Bobcats Sign Jeff Adrien, Waive Cory Higgins
The Bobcats have signed Jeff Adrien and waived Cory Higgins, the team announced via press release. Higgins' non-guaranteed deal minimum-salary deal was to have become guaranteed if the team had kept him on the roster beyond today. Terms of Adrien's deal were not disclosed, but I'd assume Adrien will be on a minimum deal as well.
Ironically, they'll be paying more for Adrien, who's a two-year veteran, than for Higgins, who only has one year of experience, so I'd imagine Adrien's deal isn't guaranteed either. That would allow the Bobcats to cut Adrien later without committing to his full salary for the rest of the season, as they would have been forced to do if they kept Higgins past today.
Higgins is the son of Rod Higgins, Charlotte's president of basketball operations. The younger Higgins averaged 3.7 points in 10.3 minutes per game over the past two seasons for the Bobcats. The 6'7" Adrien was with Charlotte in training camp, but the team cut him only a few days in. He's appeared in 31 NBA games with the Rockets and Warriors the last two seasons, averaging 2.5 points and 2.6 rebounds in 8.4 minutes per contest.
Adrien had been playing with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the D-League, averaging 17.6 PPG and 11.2 RPG in five games so far this year. The Bobcats roster remains at 14 players, one short of the limit.
D-League Moves: Thunder, Barton, Claver, Leuer
We'll track today's D-League assignments and recalls here, with the latest moves up top. To keep tabs on all of this season's D-League assignments and recalls, check out our complete list.
- The Thunder have recalled Jeremy Lamb, Perry Jones III, and Daniel Orton from the Tulsa 66ers, the team announced today (Twitter link via Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports). Having recalled DeAndre Liggins from the D-League last week, the Thunder now don't have any players still on the 66ers' roster, though I'd imagine that won't last too long.
- The Trail Blazers have assigned Will Barton and Victor Claver to the Idaho Stampede, the team announced today (link via Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com). Of the two rookies, Barton has earned more playing time, averaging 8.8 MPG in 16 contests, while Claver has seen limited minutes in just five games. Both players will be with the Stampede for two games before rejoining Portland, according to GM Neil Olshey (Twitter link via Jason Quick of the Oregonian).
- The Cavaliers have assigned Jon Leuer to their D-League affiliate, the team announced today in a press release. Leuer will join the Canton Charge and be available for the club's game tomorrow. After being claimed off waivers by Cleveland in the offseason, Leuer has appeared in five games for the Cavs, averaging 3.2 PPG and 2.0 RPG in 14.4 minutes per contest. The 23-year-old will be the only member of the Cavs playing in the D-League for now, since the team recalled Kevin Jones earlier this week.
Raptors Assign Quincy Acy To D-League
The Raptors announced that they have assigned forward Quincy Acy to the D-League’s Bakersfield Jam. Acy will stay on the Raptors’ roster but will be placed on the team’s inactive list.
The forward has appeared in 21 minutes across three games with the Raptors this season, averaging 2.3 points and 2.0 rebounds. Acy, the sixth Raptor to be assigned to the D-League in club history, was selected with the 37th pick in the 2012 NBA Draft out of Baylor.
Spurs Recall Cory Joseph From D-League
The Spurs announced that they have recalled Cory Joseph from the Austin Toros. Joseph, who has been assigned to the Toros twice this season, appeared in two games with Austin, averaging 12.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 2.0 steals in 35.5 minutes.
The University of Texas product has appeared in four games this season for the Spurs' varsity squad, averaging 1.8 points and 1.5 assists in 7.8 minutes. Joseph also spent 29 games with the Spurs in 2011/12, averaging 2.0 PPG in 9.0 minutes per contest. The shorthanded Spurs can certainly use the help as they'll be without Kawhi Leonard, Stephen Jackson, Danny Green, and Patty Mills for tonight's game against the Bucks.
Be sure to check out our complete list of D-League assignments and recalls to keep track of the latest moves.
Hawks To Recall John Jenkins
The Hawks will bring John Jenkins back from D-League today, according to Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (via Twitter). Jenkins was assigned to the Bakersfield Jam along with fellow rookie Mike Scott last week. Scott is sick and will remain in Bakersfield until he gets healthy.
The 21-year-old was taken with the 23rd overall pick in the 2012 draft out of Vanderbilt. Jenkins had an enjoyable two game stint in the D-League, scoring 22 points against the Santa Cruz Warriors in his debut and 29 points against the Los Angeles D-Fenders last night. The guard saw just 13 minutes across four games this season for the Hawks.
International Moves: Curry, Alexander, Erden
Basketball season is in full swing around the globe, and a few international players with NBA ties are making headlines. Here's the latest from overseas.
- Sources tell HoopsWorld's Alex Kennedy that Eddy Curry, let go by the Mavericks after he appeared in two early-season games, has signed to play in China with the Zhejiang Golden Bulls. The story was first reported by Sina Sports (Chinese link). Another Chinese club went after Curry shortly after the Mavs let him go, but he turned them down amid interest from other NBA teams. According to Kennedy, Curry has his eyes on a return to the NBA in February, when the Chinese season ends.
- It seemed last week that Joe Alexander was also headed to China to play for the Liaoning Hunters, but the team has denied signing or having any interest in the former Bucks lottery pick, according to a Sports.QQ.com report (Chinese link, translation via Sportando).
- Semih Erden returned to his native Turkey to play this year after starting nine games for the Cavs last season, but the 7-footer is determined to make it back to the NBA, blaming injuries for his inability to stick the first time, as Orhun Özdemir of Trendbasket.net writes (hat tip to Sportando). "I’m back in Turkey because I failed to perform at my best in the NBA," the big man said. "I will recover from my injuries here and reach my top form again. I will be back in the NBA better than before."
- Derrick Caracter, a second-round pick of the Lakers in 2010, is headed to Israel, as we heard earlier.
Cavs Recall Kevin Jones
The Cavaliers have recalled power forward Kevin Jones from the D-League's Canton Charge, according to Sam Amico of FOXSports.com. The undrafted rookie out of West Virginia hooked on with the Cavs in summer camp and was one of three players to be assigned to their D-League affiliate.
Jones was on a tear for the Charge and the Cavs thought enough of Jones to waive Luke Harangody in order to sign him last week. The former Celtic beat Jones out for a spot on the Cavs' roster this offseason but never actually appeared in a game. The Cavs are on the hook for Harangody's full $1.05MM guaranteed salary for 2012/13.
In five D-League games, Jones has averaged 23.6 PPG and 12.6 RPG in 41 minutes per contest. The 6'8" forward was projected to be an early or mid-second-round pick in the 2012 draft before a bone bruise took him out of the pre-draft circuit and kept him out of summer league play.
Odds & Ends: Dwight, Shved, Hornets, Boykins
Dwight Howard opened up this weekend about his parting with the Magic, in advance of Orlando's meeting with the Lakers last night, and he talked about his willingness to change teams if that's what the pursuit of a championship requires. John Denton of Magic.com interprets that comment to mean D12 might be willing to leave the Lakers as a free agent next summer, but it seems more logical that Howard was referring to his departure from the Magic. Either way, there's plenty of room for pessimism about this year's Laker team, which takes an 8-9 record on the road for seven of its next eight games. Here's more from around the Association:
- Injuries to other Timberwolves have thrust rookie Alexey Shved into a prominent role, and the Russian guard is surprised at how quickly NBA success has come, writes Ray Richardson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
- Wolves coach Rick Adelman believes Shved will eventually become a mainstay in the backcourt alongside Ricky Rubio, as Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune documents.
- HoopsWorld's Steve Kyler, who noted earlier that the Hornets are not shopping Ryan Anderson, says the team isn't looking for an immediate solution to its troubles this season, preferring an approach predicated on draft picks and cap space (Twitter link).
- Earl Boykins, linked to the Mavericks last week before they signed Derek Fisher, has been working out in Denver and is in great shape as he awaits interest from teams, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).
- DaJuan Summers, who last played in the NBA with the Hornets in 2011/12 and was a training camp invitee of the Bobcats, has signed to play with the Maine Red Claws of the D-League, tweets Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com, who notes the Red Claws let go of Brian Cusworth.
Lakers Recall Robert Sacre
The Lakers have recalled Robert Sacre from the D-League, according to Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com (Twitter link). The 7'0" rookie averaged 7.7 points and 9.7 rebounds in 27.0 minutes over three games with the Los Angeles D-Fenders after being sent down on Wednesday.
Sacre, taken with the final pick of this summer's NBA draft, has appeared in eight games for the big club so far this season, but he's totaled just 19 minutes and scored only two points. He had a much greater impact in the preseason, when he started in place of an injured Dwight Howard and put up 6.5 PPG and 4.8 RPG in 24.7 minutes of work per night.
The Lakers still have fellow rookie and second-round pick Darius Johnson-Odom assigned to the D-Fenders, as our list of this year's D-League comings and goings shows. Players with two or fewer years of experience can be shuttled back and forth as often as their teams like.
Rockets Recall Terrence Jones
The Rockets announced today that the team has recalled forward Terrence Jones from NBA D-League partner Rio Grande Valley. Jones was assigned to the Vipers on November 30th and averaged 22.5 points and 17.5 rebounds in two starts with the team.
The 20-year-old appeared in seven contests for the Rockets so far in his rookie season, averaging 3.6 PPG and 2.0 RPG in 10.4 minutes per contest. Be sure to keep up with all of this year's D-League assignments and recalls, including today's flurry of activity, with this handy post.