Lakers Sign Marcus Landry
The Lakers announced that they have officially signed forward Marcus Landry. Terms of the deal were not revealed, but the deal is likely a non-guaranteed pact.
It was first reported in late July that Landry, the younger brother of Carl, was likely to hook on with the Lakers on a deal that would essentially boil down to a camp invite. Landry appeared in 18 games in the 2009/10 season with the Knicks and Celtics. Since then, he's bounced between the D-League and Europe, and played with the Reno Bighorns of the D-League last season.
Landry may not have a guaranteed gig in L.A., but he has a good chance of making the roster thanks in large part to Ryan Kelly's foot injury. The soon-to-be 28-year-old is represented by Keith Kreiter of Edge Sports, according to the Hoops Rumors Agency Database.
Junior Cadougan To Join Bucks In Camp
Undrafted Marquette point guard Junior Cadougan will be in training camp with the Bucks, agent Charles Briscoe tells Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype (Twitter link). He auditioned for the Bucks as well as the Wizards in advance of the draft, and was a part of Milwaukee's summer league team.
The 6'1" Cadougan didn't play much for the summer Bucks, scoring just two points as he appeared in two games for a total of 12 minutes. His stats weren't too impressive in college, where he averaged 8.5 points, 3.8 assists and 2.5 turnovers per contest as a senior. The native of Canada got some seasoning as a member of the national team this summer in the FIBA Americas Championship, but he only notched 1.7 PPG in that event.
The 23-year-old becomes the 16th player on the Bucks, who already had 15 others on fully guaranteed contracts. That'll make it tough for Cadougan to win a spot on the opening-night roster. Even though the Bucks clearly want to evaluate him over the next month, they might not have too much interest in retaining his D-League rights, since they share their affiliate with five other NBA teams — something I pointed out when I examined every Eastern Conference team's pre-camp roster outlook this weekend.
Yi Jianlian Signs Two-Year Deal In China
Former No. 6 overall pick Yi Jianlian won't be returning to the NBA anytime soon. The athletic big man has signed a two-year deal with the Guangdong Southern Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. The deal, according to the club, does not contain an NBA-out clause.
Jianlian had scouts drooling over his athletic ability and vertical leap during the 2007 draft and he wound up going No. 6 to the Bucks. However, the Chinese sensation came with a ton of question marks, not the least of which being his age. The big man listed his birthday as October 27, 1987, but it's more likely that he was actually born in 1984, meaning that he is on the cusp of his 30th birthday today.
Over the course of five NBA seasons with the Bucks, Nets, Wizards, and Mavericks, Yi averaged 7.9 PPG and 4.9 RPG in 22.2 minutes per contest. Statistically, his best season came in 2009/10 for New Jersey where he put up 12.0 PPG and 7.2 RPG.
To keep up on the latest international player movement, be sure to check out the brand new Hoops Rumors tracker.
Nuggets To Bring Reginald Becton To Camp
The Nuggets have signed undrafted University of Mississippi power forward Reginald Becton, tweets Mark Deeks of ShamSports. Becton is an unexpected choice for a training camp addition, since Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress had him as only the 53rd best senior in the 2013 draft, and he didn’t take part in NBA summer league play.
The 6’9″ Becton made his mark as a shot-blocker for Ole Miss, recording 2.7 blocks in 28.4 minutes per game last season. He swatted away shots at an even better rate at the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, a predraft gathering of many of the top college seniors where he recorded 2.3 BPG in 15 MPG.
Becton, who’s presumably on a non-guaranteed minimum-salary camp deal, gives the Nuggets 17 players, 14 of whom have fully guaranteed contracts. Quincy Miller‘s deal is partially guaranteed, while Damion James has a non-guaranteed pact, as Deeks reported this morning.
Suns Sign Dionte Christmas
The Suns have signed Dionte Christmas, the team has announced on its website. The 6'5" guard averaged double figures in points for Phoenix's summer league team this year, and a report shortly thereafter indicated the Suns had interest in bringing the former Temple Owl aboard. It's a multi-year deal with a "small" guarantee for this season, according to Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic.
Christmas has yet to play in a regular season NBA game after going to camp with the Sixers in 2009 and the Celtics last year. He had a two-year contract that was 50% guaranteed for the first season with the C's, and with former Boston executive Ryan McDonough on board as the new Phoenix GM, Christmas is again getting more than the standard non-guaranteed training camp deal.
The move furthers a roster logjam for the Suns, who already had 16 players on fully guaranteed contracts. Still, it's the first free agent deal of the offseason for McDonough and company, who've instead concentrated on swinging three trades since July 1st.
Christmas notched 10.1 points in 20.8 minutes per game for the summer league Suns after splitting the 2012/13 regular season between Montepaschi Siena of Italy and CSKA Moscow in Russia. He put up just 5.5 PPG for his overseas teams last year after he was his league's leading scorer for Rethymno of Greece in 2011/12.
Sixers To Sign Rodney Williams
FRIDAY, 6:23pm: Agent Kevin Bradbury has informed Wolfson that Williams has signed his deal (Twitter link). The Sixers have yet to confirm it.
MONDAY, 2:10pm: The Sixers are expected to sign Rodney Williams to a multiyear contract tomorrow, according to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities. Wolfson tweets that the deal will likely include a partial guarantee.
Assuming his contract with the Sixers is only partially guaranteed, Williams won't necessarily have an inside track to a roster spot. Still, Philadelphia's camp is expected to be fairly wide open, which should give the 22-year-old a chance to earn a spot on the regular season roster. The club only has nine guaranteed contracts on its books for now, though that number will increase to 11 when Nerlens Noel and Michael Carter-Williams officially sign.
Williams, who went undrafted in June, averaged 10.1 PPG and 5.0 RPG in his senior year at Minnesota. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported way back on the morning after the draft that Williams had agreed to a deal with the Sixers, though at the time it wasn't clear if it would be for more than Summer League play. Williams recorded 8.0 PPG and 1.2 RPG in five contests for Philadelphia's Summer League squad.
Mavericks Sign Devin Ebanks
The Mavericks have signed Devin Ebanks, the team announced today in a press release. The signing brings the team's roster count to 19 players, including 15 with guaranteed contracts.
Ebanks had reportedly been drawing interest from the Magic and Hawks as well as the Mavs, with all three teams seemingly prepared to invite him to training camp. The 23-year-old indicated on Twitter earlier this week that he was headed to Orlando, but it seems that visit was just for a workout, rather than to sign with the Magic.
In three NBA seasons with the Lakers, Ebanks has appeared in 63 overall contests, averaging 3.6 PPG and 1.9 RPG in 11.3 minutes per game. When he first hit free agency in 2012, L.A. made a qualifying offer, which Ebanks accepted, but the team didn't tender him a QO this time around, making the 6'9" forward an unrestricted free agent.
In addition the 15 players the Mavs have on guaranteed contracts, Fab Melo, D.J. Kennedy, and Mickey McConnell are also ticketed for training camp, seemingly on non-guaranteed deals. For Ebanks or one of the other camp invitees to earn a roster spot, the club would have to trade or release one of its guaranteed players.
International Updates: Hayes, Diawara, Tracker
If you haven't done so yet, be sure to check out our international player movement tracker, which Hoops Rumors contributor Mark Porcaro continues to update on a daily basis. The thousands of player entries in our tracker can be quickly sorted and searched, to conveniently find the specific details you're seeking.
Here are a few of the day's more notable international items:
- Former 10th overall pick Jarvis Hayes, who spent time in the NBA with the Wizards, Pistons, and Nets, is set to sign with Italy's Sidigas Avellino, according to Enea Trapani of Sportando. The 32-year-old forward played for Israeli team Elizur Ashkelon last season.
- Yakhouba Diawara has signed a one-year deal with BCM Gravelines in France, and the contract doesn't include an NBA out, says Shams Charania of RealGM.com. Charania had reported earlier this week that the former Nugget would work out for the Heat and Magic, but was still expected to sign overseas. Diawara played in Italy last season.
- At Hoops Rumors, we generally only focus on international transactions when they involve a player who recently played in the NBA or is looking to return stateside. But our international tracker includes many, many more items. Among the players recently updated in the tracker: Former NBA first-rounders Marcus Fizer and Ryan Humphrey, who agreed to deals with Al Muharraq (Bahrain) and Obras (Argentina), respectively.
Trail Blazers Sign Richard Howell
SEPTEMBER 13TH: The Blazers have formally announced the signing of Howell, via a press release.
SEPTEMBER 6TH: The Trail Blazers and rookie free agent Richard Howell have agreed to terms on a deal that will bring the N.C. State product to camp, reports Shams Charania of RealGM.com. Agent Joel Bell tells Charania that his client will sign a partially guaranteed contract with Portland.
Howell went undrafted out of N.C. State this past June, despite ranking as the 53rd-best prospect in the class, according to ESPN.com's Chad Ford. In his senior year with the Wolfpack, the power forward averaged 12.7 PPG and 10.9 RPG, while shooting 57% from the floor. Howell had reached an agreement to join France's BCM Gravelines, but the team announced this week that the two sides had mutually agreed to part ways, freeing up the 22-year-old for an NBA audition.
The Trail Blazers have 15 players on guaranteed contracts, making it a little unusual that the team would offer Howell a partial guarantee, since there may not be a regular-season roster spot available. Perhaps Portland wants to secure Howell's rights for the Idaho Stampede, and couldn't do so without offering a bit of guaranteed money.
In any case, Howell appears set to join Dee Bost and E.J. Singler as training camp invitees for the Blazers.
Nuggets Sign Damion James
Free agent swingman Damion James will be in camp with the Nuggets this fall, according to Mark Deeks of ShamSports.com, who reports (via Twitter) that Denver has signed James to a fully non-guaranteed contract.
James was traded from the Hawks to the Nets on draft night in 2010 after being selected with the 24th overall pick. Since then, he has bounced back and forth between the two teams — after spending the first two seasons of his NBA career in New Jersey, he was in camp with the Hawks last year. Atlanta cut him before opening night, but James signed with the Nets later in the season and appeared in a pair of games for the club.
For Denver, the 25-year-old will compete for a roster spot in camp, though it figures to be an uphill battle. The Nuggets are already carrying 14 guaranteed contracts, and also have Quincy Miller on a partially guaranteed deal. Miller didn't make much of an impression in his rookie year, but I'd be a little surprised if the Nuggets cut ties with him already, particularly since the team is already on the hook for $150K of his salary.