Sixers Sign Casper Ware To 10-Day Contract
10:15am: The deal is official, according to Sixers spokesperson Michael Preston (Twitter link).
8:29am: The Sixers will sign the defensive-minded Casper Ware to a 10-day contract today, reports Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. Philadelphia’s 10-day deal with Darius Johnson-Odom expired Sunday night, leaving an open roster spot. Emiliano Carchia of Sportando first reported Philly’s interest in the point guard, who most recently played for Virtus Bologna of Italy.
The 5’10” Ware has racked up honors at mediocre levels of basketball. He won back-to-back Big West Player of the Year honors in his final two seasons at Long Beach State, and he was the Big West Defensive Player of the Year as a junior. He went undrafted in 2012 and wound up in Italy’s second division, where he won MVP honors last year. He hasn’t been able to duplicate his success at Italy’s highest level this season, averaging 11.7 points, 2.2 points and 2.7 rebounds in 31.0 minutes per game.
He’ll now have a chance to see how he fares against another jump up in competition. His only glimpse of NBA action so far has been in summer league with the Pistons in 2012 and the Rockets this past offseason.
Celtics Re-Sign Chris Babb To Three-Year Deal
2:36pm: It’s a three-year contract that’s non-guaranteed next season and for 2015/16, reports Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald. That means Babb received essentially the same deal that the Celtics gave Johnson, as I speculated. Murphy also confirms that it’s a minimum-salary arrangement.
FRIDAY, 9:54am: Boston has made the signing official, the team announced. The statement confirms that it’s a multiyear deal, but it doesn’t provide any further details.
THURSDAY, 1:00pm: The Celtics will re-sign Chris Babb to a deal that covers the rest of the season and beyond, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Babb is on the final day of his second 10-day contract with the team. Babb’s latest pact will likely be non-guaranteed for next season, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it also covers 2015/16 with non-guaranteed salary, since that’s the very sort of deal that Chris Johnson got from the team this year following his 10-day contract.
Babb’s new deal will be the 15th guaranteed contract on the books for the Celtics this season, meaning Boston is likely done making moves for 2013/14. The 24-year-old former Iowa State shooting guard hasn’t dazzled in his limited playing time in Boston, averaging 2.2 points on 2.3 field goal attempts in 11.5 minutes per game. Still, coach Brad Stevens has called him a “perfect fit,” and Stevens seems particularly high on Babb’s defensive ability.
The Greg Lawrence client was initially with the Celtics in training camp this fall after going undrafted in June, though he saw time in summer league with the Suns. He failed to make Boston’s opening-night roster, but the Celtics kept his D-League rights and Babb wound up playing for the C’s D-League affiliate, posting 12.0 points and 35.4% three-point shooting in 37.5 minutes per game over 33 appearances. That led to his first 10-day contract, which he signed on the final day of February.
Cavs Sign Seth Curry, Release Shane Edwards
The Cavaliers have officially signed Seth Curry to a 10-day contract, the team announced. To make room, Cleveland terminated its 10-day deal with Shane Edwards, which was set to expire tonight. Curry, the 23-year-old former Duke shooting guard, appeared to have a deal with the Cavs earlier this week, but the team seemed to waffle and considered re-signing Edwards instead. The Cavs also apparently had their eyes on another player. Ultimately, the Cavs circled back to their original target. Curry, brother of Warriors star Stephen Curry, had a brief stint with the Grizzlies earlier this season after going undrafted this past summer.
Seth Curry was also in camp with the Warriors in the fall, but he failed to make the opening-night roster. He appeared in just one game for a four-minute stretch with the Grizzlies, who waived him in January shortly before his contract would have become guaranteed for the rest of the season. Memphis decided against bringing him back on a 10-day, and he’s been playing with the Warriors D-League affiliate ever since. The 6’2″ client of Jeff Austin is averaging 19.4 points and 5.9 assists in 35.3 minutes per game for the Santa Cruz Warriors.
Today’s moves leave Cleveland with 15 players, 14 of whom are on guaranteed contracts. Edwards appears to be headed back to the D-League affiliate of the Cavs, where he played before signing his 10-day deal.
Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group initially reported that Curry and the Cavs had a deal (Twitter link). Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal followed with a report that Curry, Edwards and another player were all in the mix to fill Cleveland’s open roster spot. Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio identified Edwards as the favorite and wrote that he’d head back to the D-League if he didn’t re-sign with the Cavs. The Plain Dealer followed with a report that Curry would sign, and Lloyd seconded that (Twitter link). The Plain Dealer’s Mary Schmitt Boyer followed up minutes later to note that Curry had put pen to paper on his contract.
Bobcats Sign DJ White To 10-Day Deal
FRIDAY, 10:53am: The team has officially announced its 10-day deal with White.
WEDNESDAY, 1:24pm: The Bobcats are planning to sign DJ White to a 10-day contract once they receive clearance from FIBA, reports Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer. Shams Charania of RealGM reported earlier today that the team was strongly considering the big man. FIBA, basketball’s international governing body, requires that players switching countries seek clearance from the organization before signing a contract. White has spent most of the season playing in China with the Sichuan Blue Whales. FIBA approval is usually a formality, meaning it’s probably only a matter of time before the 27-year-old joins the Bobcats.
White spent part of 2010/11 and all of 2011/12 with Charlotte, averaging 7.3 points and 3.8 rebounds in 82 appearances as a Bobcat. That’s so far the most productive stretch the former 29th overall pick has enjoyed in the NBA. He made it into a dozen games with Boston last year, but like this season, White spent most of 2012/13 playing in China. The former Indiana Hoosier averaged 20.2 PPG and 8.5 RPG with Sichuan this year, but he did so primarily as a reserve.
The Bobcats appear to envision White as a third-string center, even though he’s only 6’9″. Charlotte worked out a handful of players last week in hopes of finding a center to replace Brendan Haywood, who appears likely to miss the season, but coach Steve Clifford has acknowledged the difficulty of finding free agent pivotmen this time of year, Bonnell notes.
Charlotte has an open roster spot, so the team won’t have to cut anyone to bring White aboard. I speculated that the Bobcats might offer the Jeff Wechsler client a deal for the rest of the season instead of a 10-day contract, but it looks like White will have to prove himself on a short-term deal before the team commits to him for the balance of the year.
Knicks Sign Shannon Brown For Rest Of Season
The Knicks have signed Shannon Brown for the rest of the season, the team announced via Twitter. The tweet notes that the team’s latest deal with Earl Clark has expired. The Knicks inked Clark to a pair of 10-day contracts at the same time they did so with Brown, so presumably that means New York doesn’t plan to re-sign Clark. The Knicks now have 14 guaranteed contracts, so they can add another player to replace Clark if they choose.
Brown first joined the Knicks late last month after the team waived Metta World Peace and Beno Udrih. The eighth-year veteran guard saw fewer minutes for New York than Clark did, but neither received significant playing time. Clark played a total of 70 minutes in nine games, averaging 2.6 points per contest. Brown has only seen the floor for 57 minutes across nine games, notching 1.8 PPG. Still, it appears the Knicks prefer to keep an extra guard instead of a forward like Clark.
It’s the first player personnel decision for the Knicks since Phil Jackson came aboard as team president. Brown played for then-coach Jackson for parts of three seasons with the Lakers, winning two championships. Clark also played for the Lakers, but that was after Jackson had stepped down as coach.
Brown has spent much of this season out of the league after the Wizards waived him shortly before the start of the season. He was with the Spurs in February on a pair of 10-day contracts, but San Antonio elected not to keep him for the season. New York’s decision to commit to Brown is a slight boon for the Wizards, who can defray a tiny amount of their remaining debt to the Mark Bartelstein client via set-off rights. Washington released Brown in spite of his $3.5MM guaranteed salary before the season to get down to 15 players after the unbalanced Marcin Gortat trade.
Kings Sign Royce White To Second 10-Day Deal
MARCH 18TH: The Kings have officially announced their deal with White, via press release.
MARCH 15TH, 8:28am: Royce White will get his rumored second 10-day contract with the Kings, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter links). As expected, White is working out in Sacramento while the team is on the road, and could be available to play when the team returns home on Tuesday. Spears says the Kings are confident White can travel. The timing of this deal means they will face the decision to keep White for the rest of the year or part ways with him before their next road trip arrives.
MONDAY, 12:16pm: The Kings appear set to keep Royce White on the team with a second 10-day contract, as TNT’s David Aldridge writes within his Morning Tip column for NBA.com. Aldridge suggests it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Kings sign the former first-round pick for the rest of the season after the second 10-day deal runs out.
White has played a pair of home games with the Reno Bighorns, Sacramento’s D-League affiliate, and will appear in two more before his initial 10-day contract expires at the end of Saturday. The Kings assigned the forward to the D-League at the same time they signed him Thursday.
White and the team haven’t had in-depth conversations about how to accommodate his mental health difficulties, and both sides are taking their partnership slowly, a source tells Aldridge. The Kings are interested in seeing if White still has the desire necessary to play at a high level and, if so, evaluating how he responds with the Bighorns, Aldridge hears. White is averaging 5.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 26.9 minutes over his two games with the Bighorns so far.
The plan is for White to join the big club on his second 10-day deal, which would set him up to make his official NBA debut. The Kings have a four-game homestand scheduled for shortly after White’s first 10-day contract expires, so that would allow him to play in games without having to travel and test his long-held fear of flying.
Wizards Re-Sign Drew Gooden For Season
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
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
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
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.