Mavs Sign Douglas-Roberts, Waive Fisher
SUNDAY, 11:25pm: The Mavs officially announced the signing of Douglas-Roberts, via press release.
SATURDAY, 5:34pm: HoopsWorld's Bill Ingram (via Twitter) acknowledges a source close to the situation that says Fisher will opt for retirement due to the strain on his body and family.
4:44pm: The Mavs have officially waived Fisher, according to a press release from the team. The release does not mention Douglas-Roberts.
4:12pm: Derek Fisher has told the Mavericks he wants them to let him go, and the team is honoring his request and will put him on waivers, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com. In his place, the team will sign Chris Douglas-Roberts. The Mavs signed Fisher to a minimum-salary deal in November.
Douglas-Roberts has been averaging 27.8 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists for the Texas Legends of the D-League, and was widely viewed as the best talent available in that circuit, Stein writes. Texas is the affiliate of the Mavs, and Dallas signed Douglas-Roberts toward the end of training camp and quickly released him so they could retain his affiliate rights, which allowed the Mavs to place him on the Legends.
Fisher started all nine of the games he played with the Mavericks, and according to Stein, the team appealed to him to allow them to find another point guard after he requested the release a few days ago. However, the 6'7" Douglas-Roberts is a shooting guard, not a point guard. Fisher strained his patellar tendon against the Sixers on Tuesday and has missed the team's last two games, but the Mavs don't believe the injury is serious. As Stein writes, Fisher released a statement that said the recovery time from the injury will be about two weeks, and that he wants to return home to be with his family. Fisher, 38, also hinted at retirement.
"I have made decisions in the past, leaving money and opportunity on the table, and I will need to do that again," the statement said. "My family is my priority and that is where I choose to be. I won't close the possibility that I will play again, however for now my family and being close to them remains the priority."
As Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com notes via Twitter, Fisher's offseason home is in L.A. Stein pointed out earlier this season that Fisher is eligible to sign with the Lakers, who dealt him to the Rockets at the trade deadline last year. The Lakers are reportedly still considering an upgrade to their backcourt, though Fisher, who excelled in the triangle offense, might not be the prototypical point guard coach Mike D'Antoni favors for his up-tempo system.
It was never confirmed whether Fisher's deal was guaranteed, but his statement indicates that he's leaving money on the table, so perhaps the contract was either non-guaranteed or Fisher and the team negotiated a buyout. Otherwise, the Mavs would be on the hook for his salary the rest of the season.
Celtics Sign Jarvis Varnado
Monday 10:59am: The team has made the signing official.
Sunday 10:22pm: The Celtics found out earlier today that they'll be without Chris Wilcox for three-to-four weeks, and they wasted little time in finding reinforcements. The C's are set to sign Jarvis Varnado of the D-League's Sioux Falls Skyforce, a league source tells Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter).
Varnado, 24, was taken with the 41st overall pick in the 2010 draft out of Mississippi State. The 6'9" power forward opted to gain some experience overseas in Italy and went to camp with Miami in 2011 and 2012. He was one of the final cuts in Miami this year and might have had a chance at grabbing one of the final roster spots if it weren't for hamstring issues.
In eight games for the Skyforce this year, Varnado has averaged 14.0 PPG, 8.9 RPG, and an eye-popping 4.4 blocks per contest. Varnado is an adept shot blocker thanks in large part to his freakish 7'4" wingspan.
Wizards To Re-Sign Shelvin Mack
The Wizards will sign Shelvin Mack out of the D-League, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Washington drafted Mack with the 34th overall pick in 2011 and waived him at the end of camp this year, absorbing his partial guarantee of $300K. Mack will get a new contract with the Wizards, likely for the minimum salary.
Mack has been playing with the Maine Red Claws of the D-League, and is the circuit’s 10th-leading scorer, at 20.2 points per game, and fifth-leading assist-maker, averaging 7.1 dimes per contest. He saw action in 64 games for Washington last season, posting numbers of 3.6 PPG and 2.0 APG in 12.2 minutes per game. The Wizards were reportedly looking for backcourt help following the release of Shaun Livingston and Earl Barron last night, but it’s unclear whether they’ll stop here or add a 15th player to the roster.
Wojnarowski tweets that Mack is expected to join the Wizards on Monday, which is the earliest he could do so, since Washington cannot fit him on to the roster until Livingston and Barron clear waivers. The Wizards don’t play again until Wednesday. Mack represents the latest in a series of point guards the team has turned to in the absence of John Wall, out indefinitely with an injured left patella. They chose Jannero Pargo over Mack to start the season, and waived Pargo in favor of Livingston on November 15th. A.J. Price has remained on the roster all season, but he’s currently on the shelf with a broken hand.
Wizards Waive Earl Barron, Shaun Livingston
8:01am: The team is planning on filling the open roster spots with backcourt reinforcements, sources tell Michael Lee of The Washington Post.
1:28am: The Wizards waived a pair of minimum-salary players overnight, cutting center Earl Barron and point guard Shaun Livingston, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. The team confirmed the moves on its website. Barron's contract was non-guaranteed, and Livingston's likely was as well. Washington is left with the minimum of 13 players on its roster.
It's clearly a sign of cost-cutting for the Wizards, as both players made starts for the team within the last week. The release of Livingston is surprising, though, since that leaves the Wizards without any healthy point guards. Swingman Jordan Crawford has assumed much of the ball-handling duties while A.J. Price is on the mend from a broken hand, and John Wall remains out indefinitely with a stress fracture in his left kneecap. Unless either of them is ready to return, the Wizards may once more look to the free agent market, as they did when they brought in Ben Uzoh and Blake Ahearn for workouts earlier this month.
The timing of the moves is a bit curious, since it wouldn't have cost the Wizards much to keep Livingston and Barron around until January 10th, when contracts become guaranteed for the rest of the season. The prorated amount the team paid for each per day was only about $5K, a relative pittance. If Price makes it back at the early end of his initial recovery prognosis of four to six weeks, he would do so before January 10th, which would make the case for the Wizards to keep Livingston, unless they simply prefer another short-term option. Derek Fisher was waived by the Mavericks today, but he reportedly wants to retire and spend time with his family in L.A., so it would make no sense for him to move across the country to play for the 3-22 Wizards.
D-League Notes: Joseph, Machado, Selby, Wroten
Today's D-League assignments and recalls…
- The Celtics announced they have assigned Kris Joseph to the Maine Red Claws for a fourth time this season. In his previous stints in the D-League, the 6'7" rookie has averaged 20.9 points and 6.0 rebounds over seven contests. He may be back with Boston as early as Sunday, since he expects to join the Celtics on their upcoming road trip, according to Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com (Twitter link).
- The Rockets made their recall of Scott Machado official, according to a release from the team.
- The Grizzlies have recalled Josh Selby from the Reno Bighorns, tweets Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal. Selby looked sharp in his two-game D-League stint, averaging 22.0 points, 7.0 assists and 6.5 rebounds after he was assigned to Reno on Monday. Rookie Tony Wroten will likely be sent to the Bighorns in place of Selby for the next eight games, according to Tillery (Twitter link).
- The Rockets will recall Scott Machado from the Rio Grande Valley Vipers today, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle (on Twitter). The 6'1" guard averaged 12.0 PPG and 7.1 APG for the Vipers in eleven games.
- The Nets announced that they have recalled Toko Shengelia and Tyshawn Taylor from the Springfield Armor of the D-League. The two rookies were assigned to Springfield yesterday. Neither player has seen significant playing time for the Nets this season. Taylor showed off his offensive skills last night for the Armor when he posted 32 points off of 13-28 shooting. Shengalia had a triple-double with 22 points, 12 dimes, and ten boards.
D-League Moves: Jackson, Moultrie, Marshall
We'll round up today's D-League assignments and recalls here. Make sure to keep up with every D-League assignment and recall for the 2012/13 season with this post.
- Thunder point guard Reggie Jackson has been sent to the D-League for a second-time this season, tweets Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman. His first stint was a one-day assignment earlier this month, and he registered 20 points and 11 assists in his only game with the Tulsa 66ers. The second-year Boston College product has played a limited role for Oklahoma City this year after serving as the primary backup to Russell Westbrook for a stretch last season.
- The 76ers have assigned Arnett Moultrie to the Sioux Falls Sky Force of the D-League.
- The Suns have recalled Kendall Marshall from the Bakersfield Jam. The 12th pick in the 2012 NBA Draft, Marshall led the D-League with 7.6 APG while he was playing for Bakersfield.
- The Celtics announced that they have recalled forward Kris Joseph from the Maine Red Claws. Joseph, a 6’7" forward, appeared in seven games for the Red Claws this season and has posted averages of 20.9 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 2.0 steals in 38.1 minutes per game.
- The Nets announced that forward Toko Shengelia and guard Tyshawn Taylor have been assigned to the Springfield Armor of the NBA Development League. Neither rookie has seen significant playing time with the Nets so far this season. Both players will suit up for the Armor tonight. Shengelia, a practice favorite of coach Avery Johnson, was acquired from the 76ers after being drafted 54th overall in the 2012 NBA Draft. Taylor, a rookie out of Kansas, has made ten appearances on the year, scoring 13 points with three steals and two assists.
D-League Moves: White, Copeland, Leuer
We’ll keep track of all the day’s D-League moves right here. As always, you can reference the season’s comings and goings with this post.
- The Knicks have assigned James White and Chris Copeland to the Erie BayHawks of the D-League for a second time this week, tweets Keith Schlosser of Knicks Journal. The pair of forwards went to Erie on Tuesday and were called back to New York yesterday in time for both to appear in the Knicks‘ victory over the Nets. Neither played in a game for the BayHawks, and the assignments are simply a measure to get the players more practice time, as Schlosser points out.
- The Cavaliers have recalled Jon Leuer from the D-League, the team announced. Leuer has appeared in six games, all starts, for the Canton Charge since he was assigned to the club two weeks ago. The 6’10” power forward notched 20.3 points and 12.3 rebounds per game and shot 54.5% during his D-League stint.
- Tyler Honeycutt was on the active list for the Kings in their win against the Warriors last night in his first game since returning from the league’s longest D-League stint of the season. Honeycutt was sent down November 7th, the first time an NBA player was assigned to a D-League squad in 2012/13. The 6’8″ small forward averaged 10.9 points and 9.6 rebounds in seven games with the Reno Big Horns.
D-League Moves: Perry Jones III, Liggins, Knicks
We'll be keeping track of all of today's D-League comings and goings in this post. To keep up with the latest assignments and recalls, check out Hoops Rumors' 2012/13 list right here.
- The Thunder announced they've assigned Perry Jones III and DeAndre Liggins to the Tulsa 66ers. It's the second time they've each been sent down. Liggins has averaged 11.7 points and 8.0 rebounds in three games for Tulsa, while Jones has put up a total of 23 points and seven rebounds in his two D-League contests.
- Forwards Chris Copeland and James White have returned to the Knicks after being assigned yesterday to the D-League's Erie BayHawks, the BayHawks announced via Twitter (hat tip to Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside). Their return was expected when they were sent down, along with Amare Stoudemire, to practice with the BayHawks. Erie is in the midst of a four-day layoff, so none of the Knicks assignees saw game action.
- The Pistons have brought back Khris Middleton and Kim English from the D-League, according to James Jahnke of the Detroit Free Press. Both rookies were sent down to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants a week ago. They were in the starting lineup for three games with Fort Wayne, with English putting up 18.0 points, 5.7 assists and 5.0 rebounds per contest, while Middleton posted averages of 11.0 points and 7.7 boards. Neither of them, both second-round picks this past June, have seen significant minutes for the big club in Detroit.
- The Spurs announced that they have assigned Kawhi Leonard to the Austin Toros of the NBA Development League for a medical rehab assignment. Leonard has been sidelined with quadriceps tendinitis in his left knee since November 17th. Prior to the injury, Leonard appeared in nine games for the Spurs, averaging 10.6 PPG, 5.4 RPG and 2.0 SPG in 28.9 minutes. Team doctors will determine a timeline for Leonard's return after he practices with the Toros.
D-League Notes: Motiejunas, Copeland, White
We'll keep track of today's D-League news right here..
- Knicks coach Mike Woodson said Iman Shumpert could also head to the D-League when he's healthy again, tweets Emiliano Carchia of Sportando.
- The Rockets have recalled Donatas Motiejunas from the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the team announced. The 7'0" rookie was assigned on Friday to the Vipers for the second time this season, and he averaged 23.0 points and 12.0 rebounds in two weekend contests.
- The Knicks have also assigned Chris Copeland and James White to the BayHawks so that they can practice with them in Westchester, New York, tweets Al Iannazzone of Newsday. Copeland, White, and Stoudemire will be called back up tomorrow.
- Grizzlies General Manager Chris Wallace told Sports 56 WHBQ that Josh Selby will return from the D-League after two games, according to the Memphis Commercial Appeal (via Twitter). When Selby returns, Tony Wroten will be sent back to Reno.
- Avery Bradley said the Celtics have talked with him about a D-League stint, but he plans on traveling west with the C's on their post-Christmas trip, tweets Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald.
- The Knicks announced that they have assigned Amare Stoudemire to the Erie BayHawks of the Developmental League so that he can get practice reps before returning to the Knicks this weekend. Coach Mike Woodson disclosed yesterday that Stoudemire would practice with the BayHawks, but it wasn't clear if he would be formally assigned to them.
D-League Moves: Selby, Wroten, Plumlee, Joseph
We'll keep track of all the day's D-League comings and goings with this post. Catch up on all the season's D-League movement with our roundup here.
- The Grizzlies have assigned Josh Selby to the Reno Big Horns and recalled Tony Wroten from the team, Memphis announced in a press release. Selby has seen only 15 minutes of action in five games with the Grizzlies, while Wroten, a rookie, has logged even more scant playing time — eight total minutes in three games.
- Miles Plumlee is back in the NBA after the Pacers recalled him from the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, the team announced via Twitter. The 6'10" Plumlee, the 26th pick in the draft this year, has appeared in just four games for a total of 16 minutes, and has been passed over in the team's big man mix in favor of Jeff Pendergraph, among others.
- The Spurs have assigned Cory Joseph to the Austin Toros for the third time this season, the team announced. Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News noted via Twitter a few minutes prior to the announcement that the team planned to send the second-year guard down so he can get some playing time. He's logged 65 total minutes over nine games for the Thunder this season, averaging 2.1 points and 1.4 assists per game.
- The Thunder have brought back Jeremy Lamb and Daniel Orton from their D-League assignments, the team announced via Twitter (hat tip to John Rohde of The Oklahoman). They were sent down on Friday, and both appeared in back-to-back games for the Tulsa 66ers this weekend. Lamb notched 24 and 26 points, respectively, in the two outings while Orton averaged 12.0 points and 7.0 rebounds in the pair of D-League contests. Oklahoma City has made liberal use of relaxed D-League assignment rules this season, as this represents the third time both Lamb and Orton have been sent down and recalled this year.