Glen Davis Signs With Clippers
The Clippers have officially announced their signing of Glen Davis. The team was considered the frontrunner for Davis thanks to his ties to coach Doc Rivers, for whom Davis played with the Celtics, plus the power forward’s desire to play for a contender. Davis, whose contract covers the rest of the season, is the only player on the Clippers roster to have won an NBA title. A number of other teams, including the Nets, Bulls, Heat, Spurs, and Warriors, were als
o interested in signing Davis.
After deciding not to extend Sasha Vujacic another 10-day contract and trading Antawn Jamison and Byron Mullens, the Clippers roster stood at 12 before the addition of Davis. The roster flexibility was created in part to give the Clippers the opportunity to sign players on the buyout market, like Davis, who’s a client of John Hamilton of Performance Sports Management.
Orlando was trying to trade Davis at the deadline but was unable to find a taker. Davis is due the remainder of his $6.4MM salary this season and $6.6MM in 2014/15. The 28-year-old is coming off of a year in which he averaged 15.1 PPG and 7.2 RPG with a 15.0 PER in an injury-shortened 2012/13. So far in 2013/14, Davis has been hampered by injuries. He’s averaged 12.1 PPG and 6.3 RPG in 30.1 minutes per contest this season.
According to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders (Twitter Link), the Magic didn’t use the stretch provision on Davis, and are taking the full hit on his $6.6MM salary during the 2014/2015 season. Kyler also tweeted that the team had told Davis last weekend of its intention to negotiate a buyout of his contract and waive him. It hasn’t been announced how much, if any, of his salary he relinquished in the buyout.
Zach Links contributed to this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Adrian Wojnarowski and Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports first reported that Davis had a deal, and that it covered the rest of the season. Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times noted that Davis was set to take a physical and sign with the team today (Twitter link).
Jason Collins Signs 10-Day Contract With Nets
2:16pm: The Nets announced the deal via press release, making it official.
12:07pm: Jason Collins has reached an agreement on a 10-day contract with the Nets, writes Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. This makes Collins the first openly gay athlete to play in one of the four major professional sports. Collins revealed he is a homosexual after finishing last season with the Wizards. According to Wojnarowski, Collins will be in uniform and available to play tonight against the Lakers at the Staples Center.
After Glen Davis decided to sign with the Clippers, the Nets moved onto Plan B, which was bringing Collins back into the NBA, according to the article. Financial details have not been disclosed, nor has the team officially announced the signing. Collins is represented by Arn Tellem of Wasserman Media Group.
Collins, 35, has been out of the NBA since completing the 2012/13 season with the Wizards. Collins played parts of seven years with the Nets between 2001-08, and his ex-teammate, Jason Kidd, now the Nets coach, has been in favor of signing him. Collins played with Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce with the Celtics during the 2012/2013 season, and both players have been advocates for bringing him to Brooklyn.
In 713 career games, the 35-year old has averaged 3.6 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 0.9 APG, in 20.8 MPG. The Nets have been in search of a big man since before the trade deadline passed on Thursday, and that need was heightened after sending Reggie Evans to the Kings as part of the trade that brought Marcus Thornton to Brooklyn.
Zach Links contributed to this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Magic Waive Glen Davis In Buyout Arrangement
SUNDAY, 10:37am: Sam Amick of USA Today (Twitter Link) has heard that the Nets have been told that Davis will sign with the Clippers once he clears waivers at 5 p.m. today.
SATURDAY, 1:58pm: The Nets and Clippers remain the frontrunners to sign Davis, but the Heat might be interested in him as well, says Marc Stein of ESPN. Stein also hears that all of the teams with rumored interest in Big Baby expect him to make a decision on where to sign before the end of the weekend (Twitter links).
FRIDAY, 7:05pm: You can add the Bulls to the list of teams that may be interested in Davis, according to David Aldridge of NBA.com (Twitter Link).
6:20pm: According to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders (Twitter Link), the Magic will not be using the stretch provision on Davis, and will take the full hit on his $6.6MM salary during the 2014/2015 season. Kyler also tweeted that the team had told Davis of their intention to waive him and buy out his contract last weekend.
1:51pm: Kevin Garnett is recruiting Davis as part of a hard push from the Nets to convince him to sign with Brooklyn, Wojnarowski tweets.
1:45pm: The Magic have officially announced that they’ve come to a buyout arrangment and waived Davis. It’s unclear how much of his salary Davis is relinquishing.
1:04pm: The team has yet to make an official announcement, but the release of Davis has been finalized, according to Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com (Twitter link).
12:43pm: There’s a sense around the league that Davis and Rivers already have what amounts to an agreement for Big Baby to join the Clippers once he clears waivers, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com writes. The Magic are expected to officially release Davis this afternoon, tweets Brian K. Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel.
THURSDAY, 9:43pm: Along with the Clippers, the Heat, Spurs, Nets, and Warriors are expressing interest in Big Baby, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports.
6:58pm: The Magic and Glen Davis have reached agreement on a buyout, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter). The buyout should be official tomorrow morning.
Orlando was dangling the big man at the deadline but they were unable to find a taker. Davis was due the remainder of his $6.4MM salary this season and $6.6MM in 2014/15. The 28-year-old is coming off of a year in which he averaged 15.1 PPG and 7.2 RPG with a 15.0 PER in an injury-shortened season. So far in 2013/14, Davis has been bitten by the injury bug once again. He’s putting up 12.1 PPG and 6.3 RPG in 30.1 minutes per contest this season.
The Clippers figure to be a strong frontrunner for Davis now that he’s available, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. Los Angeles makes a lot of sense for Davis who has a relationship with Doc Rivers and presumably would like to join a contender. For Orlando, the buyout should open up playing time for Andrew Nicholson and Kyle O’Quinn as they look to the future.
Eddie Scarito contributed to this post.
Hawks Sign Dexter Pittman To 10-Day Deal
5:38pm: The deal has been officially announced in a team release.
5:12pm: The Hawks have signed Dexter Pittman to a 10-day contract, per Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (via Twitter). The deal hasn’t been officially announced yet, but Vivlamore tweets that Pittman will be available for Atlanta in tonight’s game.
The decision to add Pittman comes along with the Hawks’ decision to waive Jared Cunningham and sign Cartier Martin, although Martin’s contract is a guaranteed deal through the rest of the year. Pittman, a client of Impact Sports Basketball per our Agency Database, stands at 6’11” and will hope to get an opportunity in the frontcourt to earn another deal. The Hawks’ only other active centers are currently Gustavo Ayon and Pero Antic, as Al Horford is out for the season from a torn pectoral muscle.
The 25-year-old center was waived by the Bulls before the regular season this year, and hasn’t played in the NBA since last year, when he was used in 11 total games as a member of the Heat and Grizzlies during the season. His career high in minutes is 8.6, coming in Pittman’s sophomore season with the Heat in 2011/12. He has scored 114 total points over his three-year career.
Hawks Waive Jared Cunningham
The Hawks have requested waivers on Jared Cunningham, the team announced today. Cunningham was selected in the first round of the 2012 draft, but has only seen 48 total minutes in the NBA over the course of two seasons. He’s spent much of his professional career in the D-League, and the team has decided to cut ties with him.
This action might be indicative of another forthcoming move by Atlanta, notes Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal Constitution (via Twitter). We haven’t heard that Atlanta is interested in Glen Davis or any other players who are rumored to be waived in buyout deals, but a signing might make sense, given the injuries to Al Horford, Pero Antic, and John Jenkins.
It’s been a pretty active week for the Hawks, who waived Antawn Jamison after acquiring him from the Clippers at the deadline and shortly after inked a deal with Cartier Martin for the rest of the season. Waiving Cunningham means the team will have to pay the remainder of his $1.2MM salary, but it will give the club an open roster spot and flexibility going forward.
Cavs Sign Onuaku To 10-Day Contract
The Cavs have signed Arinze Onuaku to a 10-day contract, the team announced today. Onuaku inked a deal with the Pelicans last summer, but the club waived his non-guaranteed contract in November. Onuaku went undrafted out of Syracuse in 2010, but executives around the league have been praising his abilities for at least a year, tweets Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio.
After parting with New Orleans, Onuaku hooked up with the D-League affiliate of the Cavs, the Canton Charge. While in the D-League, he put up impressive averages of 14.4 points and 9.7 rebounds per game and caught the attention of acting Cavaliers GM David Griffin.
This move will help further supplement Cleveland’s frontcourt depth after acquiring Spencer Hawes at Thursday’s trade deadline. The Cavs will be looking to make a late run to sneak into the playoffs, as the club currently sits four games back from the eighth and final playoff seed. With this signing, Cleveland’s roster now sits at a league maximum 15 players.
Rockets Waive Brewer, Sign Troy Daniels
SATURDAY, 12:54pm: The Rockets have officially announced the signing of Daniels, per a team release. GM Daryl Morey also verified that Daniels will continue assignment in the D-League.
FRIDAY, 9:39pm: Brewer has officially been waived according to a team release. A person with knowledge of the deal says that Daniels’ contract is indeed a two year deal, according to Feigen.
8:51pm: According to Jason Friedman of Rockets.com (Twitter Link), the team has officially signed Daniels. He’ll remain with the RGV Vipers in the D-League.
3:23pm: The Rockets are waiving Ronnie Brewer to sign Troy Daniels, a source tells Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). It’ll be a two-year deal for Daniels, though 2014/15 will be non-guaranteed, Feigen adds (on Twitter).
Daniels, who’s been playing with Houston’s three-pointer-happy affiliate in the D-League, is considered the best shooter outside the NBA, Feigen tweets, adding that it’s likely the team will send him back to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers on D-League assignment after the signing. He’s averaged 23.3 points and 40.8% three-point shooting in the D-League this year after having spent camp with the Bobcats and Rockets this past autumn. Daniels went undrafted out of VCU in June.
Brewer signed a two-year minimum-salary deal with the Rockets in the offseason, but he’s seen limited playing time, scoring just seven points all year in 158 total minutes. The eighth-year veteran’s salary will remain on Houston’s books for this season, providing no one claims him off waivers, but 2014/15 was a non-guaranteed year for him.
Warriors Sign Hilton Armstrong To 10-Day Deal
The Warriors have signed Hilton Armstrong to a 10-day contract, per a team press release. The 29-year-old center entered the NBA in the 2006/07 season and has averaged 3 PPG and 2.6 RPG over his career. This will be his second stint with Golden State this year, after not playing a minute of NBA action in the 2011/12 and 2012/13 season.
In his first stretch with the Warriors, Armstrong played well in small minutes over seven games, before Goldsen State waived his non-guaranteed contract. The big man has been playing as an unrestricted free agent in the D-League since that release, averaging 12.9 PPG, 7.6 RPG, and 1.8 BPG for the Santa Cruz Warriors.
Hawks Re-Sign Cartier Martin For Season
3:19pm: Atlanta has made its signing of Martin official, the team announced.
9:07am: The Hawks will re-sign Cartier Martin for the balance of the season, tweets Shams Charania of RealGM. The Hawks were set to terminate Martin’s 10-day deal Thursday, but the team never officially announced that move before the end of the day, when the contract was set to expire anyway, making him a free agent.
Martin, 29, has seen time in 31 games this season for the Hawks, averaging 6.7 PPG and 2.0 RPG in 17.1 minutes per contest. The 29-year-old has spent most of the season with Atlanta after making the team out of camp. The Hawks cut him in January, before his contract would have become guaranteed for the season, which led to a pair of 10-day deals with Chicago, as our 10-Day Contract Tracker shows. The Andrew Vye client followed those up with two more 10-day contracts with the Hawks.
Yesterday, just hours after acquiring Antawn Jamison, we learned that Atlanta was mulling the possibility of buying out the veteran forward. That move will create the roster opening necessary to officially bring Martin back into the fold.
Hawks Waive Antawn Jamison
3:18pm: The Hawks have officially waived Jamison, the team announced.
FRIDAY, 12:24pm: Atlanta will waive Jamison, tweets Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta-Journal Constitution. It’s not entirely clear whether Jamison will give back any of his salary in a buyout, or whether he’s simply being released. The move will give the team an open roster spot to re-sign Cartier Martin.
THURSDAY, 3:22pm: The Hawks and Antawn Jamison appear to be thinking about swinging a buyout in the wake of Atlanta’s agreement to trade for the veteran power forward today, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Jamison is making the minimum salary, and represents a cap hit of just $884,293. The league pays the rest of his nearly $1.4MM take.
In the buyout arrangement, Jamison would agree to give up some of his salary in exchange for the Hawks putting him on waivers. He’d probably look to sign with a contending team if he hits free agency. A club that’s particularly enamored with him could claim him off waivers, but that seems unlikely for the 37-year-old who’s averaging just 3.8 points in 11.3 minutes per game this year.
The Hawks would have to waive him on or before March 1st for him to be eligible to play for another team in the postseason this year. The Wasserman Media Group client isn’t far removed from a 17.2 PPG season for the Cavs in 2011/12, so he could be an intriguing commodity for teams confident he can show at least a glimpse of his old form.