Clippers Add Gerald Madkins To Front Office
The Clippers have hired Gerald Madkins as director of basketball operations, reports Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. Madkins comes from the Hornets, where he was director of player personnel the last two seasons. Turner says Madkins will work alongside recently hired vice president of basketball operations Gary Sacks, though it's unclear exactly what role he'll play in the team's decision-making.
Prior to joining the Hornets, Madkins spent two years as director of scouting for the Rockets, and also worked in the scouting departments of the Sonics and Knicks. In all, his NBA experience totals 10 years. He played parts of three seasons with the Cavaliers and Warriors in the 1990s.
Sacks, the Clippers' former director of player personnel, was promoted to his current position earlier this month after spending the summer as part of a three-man management team that replaced GM Neil Olshey, who left to become Blazers GM in June. Sacks is believed to have been acting as de facto GM since his promotion, though coach Vinny Del Negro and team president Andy Roeser, the others in the management trio, still have voices in front office decision-making. Blake Griffin was vocal about his support for Sacks prior to the promotion.
Jazz Expected To Sign Darnell Jackson
The Jazz are expected to bring Darnell Jackson to training camp, tweets Brian T. Smith of The Salt Lake Tribune. The 6'9" Kansas product has spent parts of three seasons in the NBA, and last made an appearance with the Kings in 2010/11. He's likely to get a non-guaranteed deal at the minimum salary.
Jackson was taken 52nd overall in the 2008 draft by the Heat and traded to the Cavs on draft night. He signed a three-year deal with Cleveland, but was sent to the D-League four times during his abbreviated stint there before the team waived him in 2010. The Bucks claimed him off waivers, trading him a few months later to the Kings. He played in a career-high 59 games for Sacramento in 2010/11, but saw only 8.2 minutes per contest, averaging 3.2 points and 1.6 rebounds. He spent last season with the Ukrainian club BC Donetsk.
Once he gets to camp, he'll probably compete for the last roster spot with Trey Gilder, another 6'9" forward who received an invite from the team. The Jazz have 15 guaranteed contracts on the roster, but one of those belongs to Raja Bell, who is attempting to negotiate a buyout.
Blazers Sign Demonte Harper, Dallas Lauderdale
The Trail Blazers have added Demonte Harper and Dallas Lauderdale to their training camp roster, the team announced today (Twitter link). The Blazers also made their signing of Adam Morrison official, bring their roster count to 18 players.
Harper, 23, was part of the Nuggets' summer league roster in July, having gone undrafted out of Morehead State in 2011. In his senior year, the 6'4" guard averaged 15.5 PPG, shooting 37.3% from three-point range. Lauderdale, meanwhile, played his college ball at Ohio State and also went undrafted a year ago. The big man played for the Warriors' summer league squad in Vegas.
Harper, Lauderdale, and Morrison are all likely competing with Sasha Pavlovic to earn the final roster spot, since Portland's other 14 players are on guaranteed contracts.
Raptors Sign Chris Wright, Jerel McNeal
The Raptors have officially signed forward Chris Wright and guard Jerel McNeal, the team announced today in a press release. Terms of the deals weren't disclosed, but in all likelihood, both players' contracts are non-guaranteed, minimum-salary pacts.
Wright, who will turn 24 later this month, appeared in 24 games for the Warriors in his rookie season, recording an impressive 18.6 PER, albeit in a small sample size (186 total minutes). The 6'8" forward out of Dayton averaged 17.8 PPG and 8.8 RPG for the Maine Red Claws and Dakota Wizards in 13 D-League contests.
McNeal, meanwhile, has never appeared in an NBA game, despite inking a 10-day contract with the Hornets in 2011. In 47 games for the D-League's Rio Grande Valley Vipers in 2010/11, the 25-year-old averaged 19.4 PPG. The 6'3" guard was particularly impressive in the D-League postseason, averaging 27.7 PPG, 7.0 RPG, and 6.5 APG while leading the Valley Vipers to a Finals appearance.
The signings bring the Raptors' roster to a total of 18 players. 14 of those players have fully guaranteed deals, while Jamaal Magloire and Dominic McGuire have partial guarantees, meaning Wright and McNeal will face uphill battles in earning roster spots.
Doug Smith of the Toronto Star first reported that the Raptors were expected to invite Wright to training camp.
Bulls To Sign Andre Emmett
The Bulls have agreed to sign Andre Emmett to a make-good contract, according to Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype (Sulia link). Emmett will get an invite to Chicago's training camp with a chance to earn a roster spot for the regular season.
Emmett, a second-round pick in 2004, went seven seasons between NBA games, appearing in eight contests in 2004/05 and then not seeing his next NBA action until 2011/12 with the Nets. The 30-year-old earned a little playing time in New Jersey last season, averaging 2.2 PPG and 1.0 RPG in 7.5 MPG over the course of six contests.
Since the Bulls only have 13 contracts on their books prior to finalizing their agreement with Emmett, the Texas Tech product would appear to have a good opportunity to make the team. However, the club's cap situation may hurt his chances — the Bulls are hard-capped at about $74.3MM and can't exceed that number at any point.
If Emmett signs a non-guaranteed summer contract, his cap hit won't count against team salary unless he makes the regular-season roster. But since Chicago's team salary is already $73.55MM, the club would have to make an additional move to clear room for his salary under the hard cap.
Keyon Dooling To Retire, Waived By Celtics
8:55pm: Chris Forsberg tweets that the Celtics may still be responsible for Dooling's $854K cap hit this year, crediting CBA guru Larry Coon with the assist.
4:21pm: The Celtics have officially waived Keyon Dooling, according to a press release from the team. Within the release, Dooling's representative, Kenge Stevenson, indicates that the veteran guard has decided to end his NBA playing career.
"Keyon has decided that he has given the NBA twelve good years and that it’s time to pursue other interests and spend more time with his family," said Stevenson. "He will never forget his time in Boston with the Celtics."
Dooling had just re-signed with the Celtics earlier this summer, so the decision comes as something of a surprise. Over the course of his NBA career, the 12-year veteran appeared in 721 games with the Clippers, Heat, Magic, Nets, Bucks, and Celtics, averaging 7.0 PPG and 2.2 APG in 19.5 MPG. According to Basketball-Reference, Dooling earned over $29MM in his playing career — it's not known whether he'll receive his entire 2012/13 salary, or if he and the Celtics agreed to a buyout.
For the Celtics, the move frees up an additional roster spot and could mean the team will decide to add another backcourt player. With Dooling out of the picture and Avery Bradley not expected to be healthy to start the season, Boston could at least extend another camp-invite or two for depth purposes.
Hamady N’Diaye Lands Deal With Kings
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo (via Twitter), free agent center Hamady N'Diaye has agreed to a non-guaranteed training camp deal with the Kings. N'Diaye, a 7-footer from Rutgers via Senegal, appeared in 19 games for the Wizards over the past two seasons.
Wojnarowski tweets that N'Diaye has a "solid shot" to make the Kings opening day roster. He averaged 6 points and 4.3 rebounds in the NBDL last season with stops at the Iowa Energy and the Maine Red Claws.
Clippers Pick Up Option On Eric Bledsoe
The Clippers announced today they have picked up the fourth year option on point guard Eric Bledsoe. As we outlined yesterday, teams have until October 31 to pick up their fourth year options on 2010 first round draftees like Bledsoe if they want to prevent them from hitting unrestricted free agency after this season. Now that the Clippers have exercized his option, unless Bledsoe receives an extension by that same date of October 31, he will hit restricted free agency in the summer of 2014.
It's no surprise that the Clippers decided to keep Bledsoe, as they were hesitant to move him this summer despite rumors of heavy interest from around the league. Due to last summer's acquisition of Chris Paul, Bledsoe's minutes and statistics were essentially cut in half in 2011-12. But he got a chance to make his mark in the playoffs, averaging 11.5 points per game in the Spurs sweep of Los Angeles.
The Clippers added Jamal Crawford this offseason who will likely also cut into Bledsoe's playing time, so it will interesting to see how he he fares in his third year out of Kentucky. He shows his potential nearly every time he gets a chance, making it almost a certainty that he will continue to draw trade interest as long as he is blocked in Los Angeles.
Derrick Brown, Spurs Agree To One-Year Deal
The Spurs have reached an agreement with free agent forward Derrick Brown on a one-year, non-guaranteed contract, according to Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com. The Spurs, who worked out Brown earlier this month, "like him a lot and we feel comfortable about the opportunity," agent Calvin Andrews told Haynes.
Brown, 24, had his best season for the Bobcats in 2011/12, averaging 8.1 PPG with 3.6 RPG and a .518 FG% in 22.2 MPG. The 6'7" forward appeared in all but one game for Charlotte, making 17 starts and recording a solid 14.7 PER. Nonetheless, the team decided not to bring Brown back this season, withdrawing their qualifying offer in July to make him an unrestricted free agent.
The Spurs have only 14 players under contract before signing Brown, and not all of those deals are even guaranteed, so it would seem like the former Bobcat has a good chance to earn a spot on the club's regular-season roster. Still, San Antonio has worked out a number of free agents in recent weeks, and could make another veteran addition or two before training camp opens.
Kings To Sign Tony Mitchell
When the Kings opening training camp in a week and a half, Tony Mitchell will be with the team, according to Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee (via Twitter). It appears the Kings will sign Mitchell to, at the very least, a minimum-salary, non-guaranteed deal.
It was just two days ago that we heard Mitchell was drawing interest from the Kings, who hoped to bring him to camp. The former University of Alabama forward played for Sacramento's summer league squad in July, perhaps giving the Kings the upper hand on signing him for camp. Mitchell averaged 13.1 PPG and 7.0 RPG in his final year at Alabama, though his stint with the Crimson Tide wasn't without turmoil. The 23-year-old was suspended and eventually released by the program for an "accumulation" of incidents.
Mitchell will be the Kings' 15th player under contract, though the team hopes to add a few more players to its training-camp roster. With 14 guaranteed contracts on their books, the Kings will likely expect Mitchell and the other camp invitees to compete for the club's final roster spot.