Bobcats To Sign Jeff Adrien, Eyeing Three Others
4:44pm: The Bobcats have agreed to terms with Adrien on a non-guaranteed contract, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. According to Spears, the Rockets, Clippers, Lakers, Spurs, and Celtics also showed interest in the forward.
3:53pm: Looking to bring at least 17 players to their training camp, the Bobcats are finalizing agreements with a handful of players expected to compete for a spot on the team's roster. According to Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer, Paris Horne, Josh Owens, Jeff Adrien, and DaJuan Summers are expected to be added to the Bobcats' roster in the near future.
Horne, 25, played in Germany last season after graduating from St. John's in 2011. He's a 6'3" guard. 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.
Adrien and Summers both have previous NBA experience. The 6'7" Adrien, a UConn product, received limited playing time for the Warriors in 2010/11 and the Rockets in 2011/12. Summers, meanwhile, 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.
If the Bobcats finalize deals with these four players, they're likely to be non-guaranteed contracts. With 13 Charlotte players on guaranteed deals, there could be a roster spot or two available on the team for players who impress in training camp.
Wizards Sign Shavlik Randolph, Steven Gray
SEPTEMBER 19TH: The deals for Randolph and Gray are now official, per a Wizards press release.
SEPTEMBER 11TH: The Wizards have agreed to sign big man Shavlik Randolph and point guard Steven Gray, reports Michael Lee of The Washington Post. The pair will receive non-guaranteed deals, likely for the minimum, and join Earl Barron, who also reached an agreement with the team today.
The 6'10" Randolph has played in parts of five NBA seasons with the Sixers, Trail Blazers and Heat, averaging 2.4 points and 2.4 rebounds in 8.2 minutes per game for his career, but he hasn't appeared since 2009/10. He played last season in China and Puerto Rico, and hooked on with the Wizards summer league team this year. The 6'5" Gray was also a part of that summer league team, but he's still looking for his first official taste of NBA action after going undrafted out of Gonzaga and spending last year with BK Ventspils of Latvia.
Randolph, Gray and Barron stand a decent shot at making the regular season roster if the Wizards decide to carry 15 players, Lee says, since the team only has 13 fully guaranteed contracts, with point guard Shelvin Mack's minimum-salary deal partially guaranteed for $300K.
Wizards Sign Earl Barron
SEPTEMBER 19TH: The Wizards have officially signed Barron, the team announced today in a press release.
SEPTEMBER 11TH: The Wizards have agreed to terms on a non-guaranteed contract with Earl Barron, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). The unrestricted free agent big man will receive an invitation to the team's training camp with a chance to earn a roster spot.
Barron, 31, has appeared in games for the Heat, Knicks, Suns, Bucks, Trail Blazers, and Warriors in his NBA career, meaning he'll have a chance to make the Wizards his seventh team in seven seasons. Outside of a moderately productive 2007/08 season with Miami and an impressive seven-game stint with the Knicks in 2009/10 (11.7 PPG and 11.0 RPG), Barron has never been more than a very limited contributor. He appeared in two games for Golden State last season before being waived.
Barron will be the 15th player under contract for the Wizards.
Warriors Sign Tarence Kinsey
The Warriors have signed Tarence Kinsey to a contract that includes a training camp invite, according to Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld (via Twitter). Terms of the deal aren't known, but it figures to be a non-guaranteed, one-year contract.
Kinsey, a South Carolina product, played three NBA seasons for the Grizzlies and Cavaliers from 2006 to 2009. In 109 career games, he averaged 4.7 PPG on .453/.324/.817 shooting. Since he last played in the NBA, the 28-year-old has spent most of his team on rosters overseas, including Fenerbache Ulker and Anadolu Efes in Turkey.
The Warriors have 14 players on guaranteed contracts on the roster, plus Kent Bazemore on a partial guarantee. The team is also reportedly close to bringing aboard Alex Renfroe on a non-guaranteed deal, so Kinsey isn't a strong candidate to earn a roster spot.
Jerome Dyson Signs In Israel
It's been a busy offseason for Jerome Dyson, who started the summer with the Hornets before being traded to the Suns in a three-team deal involving Robin Lopez. After he was waived by Phoenix, Dyson worked out for the Heat, but it appears he'll continue his playing career overseas rather than in the NBA. According to the Twitter feed for Israel's Winner League, Dyson has signed a contract with Israeli team Hapoel Holon (hat tip to Sportando).
Dyson, 25, played his college ball at the University of Connecticut before going undrafted in 2010. He was one of a handful of players to sign 10-day contracts with the Hornets last season, making his NBA debut late in the year. In nine games with New Orleans, the 6'3" guard averaged 7.4 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 2.0 assists in 20.0 minutes per contest.
Dyson becomes the latest NBA free agent to sign a non-NBA deal this summer. Besides Dyson, Craig Smith was among the free agents to sign in Israel for the coming season.
Solomon Jones To Sign With Suns
The Suns will add Solomon Jones to their training camp roster on a non-guaranteed deal, reports Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. The 6'10" Jones spent time with the Clippers and Hornets last season. He will likely receive the minimum salary if he makes the regular season roster.
New Orleans had Jones on a pair of 10-day contracts last season after the Clippers waived him in February, but the Hornets opted against signing him for the rest of 2011-12 and went with Jeff Foote on a 10-day contract instead. He saw 17.8 minutes per game in New Orleans, more than he got at any other stop, and averaged 5.5 points and 3.7 rebounds, both of which would have been career highs for a season. His time in L.A. was less fruitful, as he put up just 0.6 PPG and 1.7 RPG in 9.6 MPG.
The Suns have 13 players on 13 fully guaranteed contracts, so Jones is the first make-good deal for the team this year, as Coro points out. NBA teams can have 15 players in the regular season, but they don't have to carry more than 13, so Jones isn't a lock to stick with the Suns beyond camp, even though it appears he stands a decent chance.
Wizards Re-Sign Brian Cook
Michael Lee of The Washington Post hears from agent Mark Bartelstein that client Brian Cook has signed a non-guaranteed deal with the Wizards. The big man was rumored to be close to a deal with the team on Friday, though the Suns were also reportedly in the mix. It will likely be for the minimum salary, which he earned last year while splitting the season between the Wizards and the Clippers.
Cook has averaged fewer than 10 minutes per game three of the last four seasons, including last year, when he saw 8.6 MPG. That includes the 9.7 MPG he got in the second half of the season with the Wizards after coming over in same deal that brought Nene to Washington. The 6'9", 31-year-old Cook averaged 3.1 points and 2.5 rebounds with a 10.4 in his time with the Wizards. Cook's rate of 9.3 rebounds per 36 minutes over his 16 games with the team was higher than in any of his nine NBA seasons.
He represents the 18th player on the team's preseason roster, which includes at least 14 with a partial guarantee. It appears as though Cook will compete with Earl Barron, Shavlik Randolph and Steven Gray for the last regular season roster spot, though another position could open if the team decides to waive point guard Shelvin Mack and absorb his partial guarantee of $300K.
Grizzlies Waive D.J. Kennedy
The Grizzlies have waived forward D.J. Kennedy, reports Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal (Twitter link). Kennedy was the only asset going the Grizzlies' way in the July 25th trade that sent Jeremy Pargo, a 2014 second-round draft pick, and cash to the Cavaliers. He had a non-guaranteed minimum-salary contract, so the swap will wind up amounting to a salary dump for Memphis. Pargo has a guaranteed deal for $1MM this season.
The 22-year-old, 6'6" Kennedy signed with the Cavs for the final week of the regular season, and appeared in just two games, posting a total of 12 points, seven rebounds and three assists in 59 minutes. He went undrafted out of St. John's in 2011 and spent most of last season playing for the Erie Bayhawks of the D-League, averaging 15.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 4.4 assists in 44 games.
Once he clears waivers, he'll be an unrestricted free agent, and the timing of the move allows him to catch on with another team before training camp. The Grizzles reached agreements with four camp invitees on Sunday, so getting rid of Kennedy brings the roster back down to 18 players, 13 of whom are believed to have at least a partial guarantee. Taking Kennedy's salary off the books lets the Grizzlies retain one of the camp invitees on a minimum-salary contract for the regular season, if they so choose, and stay below the luxury tax apron of $74.307MM, which allows for greater flexibility.
Raptors Re-Sign Jamaal Magloire
SEPTEMBER 18TH: The Raptors have officially re-signed Magloire, according to a team release.
SEPTEMBER 6TH: Unrestricted free agent Jamaal Magloire will receive a non-guaranteed deal with an invite to training camp from the Raptors, according to Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun (via Twitter). Magloire played for the Raptors on a minimum-salary contract in 2011/12, and it appears he'll get the opportunity to do so again this season.
Magloire, 34, had a disappointing year in Toronto, averaging more fouls per game (1.9) than points (1.2) in limited minutes for the Raptors. His 37.8% field goal percentage and 2.7 PER were also among the worst of his career. However, Magloire had an even more disastrous season in 2007/08, and bounced back reasonably well with the Heat a year later, so the Raptors are taking a flier on the big man having a similar bounce-back performance this season.
With 14 players under contract, the Raptors will make Magloire the 15th man on their roster. However, the club can continue to invite players to training camp as long as the deals are non-guaranteed.
Ivan Johnson Signs Qualifying Offer From Hawks
TUESDAY, 2:40pm: The Hawks have officially re-signed Johnson, the team announced today in a press release.
FRIDAY, 1:01pm: The final restricted free agent on the market will sign, Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com reports, as Ivan Johnson has agreed to accept his qualifying offer of one year and $962,195 from the Hawks. Other teams were reluctant to make a play for Johnson this summer, knowing the Hawks would likely match any reasonable offer, but the 6'8" power forward seemed to hold out for more until it became clear the Hawks wouldn't dip into their $1.957MM bi-annual exception.
Johnson made his NBA debut last season, making the Hawks out of training camp on a non-guaranteed one-year deal. He impressed the team with his physical presence inside, which proved helpful in a season largely without the injured Al Horford. Johnson, who turned 28 in April, averaged 6.4 points and 4.0 rebounds in 16.7 minutes last season, with a 14.3 PER. Prior to last season, he racked up 94 games of D-League experience and played overseas after going undrafted following two seasons of college ball split between the University of Oregon and Cal State Bernardino.
The move brings the Hawks roster to 16 players, with 14 on at least partially guaranteed deals. It figures to put extra pressure on James Anderson, whose minimum salary contract is non-guaranteed. Kyle Korver's $5MM deal is only guaranteed for $500K, so his place on the team could be threatened as well.