Gani Lawal To Sign With NBA Team
Forward Gani Lawal is signing with an unknown NBA team, a source told Emiliano Carchia of Sportando (on Twitter). Lawal just parted ways with VEF Riga shortly after agreeing to a deal.
To date, Lawal has a whopping two minutes of NBA experience to his credit. However, as we learned back in May, the forward caught the attention of several teams with his play overseas. The Pacers, Raptors, and Magic all scheduled Lawal for workouts and four or five other clubs were said to be considering it.
Lawal spent this past season with Italy's Virtus Roma, averaging 13.3 PPG, 8.8 RPG, and 1.4 blocks per game. The 24-year-old has reportedly lost weight and added strength since he was drafted by the Suns with the 46th overall pick out of Georgia Tech in 2010.
Lawal was in training camp with the Spurs in 2011, but San Antonio cut him before the start of the regular season.
Kings Sign Brandon Heath
THURSDAY, 2:50pm: The Kings have officially signed Heath to the camp roster, the team announced today in a press release.
TUESDAY, 4:09pm: Although the Kings previously announced that they had finalized their training camp roster with the additions of DeQuan Jones and Hamady N'Diaye, it appears the team will bring at least one more player to camp. Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype confirms (Twitter link) that the Kings will sign Brandon Heath, a move first reported by Maria Mitzova of EuroBasket.com.
Since Heath went undrafted out of San Diego State in 2007, he hasn't appeared in a regular-season NBA game, though he participated in Summer League play with the SuperSonics, Clippers, and Nets over the years. The 6'4" guard also spent one season with the D-League's Los Angeles D-Fenders, and most recently played for Lukoil Academic in Bulgaria, averaging 12.0 PPG and 4.7 APG in 39 contests in 2012/13.
After adding Heath, the Kings will be carrying 18 players on their training camp roster, including 14 guys on fully guaranteed contracts.
Rockets Release B.J. Young
The Rockets have reduced their training camp roster to 18 players, announcing today that B.J. Young has been released, according to Jason Friedman of Rockets.com (Twitter link). The team will have to cut at least three more players before opening night to get down to 15 players, the regular season limit.
Young, 20, went undrafted out of Arkansas in June after deciding to forgo his remaining two years of NCAA eligibility. The Rockets inked him to a deal in July, guaranteeing him $40K in his rookie year, but the team ultimately opened camp with more than 15 players on fully or partially guaranteed deals, so at least one of those players needed to be cut. Young represents the first camp casualty for Houston, though perhaps he'll end up with the club's D-League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.
With Young no longer in the mix, the Rockets figure to land on a 15-man roster that includes some combination of their 13 guaranteed players, their two partially guaranteed players (Ronnie Brewer, Reggie Williams), and their three non-guaranteed players (Patrick Beverley, Jordan Henriquez, Greg Smith).
Bulls Waive Patrick Christopher, Kalin Lucas
The Bulls have trimmed their preseason roster to 16 players, according to Aggrey Sam of CSNChicago.com. Sam tweets that coach Tom Thibodeau confirmed the club has released two camp invitees, Patrick Christopher and Kalin Lucas.
Christopher and Lucas, who both played in Turkey last season, signed non-guaranteed camp deals with the Bulls last month. Assuming they clear waivers, they'll likely be headed back overseas, or to the D-League.
With 12 players on fully or partially guaranteed contracts, the Bulls figure to have between one and three roster spots still available for the regular season. Camp invitees Mike James, Dahntay Jones, Dexter Pittman, and D.J. White remain in the mix.
Shavlik Randolph To Play In China
1:51pm: Randolph's one-year deal with Foshan will be worth at least $1.5MM, according to Ben Golliver of Blazer's Edge.
10:07am: Prior to signing with the Celtics in the second half of the 2012/13 season, Shavlik Randolph played in China for the CBA's Foshan Lions. Having been waived this summer by Boston, Randolph is now headed back to China, according to Sportando contributor David Pick, who tweets that the big man will return to Foshan.
Randolph, 29, inked a pair of 10-day deals with the Celtics in 2012/13 before signing with the team for the remainder of the season. The former Duke Blue Devil only recorded 4.2 PPG and 4.4 RPG in 16 contests for Boston, but was significantly more productive overseas. Randolph appeared in 28 games for Foshan, averaging 32.0 PPG, 14.6 RPG, 1.4 APG, 1.7 steals, and 1.0 blocks in 36.5 minutes per contest while shooting 53.1% from the floor.
Because the CBA regular season ends in February, Randolph should have a chance to return stateside and catch on with an NBA team once he plays out the season in China.
Knicks Sign Chris Douglas-Roberts, Cut Brownlee
After officially announcing the signing of Justin Brownlee on Monday, the Knicks have already waived their 20th man, according to the team (Twitter link). In Brownlee's place, New York has signed Chris Douglas-Roberts to fill out the preseason roster.
Douglas-Roberts, 26, participated in camp with the Lakers and Mavs a year ago, and eventually appeared in a handful of regular season contests for Dallas. However, the 6'7" wing hasn't seen significant NBA minutes since he played for the Bucks in the 2010/11 season. As Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv notes (via Twitter), Douglas-Roberts becomes the latest in a long line of CAA clients to join the Knicks.
The Knicks' motives for cutting Brownlee so early in camp aren't entirely clear, though Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com (Twitter link) is hearing the St. John's product may have sustained an injury. In that case, it makes sense that the club would want to bring in a healthy body.
Delonte West Signs With Chinese Team
Delonte West has signed a one-year deal with Fujian of China, according to Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com (on Twitter). The guard last played in the NBA in 2011/12 when he was with the Mavs.
The 30-year-old averaged 9.6 PPG, 3.2 APG, and 1.3 SPG in a shade over 24 minutes a night in that last go-round with Dallas. West would obviously like to make his way back to the NBA this season and the shortened season in the CBA will allow him to sign a mid-season deal here in the states – provided that a team wants him.
Talent doesn't appear to be the issue with West but behavior certainly is. After being cut by the Mavericks for his off-court activity in training camp last fall, West lasted just eight games with the D-League's Texas Legends for being late to practice. The Knicks and Grizzlies had some level of interest in West earlier this summer, but things never seemed to develop. West even made it known that he'd take a non-guaranteed deal and still didn't get an NBA opportunity.
In eight seasons with the Celtics, Sonics, Cavs, and Mavericks, West averaged 9.7 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 3.6 APG, and 1.1 SPG. As always, you can keep track of deals all around the globe with Hoops Rumors' International Player Movement Tracker.
Lester Hudson Joins Jazz For Camp
The Jazz have finalized their roster for camp by adding a 20th player, the maximum allowed before the regular season gets underway. The 20th man on the preseason roster is free agent guard Lester Hudson, according to the team (via Twitter).
Hudson, 29, has played parts of three NBA seasons with the Celtics, Wizards, Cavs, and Grizzlies (twice). The 6'3" guard didn't play in an NBA regular season game last season, but had a successful stint with the Dongguan Leopards in China, for whom he averaged 27.5 PPG in 15 contests. Hudson worked out for the Knicks earlier this summer, and reportedly looked very impressive at a May D-League camp in Chicago.
Despite having 20 players on the training camp roster, the Jazz are only carrying 12 players on fully guaranteed contracts. Ian Clark, who has a $200K guarantee, looks like a decent bet to make the team as well. If he does, that would leave two potential openings for the likes of Hudson, Brian Cook, Mike Harris, Justin Holiday, Dwayne Jones, Scott Machado, and Dominic McGuire.
It had been reported that Weber State product Nick Covington would also be in camp with the Jazz, but with 20 players on board, it doesn't appear there's any room for him in Utah at the moment. It's not clear whether the Jazz opted not to sign Covington or whether he's still in their plans in some form, but for now, the club will move forward without him on the roster.
Pelicans Add Rodney Carney To Camp Roster
After signing Lazar Hayward yesterday, the Pelicans have added another player to their camp roster, according to Jim Eichenhofer of Pelicans.com. Eichenhofer tweets that free agent swingman Rodney Carney will join New Orleans for training camp.
Carney, 29, was selected 16th overall in the 2006 draft, and spent five NBA seasons with the Sixers, Timberwolves, Warriors, and Grizzlies. The Memphis product displayed decent scoring and shooting prowess during his time in the league, including a 44.7 3PT% in 2010/11, but hasn't appeared in a regular season game since before the lockout. Carney participated in camp with the Heat last fall before joining Antalya in Turkey, where he averaged 16.6 PPG in 10 contests.
With the addition of Carney, the Pelicans increase their preseason roster to 17 players, including four without fully guaranteed contracts. Since New Orleans could have two roster spots up for grabs, Carney figures to receive consideration for one of those openings.
Knicks Sign Josh Powell
SEPTEMBER 30TH: The team has officially announced Powell's signing.
SEPTEMBER 21ST: The Knicks will sign Josh Powell to a non-guaranteed training camp deal, according to a tweet from Bleacher Report's Jared Zwerling, who reports that the six-year NBA veteran has agreed to a deal with the team.
Powell worked out with the team last week, and has also recently auditioned for the Pelicans. The 30-year-old Powell has been out of the NBA for the past two seasons, and in 2011 he played for the Hawks.
Holding a career scoring average of 3.9PPG, Powell is best known for being a member of two championship winning Lakers teams in 2009 and 2010. He was waived by the Spurs last October, but didn't play a game for the team.