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Knicks Sign Toure Murry

September 11th, 2013 at 1:45pm CST by Ryan Raroque

SEPTEMBER 11TH: The Knicks have officially announced (Twitter link) the signing of Murry, as well as the signing of Chris Smith, whose deal was reported last month. Both deals are fully non-guaranteed, per Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com (Twitter link).

SEPTEMBER 5TH: According to ESPN's Marc Stein, Knicks summer league standout Toure Murry has accepted a training camp invite with New York after a strong late push from the Heat. Despite Miami's efforts to bring the former D-Leaguer on board for camp, Murry is said to have wanted the opportunity to build upon his summer success with the Knicks. With 12 guaranteed contracts, two partially-guaranteed contracts (Jeremy Tyler and C.J. Leslie), and what is most likely a non-guaranteed pact for Murry, New York's roster now stands at 15.

In five games and two starts for the Knicks in the Las Vegas Summer League, the 6'5 guard averaged 7.6 PPG and 1.2 SPG in 20.8 MPG, stringing along a shooting line of .424/.333/.727. Murry also played in the NBDL during 2012/13, appearing in four games as a member of the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. Back in mid-July, ESPN New York's Jared Zwerling (via Twitter) noted head coach Mike Woodson's interest in the 23-year-old point guard: "He's a guy that we've really got to keep our eyes on possibly bringing to camp."

Interestingly enough, Stein writes that the Houston native had garnered acclaim from former Knicks star and current broadcaster Walt Frazier for his hard-nosed play and defensive presence over the summer, adding that Frazier's high praise had factored into convincing Murry to try and make New York's roster.

Cameron Jones Accepts Warriors’ Camp Invite

September 11th, 2013 at 8:54am CST by Luke Adams

Free agent guard Cameron Jones will attend training camp with the Warriors next month, according to Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside. The nature of Jones' agreement with Golden State isn't known, but presumably he'll sign a non-guaranteed camp deal.

Jones, 24, has played in the D-League the last two seasons, and was a member of Golden State's affiliate in Santa Cruz in 2012/13. Referred to as the "best-kept secret in the D-League" by Warriors assistant GM Kirk Lacob, Jones averaged 12.6 PPG in 50 D-League contests last season. The Northern Arizona product helped lead Santa Cruz to the D-League Finals, and played for the Warriors' squad that won the Summer League championship in Las Vegas in July.

In addition to the 12 players they have on guaranteed contracts, the Warriors will also bring Kent Bazemore, DeWayne Dedmon, and Seth Curry to camp along with Jones. Bazemore has a partially guaranteed deal and is a strong bet to earn one of the three open regular-season roster spots, while Dedmon is also believed to have a partial guarantee on his deal. 2012 draft pick Ognjen Kuzmic is expected to join the club in camp as well, though that has yet to be officially confirmed.

Mavericks Sign Melo, McConnell, Kennedy

September 10th, 2013 at 6:23pm CST by Michael Pina

According to the team, the Mavericks have officially signed Fab Melo, D.J. Kennedy, and Mickey McConnell, upping their roster total to 18 players.

Earlier today, ESPN.com's Marc Stein reported that Melo and Dallas had reached a deal. Kennedy made the 2013 NBA D-League All-Star game as a representative of the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the league's 2013 champions. He has experience with the Cavaliers.

McConnell spent last season playing for Tezenis VE in Italy, averaging 13.6 PPG, 3.5 RPG and 2.7 APG in 32 games.

Mike James To Sign With Bulls

September 10th, 2013 at 5:19pm CST by Luke Adams

Mike James has reached an agreement with the Bulls, and will sign a training camp deal with the team later this week, reports ESPN.com's Marc Stein (via Twitter). It's not clear what sort of contract James will sign, but I'd imagine it'll be fully non-guaranteed, or close to it.

James, 38, had a solid season for the Mavericks in 2012/13, averaging 6.1 PPG and 3.1 APG in 45 contests. He started 23 games at the point for Dallas, when the team's other options were underperforming. The veteran appeared in 11 games for the Bulls in 2011/12, so if he can earn a regular-season roster spot with the club this season, it'll be his second stint in Chicago.

At the moment, it appears as if James has at least a decent chance to break camp with the Bulls. The team only has 11 players on fully guaranteed contracts, plus second-rounder Erik Murphy on a partially guaranteed deal. Dexter Pittman, like James, is expected to be in camp with Chicago, and I'd imagine the team will extend invites to at least a couple more players.

James had previously been in talks with the Mavericks about a potential return to Dallas. However, the Mavs bolstered their backcourt in July free agency, leaving little room for James.

Heat Sign Justin Hamilton

September 10th, 2013 at 5:06pm CST by Chuck Myron

TUESDAY, 5:06pm: The Heat have offically announced Hamilton's signing in a press release. The release also includes confirmation that Miami has signed Eric Griffin, whose agreement with the team was reported nearly a month ago.

SUNDAY, 11:28am: The Heat will bring Justin Hamilton to training camp, agent J.R. Hensley tells Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Hensley says his client, who's been working out at the Heat's home arena the past few weeks, will ink a deal with the team in the days ahead. The 45th pick in the 2012 draft still isn't participating in any contact drills as he recovers from a hamstring injury that kept him out of summer league.

The signing will force Miami's brass to either keep the former LSU center into the regular season or cut him in training camp and lose his rights. The Heat could keep Hamilton's NBA rights in perpetuity if they elect not to sign him, as they did last year when he played in Europe. With some agents hearing that the Heat plan to carry only the minimum 13 players amid a luxury tax crunch this season, it's somewhat surprising that the team appears to be bringing Hamilton aboard now. Miami already has 13 fully guaranteed contracts.

Hamilton split 2012/13 between BC VEF Riga in Latvia and KK Cibona of Croatia. In all, he averaged 10.5 points and 6.0 rebounds in 18.7 minutes per game. His numbers as a senior at LSU weren't staggering, either, as he put up 12.9 PPG and 7.2 RPG in 30.0 MPG.

Pacers Sign Darnell Jackson

September 10th, 2013 at 2:51pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pacers announced a pair of signings in a press release today, as the team moves toward solidifying its roster for training camp. In addition to signing Ron Howard, whose agreement we heard about last month, Indiana also reached an agreement with Darnell Jackson, according to the release.

Jackson, 27, was selected in the second round of the 2008 draft, and has played for the Cavaliers, Bucks, and Kings in 138 total NBA contests. Since his last NBA action, which came for Sacramento in 2010/11, the 6'8" forward has played in Ukraine, China, and the D-League. In 19 games for the Reno Bighorns last season, Jackson averaged 13.8 PPG and 6.7 RPG. He participated in Utah's training camp last fall.

The signings of Howard and Jackson officially bring the Pacers' roster counts to 15 players, though our count has the team at 16, which includes a reported agreement with Rasual Butler. Although Indiana didn't announce Butler's deal today, there's no indication that it has fallen through. Assuming Jackson and Howard didn't receive any guaranteed salary, those two players, along with Butler, should compete in camp to earn a regular-season roster spot.

Mavs Invite Fab Melo To Camp

September 10th, 2013 at 1:17pm CST by Luke Adams

1:17pm: The Mavs and Melo have reached a training camp deal, according to Stein.

11:11am: Having already been traded by the Celtics and released by the Grizzlies this offseason, free agent big man Fab Melo is set to join a new team, reports ESPN.com's Marc Stein. According to Stein (via Twitter), the Mavericks are planning to bring the 2012 first-rounder to camp this fall.

Melo, the 22nd overall pick in last year's draft, only appeared in six NBA games for the Celtics in 2012/13. The Syracuse product spent most of the season with Boston's D-League affiliate, averaging 9.8 PPG and 6.0 RPG in 33 contests for the Maine Red Claws. While he has plenty of raw upside, Melo is also viewed as a long-term project, and given his lack of significant progress in his rookie season, neither the Celtics or the Grizzlies were inclined to wait on him.

The Mavericks already have 15 players on guaranteed contracts, so there may not be room for Melo on the regular-season roster, and it's unlikely he'll receive a significant guarantee. However, assuming Dallas finalizes a camp deal with the young center, the team will retain his D-League rights, meaning he could end up starting the 2013/14 season with the Texas Legends.

A source told Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link) earlier today that Boston and Houston could be potential landing spots for Melo, but CBA rules prevent the C's from re-signing Melo until next summer.

Eastern Notes: Heat, Pistons, Pierce, Williams

September 8th, 2013 at 9:26pm CST by Zachary Links

We learned earlier today that the Heat are bringing Justin Hamilton to camp, which wasn't a huge surprise since the former LSU big man has been working out at AmericanAirlines Arena for the last few weeks. Hamilton had his moments with the Heat during the 2012 offseason, after he was acquired in a draft-night trade with the 76ers, leading some on the Heat staff at the time to see him as a more promising prospect than Jarvis Varnado. However, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel writes that Hamilton still faces long camp odds with Greg Oden already something of a long-term developmental project and the Heat possibly keeping the minimum of 13 players to start the year. Hamilton's chances of making the team could also rest on the Heat's ability to move Joel Anthony's pesky contract. Here's more out of the Eastern Conference..

The Central Division is one of the most fascinating divisions in the NBA because of the expectations of competitiveness from each team, writes Zach Harper of CBSSports.com. For the Pistons, their best-case scenario will be seeing Brandon Jennings and Josh Smith become bona fide NBA stars. For the Bulls and Pacers, their ceilings see them as real championship contenders.
John Havlicek told Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe (Sulia link) that he believes the departed Paul Pierce is the greatest one-on-one Celtics player of all-time.
Former Nets big man Jordan Williams signed with Spanish club Bilbao Basket last week but was waived over the weekend, according to HoopsHype (via Twitter).

Celtics Invite Damen Bell-Holter To Camp

September 8th, 2013 at 8:47am CST by Chuck Myron

The Celtics are adding an off-the-radar prospect, having invited undrafted Damen Bell-Holter to training camp, the power forward tells A.J. Jankowski of the Ketchikan Daily News. Germany's Telekom Baskets Bonn had just declined to renew Bell-Holter's three-week tryout contract when the Celtics extended their offer to agents Mitchell Butler and Toby Bailey. Bell-Holter indicates to Jankowski that he'll accept the invitation.

The Alaskan-born Bell-Holter wasn't highly regarded coming out of Oral Roberts this year. Neither DraftExpress nor ESPN.com listed him in their prospect rankings, and we didn't hear of any NBA team bringing him in for a predraft workout. The 6'9" power forward didn't take part in NBA summer league action after averaging 15.5 points and 9.4 rebounds in 31.5 minutes per game as a college senior this past season. NBA scouts may have been most familiar with him from his work at the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament this spring, where he put up 7.7 PPG and 4.3 RPG in nearly 24 minutes of action per contest against other NCAA seniors.

The 23-year-old was sorting through offers before the Celtics called, and he said he was probably going to accept one from a team in Greece. Instead, Bell-Holter will have a shot, however remote, at making the Celtics regular season squad next month. His addition will give the Celtics 19 players, one short of the training camp roster limit. The deal is non-guaranteed, Bell-Holter confirms to Jankowski.

If Bell-Holter survives camp cuts, he'll become just the second player born in Alaska to appear in an NBA regular season game, joining Mario Chalmers.

Thunder Waive DeAndre Liggins

September 6th, 2013 at 7:17pm CST by Chuck Myron

7:17pm: The Thunder are unlikely to sign anyone of note for training camp as a replacement for Liggins, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Still, I'd expect them to bring on a few inexperienced hopefuls, as most teams do as camp draws near.

7:07pm: Liggins was formally charged with seven felonies shortly before the Thunder waived him, reports Matt Dinger of The Oklahoman. The charges include counts of domestic abuse, kidnapping, and domestic assault and battery.

6:16pm: The Thunder have waived DeAndre Liggins, the team has announced via press release. Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman speculated that such a move was on the way this week after reporting Saturday that the former University of Kentucky Wildcat had been arrested for alleged domestic abuse. Liggins was already on shaky ground, with a non-guaranteed contract that seemed expendable when the team was chasing Mike Miller.

Liggins was set to make the minimum salary this season, the second of a two-year deal to which the Thunder inked him last fall. His release drops the team to 15 contracts, only 12 of which are fully guaranteed. Ostensibly, it's a boost for Daniel Orton's hopes of making the team, since the departure of Liggins makes him the only Oklahoma City player without at least a partial guarantee, but the Thunder are likely to invite more players to compete for a spot in training camp.

Orton and Liggins have an extensive shared history. They played together at Kentucky, spent their rookie years with the Magic, and joined OKC last season. Both made frequent trips to the Thunder's D-League affiliate in Tulsa in 2012/13, though Liggins, unlike Orton, saw the majority of his action with the big club. The 6'6" swingman averaged 7.4 minutes per game in 39 NBA contests, and saw increased run in the playoffs as the Thunder dealt with Russell Westbrook's injury, notching 8.5 MPG. Still, Liggins scored only eight total points in eight playoff games, which wasn't much better than his 1.5 PPG during the regular season.