this season, averaging 9.8 MPG and shooting 28.6% from the field.