Clippers To Sign Courtney Fortson
The Clippers will sign point guard Courtney Fortson after he clears waivers from the Rockets, who cut him loose earlier today, tweets Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld. Kennedy indicates that it's just a training camp invitation, which would likely mean a non-guaranteed deal for the minimum salary.
It will be Fortson's third stint with the Clippers in less than 12 months. The team brought him to last year's training camp, but waived him on the eve of the regular season, picking him back up three weeks later. The Clippers waived him again after 11 days, and he signed a ten-day contract with the Rockets in March, followed by a deal that kept him with Houston for the rest of the season.
Fortson played in only 10 total NBA games last season, and saw most of his action in the D-League. He put up 17.2 points and 6.2 assists in 34.2 minutes per game in 31 contests with the Los Angeles D-Fenders and the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. The 5'11" University of Arkansas product averaged 3.5 PPG and 1.0 APG with a 9.9 PER in limited action for the Clippers and Rockets.
The move will bring the Clippers roster to 16 players, but with 15 of them on fully guaranteed contracts, Fortson is a long shot to make the team. To keep him, the Clippers would have to trade someone else or waive a player with a guaranteed deal and absorb the cost.
Rockets Waive Fortson, Sign McCamey, Fogg
5:34pm: The Rockets have made the series of transactions official in a press release.
1:24pm: Before training camp opens next week, the Rockets will waive Courtney Fortson and his non-guaranteed contract, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter). That will reduce the team's roster to 18 players, at which point Houston will fill its last two roster spots by signing Demetri McCamey and Kyle Fogg, says Feigen.
We heard back in June that the Rockets had decided to bring back Fortson for this season, but the 24-year-old's contract ensured that Houston actually had to make two decisions on whether or not to retain him. As Mark Deeks of ShamSports explains, Fortson's deal included a team option for 2012/13, but despite that option being exercised, Fortson's contract was still non-guaranteed, meaning the Rockets won't take a cap hit by releasing him.
McCamey, 23, went undrafted out of Illinois in 2011, despite being ranked as the 53rd-best prospect of the class by ESPN.com's Chad Ford. The 6'3" point guard played in Turkey last season before joining the Bulls' summer league squad this July. Another 6'3" guard, Fogg went undrafted out of Arizona this June. The 22-year-old averaged 13.5 PPG in his senior year with the Wildcats, and played for the Rockets' summer league team in July.
Assuming the deals for McCamey and Fogg are fully non-guaranteed, the Rockets now have 18 contracts on their books that are at least partially guaranteed. Shaun Livingston, Greg Smith, and Scott Machado will all require small buyouts if they don't make the team's final roster and aren't traded.
Timberwolves Sign Louis Amundson
TUESDAY, 3:25pm: The Timberwolves have officially signed Amundson, according to the team's Twitter feed.
MONDAY, 1:37pm: After we heard last night that unrestricted free agent Louis Amundson was closing in on a new deal with an unknown team, Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida fills in the blanks — Tomasson hears from a source that Amundson is set to sign with the Timberwolves (Twitter link).
Amundson will only receive a one-year, minimum-salary deal, but it will be for guaranteed money, according to Tomasson (via Twitter). The big man is already in Minnesota and will be with the team for the start of training camp (Twitter link).
Amundson, a six-year veteran, spent last season with the Pacers, recording 3.6 PPG and 3.7 RPG in 60 contests (12.6 MPG). Prior to his brief stint in Indiana, the 6'9" forward also played for the Warriors, Suns, Sixers, and Jazz. In part-time action over the course of 288 career contests, Amundson has posted a 12.8 PER.
Up against the cap and having already used their room exception on Greg Stiemsma, a minimum-salary contract was the most the Timberwolves could offer. Amundson was said to be in the market for a deal worth around the mini mid-level a few weeks back, but with few players receiving more than make-good deals for the minimum these days, the 29-year-old may be fortunate just to receive a guarantee. When Amundson's deal becomes official, the T-Wolves will have 15 players under contract, including 14 with full guarantees. Will Conroy's deal is only partially guaranteed.
Grizzlies To Re-Sign D.J. Kennedy
Just a week after waiving him, the Grizzlies will re-sign D.J. Kennedy to their training camp roster, reports Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal (via Twitter). Kennedy had already been on a non-guaranteed contract, so I'm not 100% sure why it was necessary to sign him to a new deal, but according to Tillery, the new contract limits the Grizzlies' liability.
Kennedy was acquired by the Grizzlies two months ago in the swap that sent Jeremy Pargo to the Cavaliers. When the 6'6" wing was cut by Memphis, it appeared the deal had just been a salary dump for the Grizzlies, but it seems the team at least likes Kennedy enough to bring him to training camp.
Kennedy spent most of last season in the D-League playing for the Erie Bayhawks, with whom he averaged 15.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 4.4 assists in 44 games. When the 22-year-old was released, Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside wondered if a return to the D-League would be next. Kennedy probably isn't a strong bet to make the Grizzlies' regular season roster, so perhaps we'll see him on the Reno Bighorns when the D-League season gets underway.
D.J. White To Sign With Shanghai Sharks
Free agent forward D.J. White has agreed to terms with the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). The deal will be for one year, with White eligible to join an NBA team in March when the CBA season ends, says Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
White spent the 2011/12 season with the Bobcats after the club acquired him in a trade with the Thunder at the 2011 trade deadline. He earned 11 starts for Charlotte, and in 58 overall contests, averaged 6.8 points and 3.6 rebounds per game.
The 6'9" forward hasn't seen a ton of playing time in his four NBA seasons, but has recorded a solid 14.5 career PER in his 124 career games. That wasn't enough to earn a qualifying offer from the Bobcats this summer though, as the team allowed him to become an unrestricted free agent.
ESPN.com's Marc Stein reported last Friday that the Sharks were heavily pursuing White.
Bucks Sign Marquis Daniels
12:29pm: The Bucks have officially announced their signing of Daniels (Twitter link).
TUESDAY, 11:02am: Daniels' deal, which is guaranteed, is for one year at the minimum salary, agent Mark Bartelstein tells SI.com's Sam Amick (Twitter link).
THURSDAY, 5:26pm: Unrestricted free agent Marquis Daniels has agreed to sign a guaranteed contract with the Bucks, according to Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe (via Twitter). Terms of the deal aren't known, but it's unlikely to be more than a one-year contract.
Daniels, who has spent the last three seasons in Boston, worked out for the Bucks earlier this week along with a handful of other free agents in search of jobs. The nine-year veteran is coming off a down year, in which he set career-lows in PPG (3.2), FG% (.364), and PER (8.1), among other categories. Still, the Bucks had just four guards under contract, so Daniels will provide bench depth behind Monta Ellis and Brandon Jennings, along with Doron Lamb and Beno Udrih.
While Daniels is only the 15th player on the books for Milwaukee, it appears all 15 Bucks are now on guaranteed contracts, meaning it's unlikely the team brings aboard additional guaranteed deals before the regular-season begins. The Bucks can bring up to 20 players to training camp, so non-guaranteed contracts are still a possibility.
Anthony Tolliver To Sign With Hawks
After narrowing his free agent options down to three yesterday, Anthony Tolliver has eliminated two more teams from the running and made his choice. According to Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida (Twitter link), Tolliver will be signing with the Hawks.
Tolliver tells Tomasson that he'll ink a one-year deal worth the minimum salary (Twitter link). It's a pay cut for the 6'8" forward, who made over $2MM last season, but the contract will be guaranteed (Sulia link). Despite not landing the sort of salary he was seeking, the 27-year-old believes Atlanta is a good fit for him.
"I just thought it was the best situation for me," Tolliver said to Tomasson (Sulia link). "I just think they don’t have a lot of players like me. I think it’s a great opportunity."
Tolliver, 27, had a down year in Minnesota in 2011/12, but has shown promise in the past. His best season came in 2009/10, when he averaged 12.3 PPG and 7.3 RPG in 32.3 MPG in 44 contests for the Warriors.
By my count, Tolliver will be the 16th player under contract for the Hawks, though Damion James' and James Anderson's deals are non-guaranteed, leaving an opening for Tolliver to earn a roster spot.
Bobcats Sign Adrien, Summers, Horne, Owens
The Bobcats have officially signed four players to their training camp roster, according to Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (via Twitter). Bonnell first reported a week ago that Jeff Adrien, DaJuan Summers, Paris Horne, and Josh Owens were expected to receive non-guaranteed, make-good contracts from the Bobcats.
Adrien, a UConn product, received limited playing time for the Warriors in 2010/11 and the Rockets in 2011/12. He reportedly drew interest from the the Rockets, Clippers, Lakers, Spurs, and Celtics before agreeing to terms with the Bobcats. Summers, who also has previous NBA experience, was drafted 35th overall in 2009 and has since played for the Pistons and Hornets. The 24-year-old forward has averaged 3.4 PPG in 81 career contests.
Horne, a 6'3" guard, played in Germany last season after graduating from St. John's in 2011. Owens, a 6'9" forward out of Stanford, was eligible for this year's draft and was ranked as a top-100 prospect by ESPN.com's Chad Ford, but went undrafted. Both players were part of the Bobcats' summer league squad.
The additions bring Charlotte's training camp roster to 18 players, including 13 on guaranteed contracts. Besides the four new additions, Cory Higgins was also re-signed to a non-guaranteed two-year, minimum-salary contract by the Bobcats earlier this month. Higgins, Adrien, Summers, Horne, and Owens figure to be fighting for the final two available roster spots over the next few weeks.
Kings Sign Willie Reed, Cyril Awere
The Kings have officially announced their roster for training camp, and there are a couple of new names on the list, in addition to signees like Tony Mitchell and Hamady N'Diaye, which we already knew about. The team has also added a pair of bigs, Willie Reed and Cyril Awere, on non-guaranteed contracts.
Reed, 22, is a 6'9" forward that played his college ball at St. Louis University. He was suspended by the school and entered the NBA draft pool early after sitting out a season, but went undrafted in 2011. ESPN.com's Chad Ford had ranked him as the 70th-best prospect of the class. Awere, meanwhile, is a 6'11" center from Nigeria. The 27-year-old had been playing for Stade Nabeulien in Tunisia.
The Kings head into camp with 18 players on their roster, including 14 on guaranteed deals, so it's unlikely that either Reed or Awere makes the cut. At least one of Mitchell and N'Diaye appears to be a decent bet to earn a roster spot in Sacramento, however.
Brian Butch Signs With Jazz
9:46pm: Brian Smith from the Salt Lake Tribune confirms the deal, tweeting that a person close to Butch described it as a "make-good deal." According to Smith, the Jazz's roster is now at 15 and Butch will be competing with Darnell Jackson and Trey Gilder for a roster spot. Smith averaged 15.3 points and 9.8 rebounds for the D-League's Bakersfield Jam last season.
7:59pm: Brian Butch has signed with the Jazz, tweets Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times. After going undrafted in 2008 out of Wisconsin, Butch has bounced around the D-League and Europe. This is undoubtedly a non-guaranteed deal that gives Butch nothing more than an opportunity to make the team in training camp. We last heard from Butch less than a month ago when the Spurs brought him in for a workout.