Charlie Westbrook To Sign In D-League
Guard Charlie Westbrook has agreed to sign a deal in the NBA Development League, a league source told Shams Charania of RealGM. Westbrook was in training camp with the Heat this summer and was said to impress, but the logjam of talented veterans was too much for him to overcome.
Westbrook had been deciding on his next professional team and he joined the D-League’s waiver process tonight to determine his franchise. The 24-year-old played four games with the Heat in preseason, with averages of 5.7 minutes and 2.5 points before being released on October 21st.
Undrafted in 2012 out of the University of South Dakota, Westbrook was on the second team all-conference as a senior, scoring over 18 points per game. He spent last season in Italy, where he averaged 16.2 points per contest.
Spurs Sign Malcolm Thomas
8:07pm: The signing is official, according to a press release from the Spurs. The team didn’t announce the terms of the deal, but it’s likely a minimum-salary contract without a guarantee. The addition of the Aaron Mintz client brings San Antonio’s roster to the 15-player limit, as our updated roster counts show.
TUESDAY, 7:43pm: The Spurs have finalized their deal with Thomas, tweets Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News, though there remains no official announcement from the team. Thomas is set to join the team after it returns from Wednesday’s game against the Timberwolves in Mexico City.
SUNDAY, 7:29pm: The Spurs are set to sign power forward Malcolm Thomas, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter links). Thomas, who has been with the D-League’s L.A. D-Fenders, was pulled from tonight’s game against the Bakersfield Jam.
The Spurs and Thomas are quite familiar at this point as Thomas has suited up for both the Spurs and their D-League affiliate in Austin. The 25-year-old has 15 career NBA games to his credit, including three with San Antonio in 2011/12. In 27 D-League contests, Thomas has averaged 13.2 PPG and 9.6 RPG in 32.7 minutes per contest. Thomas was in summer league and training camp with the Bulls this summer, but Chicago didn’t have the room to keep him despite some impressive play.
Kendall Marshall To Join D-League
DECEMBER 3RD: Marshall has been claimed by the Delaware 87ers in the D-League’s waiver process, tweets Wojnarowski. The 87ers are the Sixers’ affiliate, so they’ll hold Marshall’s D-League rights, but he’ll still be free to sign with any NBA team, if he gets an offer.
NOVEMBER 27TH: About a month after being traded by the Suns and subsequently released by the Wizards, Kendall Marshall will join the NBA D-League, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Wojnarowski reports that Marshall has entered his name into the D-League’s pool of players, and will land on a team next week following the league’s waiver process.
Marshall, 22, received offers from teams in China and Europe, says Wojnarowski. However, it seems the young point guard believes his best route back to the NBA involves remaining stateside. Wojnarowski reported earlier in the month that Marshall was drawing some NBA interest, and we heard this week from Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio that sources expected him to sign somewhere by the New Year. A strong showing for Marshall in the D-League may motivate an NBA team to take a flier on the 2012 lottery pick.
After being selected 13th overall a year ago by the Suns, Marshall had a disappointing rookie campaign, averaging just 3.0 PPG in 48 contests, to go along with a .371 FG% and 7.8 PER. The UNC product was included in the trade that sent Marcin Gortat to Washington, but was quickly waived by the Wizards, who didn’t have space on the roster to carry him into the regular season.
Southwest Notes: Hollins, Roberts, Spurs
Former Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins reportedly spoke with Pistons coach Maurice Cheeks about joining his staff as assistant, and Hollins confirms to Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com that he was offered the job. He turned it down, however, intent on seeking out another NBA head coaching gig. Here’s more out of the Southwest Division..
- Pelicans point guard Brian Roberts is on a fully guaranteed minimum-salary contract, but he’s fallen out of the rotation, and that might put his roster spot in jeopardy, as Jimmy Smith of The Times-Picayune examines.
- The Spurs announced that they have assigned center Aron Baynes and guard Nando De Colo to the D-League’s Austin Toros. Baynes has appeared in ten games for the Spurs this season, averaging 1.5 points and 2.2 rebounds in 8.1 minutes. De Colo has seen action in six contests this season for the Silver and Black, averaging 2.7 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 9.0 minutes. To keep track of all of this year’s D-League assignments, check out Hoops Rumors’ running list.
- Jeff McDonald of the Express News (on Twitter) wouldn’t be surprised to see Baynes and De Colo back in San Antonio tomorrow.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Lakers Waive Elias Harris
4:45pm: Ramona Shelburne of ESPN Los Angeles confirms (via Twitter) that the Lakers’ decision to release Harris was financially motivated, and not a signal that another player will be added to the roster.
4:10pm: The Lakers have officially released Elias Harris, the team announced today (Twitter link). The move reduces L.A.’s roster count to 14 players, one below the regular-season maximum.
Harris, 24, went undrafted out of Gonzaga in June before joining the Lakers’ summer league squad and eventually signing a partially guaranteed deal with the team. The 6’8″ forward appeared briefly in a pair of games with the Lakers this season, and also recorded 18 points in his only D-League game for the Los Angeles D-Fenders. He’ll become an unrestricted free agent, assuming he clears waivers.
As for the Lakers, while the move opens up a roster spot, it’s not immediately clear if the team plans to add a replacement for Harris. 10-day contracts can’t be inked until the new year, but the club could sign a player to a non-guaranteed contract, which wouldn’t become guaranteed until January 10th.
If the Lakers don’t intend to fill that 15th spot, Harris’ release likely represents a money-saving move. The team was already on the hook for Harris’ partial guarantee worth $100K, but that amount would have begun to increase next week, had he remained on the roster.
Odds & Ends: Heat, Nowitzki, HGH, Biedrins
The Heat‘s visit to Cleveland tonight brought the specter of LeBron James hitting the free agent market next summer to the forefront, but Jonathan Tjarks of RealGM.com argues that the four-time MVP should stay in Miami if he wants to continue winning championships. The Heat are a strong draw for other free agents, too, and it’s no surprise that players take discounts to come to Miami, which offers an up-tempo system, the chance to play with LeBron, and title contention, Tjarks writes. Here’s more from around the NBA:
- Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is confident Dirk Nowitzki won’t seek too much money from the team in contract negotiations this summer, and says the Mavs are “going to do all we can to keep him forever,” notes Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
- Cuban also told reporters that the NBA is open-minded about studies on the use of human growth hormone for helping athletes recover from injury. Cuban intends to fund the research, but that sort of HGH use in the NBA would first require U.S. government approval. Tim McMahon of ESPNDallas.com has the details.
- Andris Biedrins admits impending free agency is on his mind, and the Jazz center hinted at retirement, saying in part that, “I know this is my last year,” as Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune passes along. Of course, Biedrins could be referring to the last year of his contract, rather than his career.
- Gerald Green has fit in surprisingly well in Phoenix, writes Yannis Koutroupis of HoopsWorld, who sees potential for him to be a long-term piece for the Suns.
- Kim English has signed to play in France with Chorale Roanne, the team announced (translation via Sportando). Emiliano Carchia of Sportando first reported the deal for the Leon Rose client and former Pistons guard.
- Jabari Davis of HoopsWorld doesn’t expect the Heat‘s Big Three to hit the open market next summer, but offers up a list of plenty of other potential free agents for teams to consider in 2014.
Luke Adams contributed to this post.
Arinze Onuaku Signs With D-League’s Charge
Former Pelicans power forward Arinze Onuaku has signed with the D-League’s Canton Charge, the team announced (hat tip to Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio). The Charge have a one-to-one affiliation with the Cavs, but Onuaku’s D-League contract doesn’t constitute any agreement between him and the NBA team. The 26-year-old remains eligible to hook on with any NBA club, including the Cavs.
Onuaku was allowed to sign directly with the Charge rather than go through the D-League’s waiver process, as Kendall Marshall must do, because he played with Canton before. The one-time member of the Syracuse Orange averaged 12.6 points and 9.5 rebounds in 38 games with the Charge last year, and participated in the D-League All-Star Game.
That performance led to a summer-league stint with the Suns this year and a training camp invitation from the Pelicans. New Orleans briefly carried him on its regular season roster before waiving him a couple of weeks ago, just three games into his NBA career.
Kings Acquire Derrick Williams
TUESDAY, 11:08am: The deal has become official, according to Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune (via Twitter).
MONDAY, 6:49pm: The Kings are set to acquire Derrick Williams from the T’Wolves for Luc Mbah a Moute, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). The deal is pending a physical for Mbah a Moute, who has knee troubles, but a source says that it would have to be really bad for the Wolves to nix the trade (link).
Williams, the former No. 2 overall pick in the 2011 draft, has reportedly been on the block for more than a year now and while former GM David Kahn couldn’t find a home for him, new team president Flip Saunders may be on the cusp of doing just that. Williams might have been able to change the new regime’s impression of him with a hot start this season, but 4.9 PPG and 2.4 RPG through eleven games hasn’t helped his stock. Earlier today, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN reported that a Williams trade seemed imminent.
The Kings have been aggressively pursuing trades and are reportedly targeting a solution at small forward. Mbah a Moute, a summer pickup, was supposed to be the answer, but he’s more of a role player than a starting three. As the UCLA product averages career-lows in points, rebounds, and minutes per game, Williams could represent an upgrade, even though small forward isn’t his natural position. The T’Wolves gave serious thought to moving Williams to the three – even having him drop from 250 pounds down to ~235 – but he never seemed to get the hang of it in training camp.
If completed, the trade would give Williams a fresh start while reuniting Mbah a Moute with former UCLA teammate Kevin Love. Mbah a Moute will be a defensive upgrade for Minnesota as he and Corey Brewer figure to frustrate opponents on a nightly basis.
Mbah a Moute, 27, is set to earn $4.58MM this season and $4.38MM in 2014/15. Williams, 22, will make $5.29MM this season and $6.68MM next season before reaching restricted free agency.
Marc Stein of ESPN.com (on Twitter) first reported that the two sides were in advanced talks on a swap of Mbah a Moute and Williams.
Lakers, Kobe Agree To Two-Year Extension
10:49am: Bryant’s extension will be worth $48MM over two years, according to ESPN.com’s Chris Broussard (via Twitter). Shelburne tweets that the annual salaries will be $23.5MM in 2014/15 and $25MM in ’15/16. That should still leave the Lakers with enough room for a max free agent next summer, though it’ll be a tight fit.
10:43am: According to Ramona Shelburne of ESPN Los Angeles (via Twitter), Kobe’s new deal will make him the highest-paid player in the NBA over the next two seasons. The exact figures still aren’t known, but according to Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter), the extension will be worth between $40-50MM.
10:26am: The Lakers and Kobe Bryant have reached an agreement on a contract extension, the team announced today in a press release. The deal will keep Kobe off the free agent market in 2014, extending his contract by two years, according to the team.
“This is a very happy day for Lakers fans and for the Lakers organization,” said GM Mitch Kupchak in a statement. “We’ve said all along that our priority and hope was to have Kobe finish his career as a Laker, and this should ensure that that happens.”
We heard in September that Bryant and the Lakers had yet to begun discussing an extension, but those negotiations were expected to happen at some point before Kobe’s contract expired. A month ago, executive VP Jim Buss vowed that the longtime Lakers star wouldn’t get to free agency, so the team made good on that promise.
When I examined Kobe as an extension candidate earlier this month, I predicted that he’d sign a two- or three-year extension at some point after he returned from his Achilles injury. The fact that the Lakers completed the deal before he appeared in a game this season suggests that the team believes he made a full recovery.
While Kobe would be eligible for a salary worth north of $32MM in the first year of his new deal, he almost certainly agreed to a pay cut from this year’s $30MM+ salary. The two-year contract will cut into the Lakers’ projected cap space for next summer, but depending on the annual cap hit for the extension, the club should still have plenty of room to pursue free agents.
Minor Moves: Warriors, Douby, Fischer
A look at today’s minor moves from around basketball..
- The Warriors announced that they re-assigned center Dewayne Dedmon and guard Nemanja Nedovic to the Santa Cruz Warriors of the NBA Development League. Both players will be in uniform for tonight’s home game against the Austin Toros this evening. To keep up with all of this season’s D-League assignments, check out Hoops Rumors’ running list.
- Quincy Douby reached agreement with the Yao Ming-owned Shanghai Sharks, a source told Shams Charania of RealGM. Douby is free to sign with an NBA club once the CBA season ends in March, but Shanghai’s squad is rather strong with Douby in the fold and he could be locked in with them longer if they make a deep playoff run. The Rutgers product was previously with the Sioux Falls SkyForce, the affiliate of the Heat, and was being groomed as a point guard.
- German team Brose Baskets Bamberg officially announced the signing of D’or Fischer, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. The big man spent last season with BC Donetsk of Ukraine averaging 11.0 PPG and 7.6 RPG in Superleague action and was in camp with the Wizards over the summer.