International/D-League Updates: Thursday
Here are a few of the latest non-NBA links, from the D-League and overseas:
- Italy's Pallacanestro Cantu is still interested in signing Sundiata Gaines, but the point guard, who was waived in October by the Pacers, has also received an offer from a Chinese team, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando.
- We heard yesterday that Spain's Lagun Aro was closing in on a deal with Jermaine Taylor, and today the team made the signing official (as translated by Sportando). Taylor had been in camp with the Timberwolves.
- At his introductory press conference with the Melbourne Tigers, Jonny Flynn explained that he wanted to sign where he'd have the "best chance to play," as Wendell Maxey of Ridiculous Upside writes.
- Celtics coach Doc Rivers is rooting for JaJuan Johnson, the former Celtic who was the first overall pick in last week's D-League draft. "I know he has the talent, I’ll put it that way," said Rivers, according to Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com. "I told him that this summer. He’s going to either have to pull it out of himself, or it’ll be there. But I do believe that he has NBA talent. And I hope he makes it."
- Johnson, Andrew Goudelock, and Justin Harper, the top three picks in the D-League draft, spoke to HoopsWorld about making the most of their time in the D-League.
- If former Spur James Anderson can improve his long-range jumper with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, don't expect him to be in the D-League for long, says Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside.
Kings Assign Tyler Honeycutt To D-League
The Kings are making this year's first D-League assignment, as they've announced via press release that they're sending Tyler Honeycutt to the Reno Bighorns tomorrow. Honeycutt, whom the Kings drafted with the 35th overall pick in 2011, spent 10 games with Reno last season, almost as many as the 15 games he played with the big club in Sacramento. The move comes as little surprise, since Kings coach Keith Smart said last month he wanted to have Honeycutt go through training camp with the Bighorns, which begins in a few days, tweets Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee.
The 6'8" small forward from UCLA has yet to appear in a regular season game for the Kings this year, and got in only one of the team's preseason contests, thanks in part to a stress fracture in his right fibula. He saw only 88 total minutes for Sacramento last season, and in 12.8 minutes per game at Reno, he averaged 5.9 points and 2.9 rebounds. Honeycutt is on a fully guaranteed contract for about $810K this season, with another partially guaranteed year on the deal for 2013/14.
Honeycutt is available for tonight's game against the Pistons, but will report to the Bighorns by Friday, the team says.
International Notes: Summers, Dozier, Taylor
With NBA rosters set, plenty of players who were waived prior to the regular season by NBA teams have turned to the D-League, as we outlined yesterday. However, others are looking overseas as they attempt to continue their basketball careers. Here's the latest on a number of players who are signing with or drawing interest from non-NBA clubs:
- DaJuan Summers, who was a Bobcats camp invitee last month, is drawing interest from Panathinaikos, reports Rigas Dardalis of Eurohoops.net. According to Dardalis, Panathinaikos is seeking a replacement for Hilton Armstrong.
- Spanish club Cajasol Sevilla has signed Robert Dozier to a one-month contract, according to a report passed along by Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Dozier had been a participant in Heat camp in October.
- Carchia passes along another report that suggests Jermaine Taylor is closing in on a deal with Spain's Lagun Aro. Taylor was waived by the Timberwolves last month.
- Italy's Angelico Biella has officially signed Trey Johnson, who has played 23 career NBA games, including 11 last year with the Hornets (link via Sportando).
Grizzlies Hire Jason Levien As CEO
MONDAY, 12:44pm: In addition to officially introducing Levien as the team's CEO, the Grizzlies have unveiled their list of limited partners involved in Pera's ownership group. The complete list, which can be found here, includes Penny Hardaway, Justin Timberlake, and Peyton Manning's wife Ashley.
SUNDAY, 7:09pm: According to ESPN's Marc Stein, the Grizzlies will announce tomorrow that Jason Levien, until recently a minor 76ers shareholder, will join the Memphis franchise as CEO and managing partner. Levien, a player agent turned front-office executive, will head up the team's basketball operations, working with general manager Chris Wallace, but having final say on personnel.
Levien was reportedly crucial in assembling the high-powered ownership group led by billionaire Robert Pera and also including Justin Timberlake, Peyton Manning and Penny Hardaway. Levien, who also helped set up the Sixers deal before last season, worked previously in the Kings front office and is a general partner of the MLS team DC United.
Via the team's press release:
“Jason and I share a vision for building a world-class team on and off-the-court,” Pera said. “He has my complete trust, confidence and support in how best to lead our organization's efforts."
“I’m honored to be part of such a dynamic and potential-filled opportunity here in Memphis,” Levien said. “I appreciate what a special role the Grizzlies and FedExForum play in the Memphis community and I know that we will build successfully on the foundation already in place.”
Melbourne Tigers Sign Jonny Flynn
Jonny Flynn has officially signed with the Melbourne Tigers, the Australian team announced today in a press release. Within the release, head coach Chris Anstey called Flynn "possibly the highest credentialed player in the prime of his career to ever play in the NBL."
It was reported yesterday that Flynn had agreed to terms to play in Australia with the Tigers. The former sixth overall pick, who was waived by the Pistons after spending the preseason with the club, will have an NBA opt-out, ESPN.com's Marc Stein confirms (via Twitter). According to Stein, Flynn will be able to come back to the NBA immediately if he receives an offer he likes (Twitter link).
Flynn is still just 23 years old and played reasonably well in part-time action for the Trail Blazers after a deadline deal sent him to Portland last season (5.2 PPG, 3.8 APG, 12.3 PER). As NBA teams start to suffer injuries and experience depth issues, it wouldn't be a surprise to see the former Syracuse star return stateside.
Texas Notes: Sessions, Dominique Jones, Harden
All three Texas teams are better than .500 through three games, and the Spurs are the league's first team to go 3-0 this season. The addition of James Harden to the Rockets might give all three Lonestar State clubs a shot at the postseason this year, though last night's loss to the Blazers showed Houston still has some work to do, as we cover below in our roundup of items from the Texas Triangle.
- This summer, the Mavs strongly considered signing point guard Ramon Sessions, tweets Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Sessions wound up with the Bobcats instead.
- The Mavs declined their 2013/14 option for Dominique Jones and made multiple efforts to trade him within the last week or so, but last night Jones might have delivered the best performance of his career, as Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News writes.
- While Harden seemingly did it all in his first two outings, last night's signs of fatigue demonstrate why the Rockets have to find a complementary scorer, observes Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. Colleague Randy Harvey concurs.
- Undrafted Xavier point guard Tu Holloway, whom the Mavs waived right before training camp, has signed to play for Aliaga Petkim in Turkey, Sportando's Emiliano Carchia reports.
- As we noted earlier, the Rockets were the first team to contact the Thunder about Harden.
Chris Quinn Signs With Spanish Team
Spanish team Valencia BC has announced the signing of guard Chris Quinn, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Quinn was a late addition to the Jazz roster this offseason and was one of the final players to be released along with Darnell Jackson. From a numbers perspective, the one-guard seemed to have a decent chance of making the club as they had just 14 guaranteed contracts including Raja Bell.
In five NBA seasons, Quinn averaged 4.6 PPG and 1.9 APG for the Heat, Nets, and Spurs. The 29-year-old wound up going overseas last season rather than waiting for the lockout to end and helped Russia’s Khimki capture a Eurocup title.
Mavericks Sign Troy Murphy
SATURDAY 6:39pm: The Mavericks made the signing official in a press release.
FRIDAY 8:04pm: The Mavericks, currently at the maximum roster limit of 15, are working to free up a spot for Murphy, writes Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Dallas would like to make room for the 6'11" forward by trading guard Dominique Jones, but so far they have been unsuccessful.
7:00pm: The Mavericks have agreed to sign forward Troy Murphy to a one-year deal, a league source tells Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). Murphy spent last season with the Lakers, but didn't make a tremendous impact in his time with the club.
Murphy wasn't drawing a tremendous amount of interest from NBA clubs this offseason and seemed likely to sign a contract overseas. However, the Mavericks have decided to take a low-risk flier on the sharpshooting big man. Of the remaining late-summer free agents, Murphy had the best 2011/12 three-point shooting percentage with 41.8%.
Last season, Murphy averaged 3.2 PPG and 3.2 RPG in 59 games with the Lakers. For his career, the 32-year-old has averaged 10.9 PPG and 7.9 RPG across eleven seasons.
Mavericks Waive Eddy Curry
4:37pm: The Mavericks have made the move official in a press release.
10:46am: In order to clear a roster spot for Troy Murphy, the Mavericks are expected to waive Eddy Curry, reports ESPN.com's Marc Stein. Curry was claimed off waivers by Dallas last week after he was released by the Spurs.
The Mavs reached an agreement with Murphy yesterday, but because they were carrying the maximum 15 players, a corresponding roster move is required before the deal is finalized. According to multiple reports, Dallas attempted to find a taker on the trade market for Dominique Jones, but were unsuccessful.
Curry's contract was believed to be fully non-guaranteed, so the Mavs will take a small cap hit for the time he spent on the roster, but won't be obligated to pay his full salary. As Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld tweets, the veteran big man, who has looked decent this fall, is expected to draw interest from other teams. If he clears waivers, he'll be free to sign with any club.
Terrence Williams Signs In China
FRIDAY, 8:53am: Williams has signed with Guangdong, according to Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld (Twitter link). Kennedy adds that a few NBA teams expressed interest in the 25-year-old, but wanted him to play in the D-League. As Kennedy notes, Williams could return to the NBA after the CBA's season ends in March (Twitter link).
It's not clear how Williams' agreement with Guangdong will affect Gilbert Arenas, who reportedly headed to China to try out with the team earlier this week. There were rumblings that Guangdong was looking to sign another NBA player instead of Arenas, so Williams could be that guy. It's also possible that both players will join the team.
THURSDAY, 10:31pm: Free agent guard Terrence Williams has agreed to sign a one-year deal with Guangdong in China, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter). Williams was waived last week by the Pistons along with Jonny Flynn.
The 25-year-old didn't have a great chance of hooking on with Detroit as they already had 15 guaranteed contracts, but he did have a big fan in coach Lawrence Frank, who he played for in New Jersey. The former lottery pick was praised for his athleticism and versatility heading into the 2009 draft but never got his footing in the NBA. Williams has averaged 7.6 PPG across three seasons in the NBA.