Spurs Recall Cory Joseph From D-League
Here are today's D-League's assignments and recalls, with any further moves added to the top of the page throughout the day:
- Well, that was fast. The Spurs announced that they have recalled Joseph from the Austin Toros just five-and-a-half hours after his assignment. Joseph will be in uniform for tonight's game against the Hornets.
- The Spurs have re-assigned Cory Joseph to the Austin Toros, the club announced today in a press release. Joseph appeared in just one game during his most recent stint with the Spurs, playing briefly at the end of the club's January 16th win over Memphis. The timing of the move is a little curious, since the Spurs also announced they'll be without Tim Duncan and Kawhi Leonard tonight vs. the Hornets. With Joseph headed to the D-League, that'll be one fewer body on the bench for San Antonio.
Spurs Sign Aron Baynes
The Spurs have officially signed Australian big man Aron Baynes, the team announced today in a press release. Two weeks ago, we heard that San Antonio was working to finalize a buyout with Baynes' club overseas and bring him stateside.
Baynes, 26, had been playing for Union Olimpija of the Slovenian Basketball League this season, averaging 13.8 PPG and 9.8 RPG in 10 contests (26.2 MPG). The Washington State product has also played for Australia in international competition, including at the 2010 World Championships and the 2012 Olympics.
Because the Spurs went to the effort of buying out Baynes' contract and adding him after this year's guarantee deadline, his deal figures to be guaranteed for at least the rest of this season, and perhaps next year as well. Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com reported earlier this month that Baynes would receive a four-year deal, with two guaranteed seasons and two team options.
San Antonio had been carrying just 14 players, so the team had an open roster spot and won't need to make a corresponding move to clear room for Baynes.
Bucks Sign Hammond To Three-Year Extension
2:47pm: The Bucks have officially announced Hammond's extension through 2015/16, via a team release.
"John does a terrific job for our basketball team," said Bucks owner Herb Kohl. "He and his staff have assembled a roster of very talented players who are also very good people, which our fans appreciate and enjoy watching. John is highly respected by the players and among his peers and I’m happy he will continue to lead our basketball operations department."
2:11pm: Hammond's extension with the Bucks will be worth about $1.8MM per season, reports Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (via Twitter).
1:34pm: Bucks general manager John Hammond and head coach Scott Skiles both entered the season on the last year of their respective deals, but while Skiles and the Bucks parted ways earlier this month, it seems Hammond will be sticking around long-term. Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports (via Twitter) that the Bucks and Hammond have agreed to a three-year contract extension for the GM.
Hammond, who took over as the Bucks' general manager in April 2008, has been responsible for drafting Brandon Jennings and Larry Sanders, among others. He has also completed a number of trades over the last several years, including dealing Andrew Bogut to Golden State last March in a multiplayer deal that saw the Bucks land Monta Ellis. Hammond was named Executive of the Year in 2009/10, a season in which Milwaukee posted a 46-36 regular season record.
Around the time that Jim Boylan replaced Skiles as the Bucks' head coach, Gardner had reported that the team was in talks with Hammond about a possible extension.
Grizzlies Sign Chris Johnson
9:55am: The Grizzlies have made Johnson's signing official, the team announced in a press release.
WEDNESDAY, 8:10am: Although he wanted a rest-of-season deal, Johnson will sign a 10-day contract with the Grizzlies, according to Tillery (via Twitter).
TUESDAY, 12:46pm: Needing to add a couple players to reach the roster minimum, the Grizzlies will sign Chris Johnson, reports Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal (via Twitter). This isn't the 27-year-old big man by the same name that's currently on a 10-day deal with the Timberwolves, but rather the 22-year-old small forward out of Dayton.
Johnson was cut from the Clippers' training camp roster in early October but was quickly picked up by the Magic before being released near Halloween. Johnson also played for the Sixers in the summer league this past July, averaging 7.3 points and 6.0 rebounds in 22.3 minutes per game over four contests.
D-League Moves: Jones, Nets, Grizzlies, Rockets
We’ll track Tuesday’s D-League assignments and recalls right here, with additional moves added to the top of the page throughout the day:
- The Rockets announced today that they have re-assigned forward/center Donatas Motiejunas to the Vipers. The move will create roster space for Terrence Jones, who was recalled earlier today.
- The Nets announced that have assigned forward Tornike Shengelia and guard Tyshawn Taylor to the Springfield Armor. This will be the second stint for both players in the D-League this season. Shengelia was a practice favorite of former coach Avery Johnson.
- On the heels of their trade with the Grizzlies, the Cavaliers have recalled Kevin Jones from the D-League, the team announced today in a press release. Jones, who was assigned to the Canton Charge just yesterday, helped lead the team to a 78-69 victory over the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, racking up 25 points and 11 boards.
- The Rockets will recall Terrence Jones from the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, tweets Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. In his four D-League stints this season, Jones has appeared in 12 games, averaging 19.1 PPG and 9.8 RPG.
Cavs Acquire Speights, Ellington From Grizzlies
The Grizzlies and Cavaliers have offically finalized a deal that sends Marreese Speights, Wayne Ellington, Josh Selby and a protected first-round draft pick to Cleveland in exchange for Jon Leuer, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com (via Twitter). The Cavaliers have waived Jeremy Pargo to clear room on their roster for the incoming players.
Memphis has been at the center of a number of trade rumors this month, a result of the team's reported desire to get below the tax line. While most of those rumors have involved more expensive players like Rudy Gay and Zach Randolph, I noted last week that Speights was another candidate to be dealt, since moving his $4MM+ salary would be enough to get the Grizzlies out of the tax. That's essentially what Memphis is doing in this deal with the Cavs, moving Speights along with Ellington's $2.08MM expiring contract. Selby and Leuer are a wash, earning identical $762,195 salaries.
Cleveland has the room to absorb Ellington's and Speights' salaries under the cap, while the Grizzlies will move below the tax line for 2012/13. Memphis should also obtain a handful of trade exceptions in the transaction, worth the amount of Speights', Ellington's, and Selby's salaries — $4,200,000, $2,083,042, and $762,195 respectively.
Speights, 25, was a productive rotation piece for the Grizzlies last year after the team acquired him from the 76ers, starting 54 contests for the club and averaging 8.8 PPG and 6.2 RPG. However, he has seen a reduced role in Memphis this season, with his minutes being reduced from 22.4 per game to 14.5. Because he was playing on a one-year contract (excluding his second-year player option) following his rookie deal, the forward had the rights to veto a trade, but he agreed to be dealt to the Cavs due to that lack of playing time in Memphis, according to Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal (Twitter link).
For the Cavaliers, Selby and Memphis' pick act as sweeteners to compensate the Cavs for taking on salary, including Speights' $4.52MM player option for 2013/14. Joel Brigham of HoopsWorld wrote yesterday that Selby, who excelled in the Summer League in July, was waiting for an opportunity to try to translate that success to the regular season. He figures to have a better chance to receive that opportunity in Cleveland.
Meanwhile, the first-rounder heading to the Cavs is protected from 1-5 and 15-30 in 2015 and 2016, before being top-five protected in 2017 and 2018 and unprotected in 2019. Like the first-rounder that was traded by the Raptors to the Rockets (and eventually to the Thunder) over the summer, the unique protection makes it a likely lottery pick.
Despite clearing Speights from next year's books, the Grizzlies still project to be likely taxpayers in 2013/14 and '14/15, so as Grantland's Zach Lowe points out (via Twitter), the club could explore more cost-cutting deals in the summer. The trade also brings the Grizzlies' roster to 11 players, two below the NBA minimum, so free agent signings will be required. Memphis is currently considering Delonte West and Bill Walker, among others.
Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter links), Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com (Twitter links), Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld (all Twitter links), and Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal (Twitter link) were all involved in breaking various details of the story.
D-League Moves: Lamb, Orton, Jones, Tyler
We'll track today's D-League assignments and recalls right here, with additional moves added to the top of the page throughout the day:
- The Thunder have re-assigned Jeremy Lamb and Daniel Orton to the Tulsa 66ers, tweets Adam Zagoria.
- The Cavaliers have re-assigned Kevin Jones to the Canton Charge, the team announced today in a press release. Jones has seen limited action in Cleveland this season, but was very productive in five games for the Charge, averaging 23.6 PPG and 12.6 RPG.
- Jeremy Tyler has been recalled from the D-League, the Warriors announced today in a press release. Tyler was sent to Santa Cruz yesterday and helped the Warriors' affiliate pull out a 96-95 win over the Erie BayHawks.
- The Bucks have recalled Doron Lamb from the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, the club announced today (Twitter link). After being assigned to the D-League for the first time on January 12th, the rookie appeared in two games, averaging just 7.5 PPG while shooting 22.7% from the floor.
Hawks Sign Jannero Pargo
11:09am: The Hawks have officially signed Pargo to a 10-day deal, the team announced in a press release.
10:07am: The Hawks will sign Jannero Pargo to a 10-day contract, agent Mark Bartelstein tells Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype. Atlanta is currently carrying 14 players on its roster, so a corresponding move won't be required to clear space for Pargo.
Pargo earned a spot on the Wizards' roster this fall, but was cut early in the season when Washington signed Shaun Livingston. We heard multiple times after that point that the 33-year-old was drawing interest from teams like the Bulls, Lakers, and others. However, it sounds as if he didn't receive serious interest until the 10-day contract period got underway two weeks ago.
For Pargo, it's a return to the place where he spent the 2011/12 season. In 50 games last year for the Hawks, the veteran guard averaged 5.6 PPG and 1.9 APG while recording a decent 13.6 PER. He'll provide Atlanta some backcourt depth over the next ten days as the club deals with the loss of Louis Williams for the season.
Suns Name Lindsey Hunter Interim Coach
6:29pm: NBC/Comcast analyst Ric Bucher tweets that it is now a tough situation in Phoenix for Elston Turner, who he considers to have Tom Thibodeau-esque potential. After the Suns didn't allow him to follow Rick Adelman to Minnesota in 2011, Turner was passed over for the Blazers' job this summer and now has lost out to Hunter in Phoenix. Bucher speculates that based on the "dynamic" in Phoenix, it is hard to envision Turner or Majerle staying beyond their current contract obligations should Hunter remain at the helm.
12:55pm: Majerle isn't the only assistant coach on his way out of town, as player development coach Sean Rooks is leaving for a job overseas, Coro notes, adding that Rooks' move is unrelated to the other changes in Phoenix. Also, Elston Turner was absent from practice today, according to Coro (Twitter links).
11:08am: Majerle will likely leave the team after getting passed over for the interim job, reports Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. A source indicates the same to Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News (Twitter link).
10:11am: The Suns have named assistant coach Lindsey Hunter as interim head coach, the team announced on its website. Hunter replaces Alvin Gentry, who parted ways with the team on Friday. The team went with Hunter over fellow Phoenix assistants Elston Turner, Igor Kokoskov and Dan Majerle.
Hunter was a front-office favorite, though owner Robert Sarver reportedly has an affinity for Turner. Suns players made a push for Majerle yesterday as the team was considering its internal candidates. Hunter was part of the final three in the running for the Magic head coaching job over the summer. His formal title with the Suns had been player development coordinator, a position he took over this season after joining the team's scouting department last year. He spent 17 years in the league as a player, retiring in 2010 to a player development role with the Bulls.
The Suns, in last place in the Western Conference with a 13-28 record, next play Wednesday against the Kings. The team wants to place greater focus on bringing along its young talent, so given Hunter's previous responsibilities with the club, the hiring makes sense. Phoenix brass reportedly felt Gentry wasn't the right man for its new emphasis on youth.
Heat Recall Dexter Pittman From D-League
Two days after being assigned to Sioux Falls Skyforce, Dexter Pittman has been recalled by the Heat, according to a team release. Pittman will be available for Miami's home game against the Raptors on Wednesday night.
Pittman was recalled to the Heat on January 17 for one game and was then re-assigned to the D-League. He was initially sent down on December 26 after nearly two months in the NBA. In 12 games for Sioux Falls, Pittman has averaged 13.3 points and 9.2 rebounds and was named to the 2013 NBA D-League Showcase Second Team.