Lakers Re-Sign Manny Harris To 10-Day Deal
The Lakers have re-signed guard Manny Harris to his second 10-day contract tweets Marc Spears of Yahoo Sports. This was a move Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times hinted to expect today in a tweet this morning.
The third-year veteran point guard appeared in five games for the Lakers during his first 10 game stint logging 21.0 minutes with 6.4 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 1.6 APG, and 1.2 TO. When this contract expires the Lakers will have to decide whether to keep the Henry Thomas client for the remainder of the season or to let him become a free agent.
Prior to signing with the Lakers, Harris had spent this entire season with the Lakers’ D-League affiliate, with which he led the D-League in scoring with 30.6 PPG.
Minor Moves: Darius Morris, Faverani, Goodwin
Here are a few minor transactions that have occurred so far today.
- The Clippers had to decide by today whether they would retain point guard Darius Morris for the remainder of the season or allow him to become a free agent. It appears they opted to let Morris go as Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times tweeted this morning. With Chris Paul hoping to return from injury by the All-Star break, it seems the Clippers will rely primarily on Darren Collison for the nine games prior to the break. Morris appeared in 10 games for the Clippers averaging 5.4 MPG with 0.9 PPG, 0.5 APG. He is now a free agent. The Clippers now have 14 players under contract.
- The Celtics announced in a team release they have recalled center Vitor Faverani from their D-League affiliate in time for today’s matchup against the Nets. The move was expected as Celtics GM Danny Ainge stated yesterday when Faverani was sent down that it would be “just a quick assignment to get Vitor some more game action, and he’ll be back with the Celtics for shootaround tomorrow morning.“ Faverani saw 26 minutes of play last night, in which he recorded 13 points and 7 boards.
- According to a team release to NBA.com, the Suns have recalled guard Archie Goodwin from their D-League affiliate in time for Phoenix’s matchup against the Cavaliers tonight. Goodwin was sent down Thursday and was able to appear in two games during his short stint. In those two games Goodwin put up impressive numbers, averaging 44.0 MPG, 29.5 PPG, and 6.0 RPG.
Jazz Claim Malcolm Thomas Off Waivers
The Jazz have claimed forward Malcolm Thomas off waivers reports Yahoo’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Thomas was waived by the Spurs two days ago. Since the Spurs waived him after his contract was guaranteed for the season, by claiming Thomas off waivers the Jazz will take over responsibility for paying the remainder of his minimum-salary contract.
Thomas appeared in only one game for the Spurs this season but did play 10 games for their D-League affiliate. During his time with the Austin Toros he averaged 15.2 points, 9.4 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per contest. Over his three year span in the league, Thomas has appeared in only 16 games, averaging 1.1 PPG, 1.8 RPG, and 0.3 BPG.
The motivation behind this move puzzles the Deseret News’ Jazz beat writer Jody Genessy but Wojnarowski claims Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey “has long been intrigued with Thomas.”
Prior to claiming Thomas, the Jazz had 14 players on their roster. Being one shy of the NBA roster limit, there is no need for the Jazz to make a concurrent roster cut.
Spurs Sign Othyus Jeffers To 10-Day Deal
3:44pm: The Spurs have officially announced the signing.
FRIDAY, 10:34am: Coach Gregg Popovich says the team will sign Jeffers to a 10-day contract today or Saturday, depending on how quickly he can travel to join the team (Twitter link).
THURSDAY, 3:43pm: Jeffers and the team are on track to finalize their deal later today or early Friday, tweets Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News, relaying the news from fellow Express-News reporter Mike Monroe. The team waived Thomas earlier, clearing the roster spot necessary for Jeffers to sign.
11:07am: The banged-up Spurs have set their sights on inking D-Leaguer Othyus Jeffers to a 10-day contract, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. A signing would require the team to waive someone, since San Antonio is at the 15-man roster limit. Kawhi Leonard broke his right hand last night, joining Tiago Splitter and Danny Green among the injured Spurs.
Jeffers, a 6’5″ shooting guard, has averaged 22.8 points and 11.4 rebounds per game in 22 contests for the Iowa Energy this season after spending camp with the Timberwolves. The two-year NBA veteran last appeared in the league during the 2010/11 season with the Wizards. He also got into a single game with the Spurs that season while on a 10-day contract.
Power forward Malcolm Thomas would seem the most logical choice for a cut. He made his debut for the Spurs on Sunday, even though he’s been under contract with the team since December 3rd. He’s spent much of his time with San Antonio on four separate assignments to the D-League.
Sixers Re-Sign Dewayne Dedmon
FRIDAY, 10:29am: The deal is official, according to the team.
THURSDAY, 7:38pm: According to Moore, the 76ers will re-sign Dedmon to another 10-day contract (Twitter link).
8:25am: Sixers coach Brett Brown has little doubt the team will re-sign center Dewayne Dedmon to a second 10-day contract once his existing deal expires tonight, observes Tom Moore of Calkins Media. The Sixers announced yesterday that fellow big man Brandon Davies would miss four to six weeks with a broken finger, making it even more likely that Dedmon will get another deal, notes Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer.The team will make its decision today, according to Brown.
“I like what we’ve seen in him,” Brown said of Dedmon. “There’s a size and an enthusiasm and an energy.”
Dedmon says he isn’t sure of his status, but it appears the Michael Silverman client will be sticking around Philadelphia. The Warriors have also been interested in bringing him back after waiving him earlier this season, though Golden State has a full 15 man roster after acquiring Jordan Crawford and MarShon Brooks via trade last week.
The rookie has put up 3.6 points in 14.8 minutes per game for the Sixers after appearing for just six minutes total in more than two weeks with Golden State. Philadelphia has 14 guaranteed contracts, so the team will soon have decide whether to commit its final open roster spot to Dedmon. The Sixers would have to sign him for the season or let him go once his second 10-day contract expires.
Pelicans Waive Tyshawn Taylor
1:22pm: The Pelicans reached a buyout agreement with Taylor, according to John Reid of The Times Picayune, though it’s unclear how much money the one-year veteran gave up.
THURSDAY, 11:12am: The team has officially announced the move.
WEDNESDAY, 4:55pm: The Pelicans have waived Tyshawn Taylor, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). John Reid of The Times Picayune noted earlier that the team was unsure about Taylor’s future in New Orleans after acquiring him via trade from the Nets on Tuesday. The move opens up a roster spot for the Pelicans, who had been carrying the maximum 15 players.
Reid’s story suggested that Taylor might buy out the remainder of his guaranteed minimum-salary deal, but it’s not clear whether that happened. If there was no buyout, the point guard’s $788,872 will remain on the Pelicans’ books unless another team claims him off waivers. There’s a chance that a team could put in a claim, given the diminutive size of the 23-year-old’s contract and the fact that he’s unlikely to sign for more money elsewhere. Regardless, the Nets sent enough cash to New Orleans to cover their obligation to Taylor, so the Pelicans aren’t taking a financial hit.
Shedding Taylor gives the Pelicans more flexibility to add an interior player, as I explained earlier today. New Orleans is reportedly seeking a big man.
Spurs Waive Malcolm Thomas
The Spurs have waived Malcolm Thomas, the team announced. His release appears to be a precursor to the signing of Othyus Jeffers to a 10-day contract, a move that the team is considering, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported earlier today. San Antonio had been carrying 15 players before cutting Thomas, requiring the team to waive someone before it could add to its injury-depleted roster.
I surmised when the Jeffers report surfaced that Thomas would be the one to go, since he’s only appeared in a single game for the Spurs, even though he signed a minimum-salary contract on December 3rd. He’s instead played in 10 games on D-League assignment with the Austin Toros, for whom he’s averaged 15.2 points, 9.4 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per contest.
It was somewhat surprising when the Spurs kept Thomas past the leaguewide guarantee date earlier this month, given his lack of playing time with the big club. As a result of that decision, San Antonio will have to pay Thomas his entire salary for this season unless another team claims the Aaron Mintz client off waivers.
The Spurs appear to have a more pressing need on the wing, where Jeffers, a shooting guard, fits the bill better than Thomas, who plays power forward. Shooting guard Danny Green is out for another three weeks or so with a broken finger and, according to Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News (Twitter link), small forward Kawhi Leonard will miss three to four weeks with the hand he broke during last night’s game. The Spurs are also without center Tiago Splitter, though the early portion of his initial timetable for a return is a few days away.
Ivan Johnson Becomes Free Agent
4:01pm: The Clippers might have interest in Johnson, according to Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link).
10:13am: The Zhejiang Golden Bulls have waived Ivan Johnson, the team announced, allowing the power forward to become a free agent and pursue reported NBA interest from several teams, including the Hawks (translation via Shaopeng Shen on Twitter; hat tip to Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). The team also announced the signing of small forward Mike Harris, whom the Jazz waived earlier this month, in a corresponding move.
Johnson was averaging 26.0 points and 9.9 rebounds in China, so it’s unclear why the team released him other than as a favor. Perhaps Johnson and the team agreed to a buyout, though that’s just my speculation. He’d become a mainstay in Atlanta’s rotation the past two seasons before signing with the Chinese team in late August. The Knicks seemed to be the most engaged among the NBA clubs that eyed the Jeremiah Haylett client this past summer.
Any NBA team that signs Johnson will have to arrange for FIBA clearance before the move can become official, but that shouldn’t be too much of a hurdle. He could be in the market for a 10-day contract, though I wouldn’t be surprised if he commanded a deal for the rest of the season right away.
Harris made the Jazz out of camp, and while he averaged 4.2 points in 11.3 minutes per game for Utah, the team decided to waive the fourth-year NBA veteran before his contract became guaranteed. Unless he signed a multiyear deal, which ex-NBA players rarely do with Chinese teams, he could return to the NBA in another month or two, once Zhejiang’s season is complete.
Celtics Sign Vander Blue To 10-Day Deal
WEDNESDAY, 10:26am: The Celtics have officially announced their 10-day contract with Blue.
TUESDAY, 8:53pm: In the wake of Avery Bradley‘s injury, the Celtics are set to sign Vander Blue out of the D-League, league sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter). Blue was claimed by the Delaware 87ers one week ago. It’ll be a 10-day deal, according to Wojnarowski’s latest update.
The former Marquette guard was waived by Maccabi Rishon LeZion of Israel just before the New Year and was clearly on the NBA radar. Blue was in camp with the Sixers over the summer and had a partially guaranteed deal, so he received a $55K severance from Philly when he was let go.
The 6’5″ shooting guard helped lead Marquette to the Elite Eight in last season’s NCAA tournament, averaging 18.3 PPG in the team’s four March Madness games. He then left the Golden Eagles one year shy of his expected graduation date.
Bulls Sign Mike James To 10-Day Contract
WEDNESDAY, 9:50am: James has officially signed his deal with Chicago, and it’s a 10-day contract, the team announced.
TUESDAY, 4:34pm: The Bulls will re-sign point guard Mike James, tweets K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. The 38-year-old made the team out of training camp, but the Bulls waived him last month after signing D.J. Augustin. Chicago traded Marquis Teague to the Nets today for big man Tornike Shengelia, so the return of James replenishes the Bulls’ point guard depth. USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt wrote last month that the team might bring James back if it traded Teague.
It’s unclear if the agreement is for a 10-day contract or a deal that covers a rest of the season. Cartier Martin is on his second 10-day with the Bulls, who hope to re-sign him for the season once it expires. That would still leave Chicago with a pair of open roster spots, leaving plenty of room for James. The Bulls are within $1MM of the luxury tax line, so it seems the timing of the decision to bring James aboard in the wake of today’s trade, which sheared $285,848 from Chicago’s payroll, is financially motivated.
The Bernie Lee client saw just 38 minutes total in his first stint with the Bulls this season, but he started 23 games for the Mavericks last year, averaging 8.2 points, 4.4 assists and 25.8 minutes per game in those starts. He also played with the Bulls during the 2011/12 season.