Pacers Sign Luke Nevill, Ben Hansbrough
TUESDAY, 1:52pm: The Pacers have officially announced the signings of Nevill and Hansbrough in a press release.
MONDAY, 9:24pm: The Pacers have signed center Luke Nevill and guard Ben Hansbrough to round out their training camp roster, according to Mike Wells of the Indy Star. The two signings bring the Pacers' roster up to 18 players as they head into camp on October 1st.
Nevill, 26, first made a name for himself at the University of Utah where he led his squad to the NCAA tournament as a senior. Hansbrough, 24, is the younger brother of Pacers big man Tyler Hansbrough. The two-guard began his collegiate career at Mississippi State before transfering to Notre Dame after his sophomore campaign.
Earlier this month, the Pacers signed small forward Sam Young and guards Blake Ahearn and Sundiata Gaines. Wells notes that the Pacers are especially high on Young because of his toughness, even though he didn't get to display it much in Philadelphia.
Mavericks To Sign Josh Akognon
Former Cal State Fullerton sharpshooter Josh Akognon has accepted an invite from the Mavericks to participate in the team's training camp, according to David Pick of EuroBasket and Sportando (via Twitter). Akognon had signed with Chinese team Liaoning Jiebao Hunters, but will use his out clause to join the Mavs, says Pick.
Akognon, who graduated from Cal State Fullerton in 2009, averaged 23.9 PPG in his senior year before going undrafted. He has played primarily overseas since then, including an impressive 2011/12 season with the CBA's DongGuan New Century Leopards. In 37 games for DongGuan, the 26-year-old was a top-five scorer in the league, averaging 28.2 PPG on 51% shooting.
Akognon doesn't seem like a strong bet to make the Mavs' roster, considering the team is believed to have 15 guaranteed rosters on its books already. Another camp invite, D.J. Mbenga, has reportedly agreed to join Dallas' D-League affiliate if he doesn't make the team's NBA roster, so perhaps a similar arrangement could be in the cards for Akognon, who had a brief stint with the D-League's Canton Charge last season.
Rockets Waive Diamon Simpson
The Rockets, who at one point this offseason were carrying the maximum 20 players, continue to move toward paring down their roster to 15. The team has officially waived Diamon Simpson, according to a press release. The move occurred earlier in September, so Simpson has since cleared waivers and become an unrestricted free agent.
Simpson, who turned 25 this month, was signed by the Rockets near the end of the 2011/12 season to a contract that included a non-guaranteed year in 2012/13. Assuming there was no partial guarantee on Simpson's deal, the Rockets should be able to clear his minimum-salary contract from their books without taking a cap hit.
Although the Rockets released Simpson, the team also signed Scott Machado to a partially-guaranteed deal at the same time, so the team's roster count still stands at 19. By October 31st, Houston will either need to make four more cuts or make trades to reduce the roster to 15 players.
Hawks Waive Jordan Williams
8:26pm: Atlanta negotiated a buyout of Williams' deal as his $762K salary for the upcoming season was guaranteed, tweets Michael Cunningham of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. However, his $884K salary for 2013/14 was non-guaranteed.
6:38pm: The Hawks announced that they have waived forward Jordan Williams. Atlanta acquired Williams from the Nets as a part of the Joe Johnson trade earlier this summer.
The 6'10" Maryland grad saw 14.8 minutes per game for the Nets in his rookie season, averaging 4.6 PPG and 3.6 RPG. Williams was set to earn $762K this season and $884K in 2013/14.
New Jersey tabbed Williams with the 46th overall pick in the 2011 draft but the rookie was inches away from playing overseas instead. Williams agreed to a deal with Poland's Zastal Zielona Góra during the lockout but was able to get out of his commitment once the labor dispute was settled.
Blazers Sign Adam Morrison
The Blazers have signed Adam Morrison to a one-year, make-good deal, agent Mark Bartelstein tells Sam Amick of SI.com (via Twitter). The camp invitation was first reported by Joe Freeman of the Oregonian (via Twitter).
The former third-overall pick last appeared in the Association with the Lakers in 2009/10 where he saw 7.8 minutes of action per contest in 31 games. Morrison hooked on with the Nets' summer league team a few months back and made a strong impression on the club, but ultimately could not secure a deal. The former Gonzaga standout then finished out the 2012 summer league period with the Clippers where he averaged 20 PPG and 5 RPG across five games.
Heat Sign Josh Harrellson
The Heat have officially signed Josh Harrellson, the team announced today in a press release. Terms of the deal weren't disclosed, but it figures to be a minimum-salary contract that's either non-guaranteed or partially guaranteed.
Earlier today, we had heard that the Heat were finished looking at Hassan Whiteside, and were deciding whether to sign Whiteside, Harrellson, or neither player. Although Heat president Pat Riley said last month that Miami didn't need to add another big man, the team seemed to be weighing its options over the last few weeks, and appeared likely to take a flier on a player like Harrellson.
Acquired by the Rockets in the sign-and-trade deal that sent Marcus Camby to the Knicks in July, Harrellson was waived shortly thereafter, and worked out for the Heat multiple times while he sought a new contract. In his rookie season in New York, the 23-year-old big man averaged 4.4 points and 3.9 rebounds in 14.6 minutes over 37 games, including four starts.
The signing brings the Heat roster to 18 players.
Nets Sign Three For Training Camp
The Nets have officially signed three players to deals that include invitations to training camp, the team announced today in a press release. Stephen Dennis, James Mays, and Carleton Scott have all signed with the Nets, likely on non-guaranteed contracts.
Dennis, a 6'6" guard out of Kutztown University, was part of the Nets' summer league squad in July. He has played in the D-League and in Germany in recent years. Mays, a Clemson product, has spent the last two seasons playing in Turkey. The 6'9" forward played for the Pacers' and Raptors' summer league teams in 2010. Scott, who graduated from Notre Dame in 2011, spent last season playing in Austria before playing for the Nets' summer league team this offseason.
The Nets now have 18 players on their roster, including five on non-guaranteed deals. Dennis, Mays, and Scott will face a significant uphill battle earning a roster spot though, as recent signees Josh Childress and Andray Blatche are expected to be Brooklyn's 14th and 15th players.
Grizzlies To Sign Flip Murray, Jerome Jordan
The Grizzlies have received four new verbal commitments from players to participate in training camp on non-guaranteed contracts, including center Jerome Jordan and guard Ronald Murray, according to Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal. Former University of Oregon center Michael Dunigan and D-League forward/center Jarrid Famous are also set to join the Griz in camp.
Murray, 33, last played in the NBA for the Bulls during the 2009/10 season and has spent the last two years overseas and in the D-League. For his NBA career, the guard has averaged 9.9 PPG, 2.1 RPG, and 2.3 APG.
Jordan, 25, appeared in 22 games for the Knicks last season between stints with the Erie BayHawks of the D-League. The 7-footer was shipped to Houston in July along with Toney Douglas, Josh Harrellson, and two future draft picks in the Marcus Camby deal. Jordan was waived shortly after the trade.
Famous, a 6'11" big man who spent time in the D-League last season, had just one year of eligibility at South Florida as a JUCO transfer but put himself on the NBA map thanks to his athleticism. Dunigan, who stands at 6'10", could be of significant interest to the Grizzlies as they considered taking him with the 49th pick in the 2011 draft before settling on Josh Selby instead.
Earlier this week, the Grizzlies reached agreement with journeyman forward Ronald Dupree on a non-guaranteed deal.
Lakers Sign Darius Johnson-Odom
The Lakers announced on Friday that they have come to terms with second round pick Darius Johnson-Odom. A Marquette product, Johnson-Odom was taken by the Lakers with the 55th overall pick after acquiring the selection in a draft day trade with the Mavericks.
Johnson-Odom averaged 18.3 points per game in his senior year at Marquette, earning first team All-Big East honors. He more recently averaged 3.8 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists and 15.8 minutes as a member of the Lakers summer league team in Las Vegas.
The details of the agreement have yet to be released.
Jazz Sign 2nd-Round Pick Kevin Murphy
6:32pm: The Jazz have officially confirmed that they've signed Murphy, though terms of the deal were not released. Steve Luhm of the Salt Lake Tribune first reported the signing once it became official (via Twitter).
4:34pm: The Jazz are close to a deal with Kevin Murphy, whom they took with the 47th pick in June's draft, reports Steve Luhm of The Salt Lake Tribune (Twitter link). The 6'6" Murphy averaged 20.6 points and 5.2 rebounds as a senior for Tennessee Tech last year.
Fellow Salt Lake Tribune scribe Brian T. Smith reported the two sides were making progress on a deal back in August, and that the Jazz were hopeful to have him in camp. If they want to go above the minimum to sign him, the Jazz could use part of their mid-level exception, since they have $2.5MM left after giving $2.5MM to Randy Foye earlier in the summer. The Jazz currently have 14 players on fully guaranteed deals, so bringing in Murphy would put them at the 15-man regular season limit.
Most of the second-round picks who have signed this year have gotten the minimum salary or slightly more in the first year of their deals, followed by one or two more non-guaranteed seasons at the minimum, so Murphy could be in line for a deal with a similar framework. He was one of a handful of unsigned picks when I provided an update on second-rounders earlier this month.