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Jazz Sign Dwayne Jones

September 25th, 2013 at 6:03pm CST by Alex Lee

The Jazz have signed free agent center Dwayne Jones to a non-guaranteed deal, tweets RealGM's Shams Charania. Jones last appeared in an NBA game in the 2009/10 season with the Suns, however the Saint Joseph's product did close out last year with Golden State before he was cut in July.

The Jazz have been busy of late, waiving Jerel McNeal earlier tonight only a day after signing Scott Machado, who was coincidentally waived by the Warriors along with Jones on July 24. Both would have received partial guarantees had they not been cut prior to August 1. The Jazz have 12 guaranteed contracts on their roster and a partially guaranteed deal for Ian Clark.

Free Agent Updates: Barron, Balkman, Wright

September 25th, 2013 at 4:19pm CST by Luke Adams

As free agents continue to land on NBA training camp rosters or with international teams in advance of the coming season, let's round up a few of today's items on new signings and players still on the market….

Free agent big man Earl Barron has signed with China's Qingdao DoubleStar, agent Derrick Powell tells Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype (Twitter link). Barron reportedly drew interest from the Pelicans, Sixers, Pacers, and Jazz, and had been hoping to sign with the Knicks. However, New York decision-makers were said to be split on whether or not to add the former Memphis Tiger.
Ex-Knick Renaldo Balkman is considering accepting a training camp invite from the Mavericks, according to Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News. The Mavs, who have one open roster spot left for camp, are hoping to bring in "active defensive-minded bodies" to fill out their preseason roster, says Sefko.
Former first round pick Antoine Wright is set to sign with a club in Poland, according to a report passed along by Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Wright played in the D-League last season and most recently appeared in the NBA in 2010/11.
Shams Charania of RealGM.com spoke to former Clippers forward Bobby Simmons, who says he's still aiming to make an NBA comeback. As our international player movement tracker shows, Simmons didn't play in the NBA or anywhere else last season.

Lou Amundson To Join Clippers For Camp

September 25th, 2013 at 3:46pm CST by Luke Adams

After being linked to the Clippers in multiple reports over the last several weeks, Louis Amundson is prepared to join the team for training camp, according to ESPN.com's Marc Stein (via Twitter). It appears that Amundson will be the first fully non-guaranteed camp invitee added by the Clips, bringing the club's roster to 16 players.

In addition to their 13 players on guaranteed contracts, the Clippers also have Maalik Wayns on a non-guaranteed deal and signed Brandon Davies to a contract that included a $50K guarantee. Given his advantage in NBA experience and the club's potential need in the frontcourt, Amundson may have the upper hand for earning one of those last two roster spots, though he'll likely need to impress in camp.

Amundson, 30, saw NBA action for the Timberwolves, Bulls, and Hornets (now the Pelicans) last season, averaging 1.9 PPG and 1.5 RPG in 39 contests. As Chuck Myron of Hoops Rumors wrote when he examined Amundson's free agent stock, 2012/13 certainly wasn't the best showcase of the big man's ability, but he's still capable of grabbing some rebounds in limited minutes off the bench.

Pacers Sign Paul George To Five-Year Max Deal

September 25th, 2013 at 9:53am CST by Zachary Links

WEDNESDAY, 9:53am: The Pacers have officially announced George's contract extension in a press release. For a breakdown on what the specifics of the deal should look like, check out our write-up from Monday.

TUESDAY, 3:46pm: George and the Pacers have finalized an agreement, and will make it official tomorrow, tweets Bob Kravitz of the Indianapolis Star. The team has sent out a press release announcing an 11:00am press conference.

MONDAY, 1:15pm: While George has been talking about his extension as if it's a done deal, Pacers president Larry Bird tells Michael Pointer of the Indianapolis Star that it's close, but not quite finished.

"That’s why I’m not playing golf today," Bird told Pointer, during an appearance before a Pacers Foundation golf outing at Brickyard Crossing. "I’m going back to the office to work on it."

Even as Bird pumps the brakes a little, it sounds to me as if it will just be a matter of days before we hear an official announcement from the team.

SUNDAY, 9:21pm: The Pacers and Paul George are finalizing a five-year deal worth more than $90MM, league sources told Adrian Wojnarowski and Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports. George is represented by Aaron Mintz of CAA Sports, according to the Hoops Rumors Agency Database.

George, 23, was scheduled to become a restricted free agent following the conclusion of the 2013/14 season. While there wasn't a ton of concern that George would flee the Pacers, fans were able to breathe even easier thanks to the star's comments over the summer. Last week, George said point blank that a contract extension was "going to get done" between him and the club.

The forward was named the NBA's Most Improved Player for 2012/13, when he set career-highs in PPG (17.4), RPG (7.6), PER (16.8), and several other categories. He also helped lead the Pacers to within one game of the NBA Finals, even without the services of Danny Granger.

George boosted his scoring average from 17.0 PPG in the regular season to 19.2 PPG during the Pacers' playoff run. He made himself a household name in the postseason and he could make himself known even more on a global scale if he's part of USA Basketball's 2014 team and the 2016 Olympic team in Brazil.

With George under contract for the forseeable future, the Pacers can now turn their focus to finishing what they started last season. George will spearhead an improved team this season that will feature a healthy Granger and an improved bench with offseason additions Luis Scola and Chris Copeland off the bench.

Indiana re-signed David West to a three-year, $36MM extension in July and locked up Roy Hibbert with a four-year, $58MM deal last summer. The Pacers had until October 31st to hammer something out with George, but it looks like they can use the next few weeks to go candy shopping instead.

Pops Mensah-Bonsu To Join Wizards For Camp

September 24th, 2013 at 4:49pm CST by Luke Adams

The Wizards are working to complete their camp roster this week, having reached an agreement with a fourth invitee, according to Michael Lee of the Washington Post. Lee tweets that Pops Mensah-Bonsu will attend camp with the Wizards, along with three other players who had previously been reported: Josh Childress, Xavier Silas, and D'or Fischer.

Mensah-Bonsu, 30, has played in parts of four NBA seasons for five different teams, but hasn't been linked to any NBA teams lately. As our archive of Mensah-Bonsu news and rumors shows, he has bounced around among international teams in recent years, finishing last season in Italy, where he recorded 8.0 PPG in nine games with EA7 Milano.

The 6'9" forward becomes the 19th man on the Wizards' roster. As I pointed out earlier today, because Washington has 15 guaranteed contracts on its books already, earning a roster spot will be an uphill battle for any of the team's camp invitees, including Mensah-Bonsu.

Sixers Sign Michael Carter-Williams

September 24th, 2013 at 3:59pm CST by Luke Adams

The 76ers have officially signed rookie point guard Michael Carter-Williams, according to the team's director of public relations Michael Preston (Twitter link). The Sixers also formally confirmed the signing of Nerlens Noel, which we heard about last week.

Noel and Carter-Williams had long been the only two first-rounders who remained unsigned, with the exception of those players who are spending the 2013/14 season overseas. Now that both players are officially under contract, the Sixers are carrying 11 players on guaranteed deals. At least six more players with partially guaranteed or non-guaranteed contracts will be in camp with the club starting next week.

Carter-Williams, the 11th overall pick out of Syracuse, is set to earn about $2.2MM in his rookie season, assuming he signed for the maximum allowable 120% of his cap hold. Our breakdown of rookie-scale salaries has the details.

Hawks To Bring Adonis Thomas To Camp

September 24th, 2013 at 3:25pm CST by Luke Adams

Undrafted rookie Adonis Thomas will join the Hawks for training camp, according to Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (via Twitter). Vivlamore had reported earlier in September that the team would likely add Thomas to its camp roster.

Thomas, 20, left Memphis this spring after his sophomore year, a decision that was questioned at the time by Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Goodman's ESPN colleague Chad Ford ranked Thomas 65th among 2013's prospects, so it wasn't a surprise when no team called his name on draft night. Still, the 6'6" forward should get the chance to compete with a handful of other players for a regular-season roster spot in Atlanta.

As Vivlamore points out, the addition of Thomas will increase Atlanta's camp roster to 20 players, making the Hawks the first team to reach the offseason limit. However, only 12 of those players are on fully guaranteed deals, which means the regular-season roster isn't set in stone yet. Eric Dawson, Royal Ivey, James Johnson, David Lighty, Shelvin Mack, and Damien Wilkins are also on non-guaranteed contracts, while Mike Scott has a $100K guarantee.

Knicks Sign Cole Aldrich

September 24th, 2013 at 3:07pm CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks have officially signed free agent center Cole Aldrich to a contract, the team announced today (Twitter link). Al Iannazzone of Newsday tweets that Aldrich's deal will be non-guaranteed.

Aldrich has underwhelmed in limited minutes during three NBA seasons with the Thunder, Rockets, and Kings, averaging 2.0 PPG and 2.3 RPG in 89 contests (7.9 MPG). However, given his size (6'11") and his pedigree (11th overall pick in 2010), there's still a chance the 24-year-old could contribute to an NBA team as the last big man off the bench.

We heard just yesterday that the Knicks intended to bring Aldrich back for a second workout, so it seems the team liked what it saw from the former lottery pick. Aldrich worked out for the Kings and other NBA clubs earlier in the summer, before landing with the Knicks.

With Aldrich on board, New York is set to bring at least 19 players to camp, including seven on non-guaranteed or partially guaranteed contracts. With only 12 players seemingly assured of roster spots, there should be some competition in the next several weeks for the team's last two or three openings.

D’or Fischer Accepts Invite To Wizards Camp

September 24th, 2013 at 12:39pm CST by Luke Adams

Free agent big man D'or Fischer has accepted an invite to training camp with the Wizards, reports Shams Charania of RealGM.com (via Twitter). Fischer becomes the third player to agree to a camp deal with Washington in the last several days, along with Josh Childress and Xavier Silas.

As Hoops' Rumors international player movement tracker shows, Fischer finished last season with Ukraine's BC Donetsk. appearing in 38 games for the club and averaging 11.0 PPG and 7.4 RPG. The West Virginia product has made a number of overseas stops since his days with the Mountaineers, playing in Spain, Israel, Belgium, Poland, and Germany, as well as in the D-League.

While Fischer, Childress, and Silas will be in camp with the Wizards, it won't be easy for any of them to earn a regular-season roster spot. Washington already has 15 players on guaranteed contracts, so the club would have to trade or release a player to make room for one of its camp invitees.

Jazz Sign Scott Machado

September 24th, 2013 at 8:28am CST by Luke Adams

The Jazz have added another player to their training camp roster, having signed Scott Machado, according to Mark Deeks of ShamSports.com (Twitter link). Machado had been waived by the Warriors earlier in the offseason.

Machado, 23, started last season with the Rockets, playing in six games for the team before being released in time for January's guarantee deadline. The Iona product signed with the Warriors late in the season but didn't appear in an NBA contest with Golden State. Machado spent most of the year playing for the two squads that eventually met in the D-League Finals, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers and the Santa Cruz Warriors. In 28 games for the two clubs, he averaged 8.9 PPG and 5.1 APG in 24.0 minutes per contest.

The Jazz currently have 12 guaranteed contracts on their roster, along with a partially guaranteed deal for Ian Clark. Jerel McNeal also has a fully non-guaranteed contract, but it looks like Machado will become the first real camp invitee for the club. I expect more will follow, but with a couple regular-season roster spots potentially open, Machado should have a chance to compete for one in camp.