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Suns To Hire Igor Kokoskov As New Head Coach

May 2nd, 2018 at 6:10pm CST by clarkcrum

The Suns are hiring Utah Jazz assistant Igor Kokoskov as their new head coach, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

Wojnarowski adds that Kokoskov is signing a three-year deal with the Suns, while Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune tweets that Kokoskov will remain with the Jazz through the remainder of their playoff run.

John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 reports that the contract will contain no options and that the final decision to hire Kokoskov came when team representatives met with him in Houston yesterday in between Games 1 and 2 of the Jazz’ first round series against the Rockets.

The Suns have confirmed the news, writing that the hire will make Kokoskov the first NBA head coach born and raised outside North America in NBA history.

“We are thrilled to bring Valley resident Igor Kokoskov back to Arizona as head coach of the Phoenix Suns,” said GM Ryan McDonough. “Igor has been a pioneer throughout his basketball career and he brings a wealth of high level coaching experience to our club.

“He was one of the first non-American born assistant coaches at both the NCAA and NBA levels and his most recent head coaching stint includes leading the Slovenian national team to the 2017 EuroBasket title, which was the first European title in the history of the country. Igor’s teams have always had a player development focus, a creative style of play and a track record of success.”

Kokoskov, 46, will become the 19th head coach in Suns’ franchise history in his 19th season as an NBA coach. He was as an assistant coach with the Suns from 2008-2013 during their run of success with Steve Nash, including a trip to 2010 Western Conference Finals.

Kokoskov is also a successful international head coach, leading Slovenia to a first place finish at FIBA EuroBasket 2017 and also coaching the Georgian national team from 2008-2015. One member of the Slovenian national team he coached: potential top-pick Luka Doncic.

Mavs’ Wesley Matthews Picks Up Player Option

April 30th, 2018 at 10:14am CST by Luke Adams

Mavericks wing Wesley Matthews has officially exercised the player option on his contract for the 2018/19 season, reports Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports. The final year on Matthews’ four-year deal with Dallas will pay him a salary of $18,622,514.

The move doesn’t come as a surprise, as we heard just last week that Matthews intended to exercise his option. He would have had little chance of matching or exceeding that $18MM+ salary if he had opted out and tested the free agent market.

Matthews, 31, appeared in 63 games for the Mavs in 2017/18, averaging 12.7 PPG, 3.1 RPG, and 2.7 APG with a .406/.381/.822 shooting line. His season was cut short by a fractured fibula — he sustained the injury on March 10 and didn’t return before season’s end. However, Matthews confirmed earlier this month that he has been medically cleared to resume full basketball activities, so he should be back to 100% for the start of training camp in the fall.

The Mavs reportedly explored the possibility of moving Matthews at February’s trade deadline, but their asking price was high — the club was said to be seeking a first-round pick, which was unrealistic given the veteran’s modest production and his looming $18MM option.

Still, while Matthews may never replicate the numbers he posted in Portland earlier in his career, he has been a solid three-point shooter and defender during his time with Dallas, and could become more appealing as a trade chip now that he’ll be on an expiring contract. It will be interesting to see if the rebuilding Mavs revisit the trade market for Matthews during the offseason.

Matthews is the second player to formally pick up a player option for 2018/19, joining Jeremy Lin, as our tracker shows.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Pelicans To Pick Up Option on Gentry’s Contract

April 23rd, 2018 at 5:29pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Pelicans have told coach Alvin Gentry they will pick up their team option on his contract for next season, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. Gentry was given the good news prior to the team’s sweep of the Trail Blazers in the opening round of the playoffs, Wojnarowski adds.

Gentry’s job status was tenuous at best coming into the season. The team’s brass didn’t decide until mid-May last year to bring him back as the head coach. When the Pelicans got off to a slow start, the heat ramped up on Gentry.

Thanks to a banner season from MVP candidate Anthony Davis, the Pelicans turned things around and qualified for the playoffs despite the season-ending injury to DeMarcus Cousins. After finishing 22 and 14 games below .500 during Gentry’s first two seasons as head coach, the Pelicans had a 48-34 record. Then, behind Davis and the guard duo of Jrue Holiday and Rajon Rondo, the Pelicans stunned the third-seeded Blazers to advance to the Western Conference semifinals.

Gentry was the Warriors’ top assistant prior to signing a four-year, $13.7MM contract with the Pelicans in May 2015. He had previous stints as the head coach of the Pistons, Clippers and Suns.

Wizards Sign Ty Lawson

April 12th, 2018 at 9:40am CST by Luke Adams

The Wizards have signed Ty Lawson to the fill the final open spot on their roster, reports Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports. Per the NBA’s transactions log, the move was made official on Wednesday, the final day teams could sign players to their roster.

Lawson, 30, spent the 2017/18 season in China playing for the Shandong Golden Stars. In 46 Chinese League contests, the NBA veteran averaged 25.5 PPG, 6.5 APG, and 2.2 SPG, shooting 40.1% on three-point attempts.

The Wizards were linked to Lawson two months ago when John Wall was sidelined with his knee injury, but the team signed Ramon Sessions to help provide point guard depth. Even with Wall back in the lineup and Sessions still on the roster, Washington has circled back to Lawson, who received his letter of clearance once his playoff run in China on Wednesday, per Charania.

Because he wasn’t waived by an NBA team after March 1, Lawson will be eligible to play in the postseason for the Wizards, though he seems unlikely to see much – if any – action.

The Wizards had been one of two teams with an open spot on the 15-man roster, so they didn’t have to make a corresponding move to create space for the point guard. Charlotte will finish the 2017/18 season as the only club with fewer than 15 players on its standard NBA roster.

Rockets Sign Aaron Jackson, Cut Tim Quarterman

April 11th, 2018 at 8:34pm CST by clarkcrum

8:34pm: The moves are official, per Mark Berman of FOX 26 Houston.

7:18pm: The Rockets plan to sign guard Aaron Jackson for the remainder of the season, reports Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports. Jackson just recently finished his season as a member of the Beijing Ducks of the Chinese Basketball Association.

Jackson, 31, graduated from Duquesne in 2009, leaving as the school’s all-time leader in games played, third all-time in assists, and sixth all-time in steals. He was a member of CSKA Moscow in Russia from 2012 to 2017, winning a EuroLeague title in 2016.

Because Houston already has a full 15-man roster, the team plans to release recently signed guard Tim Quarterman in order to make room for Jackson, Charania adds.

Quarterman was signed on March 30 to a two-year deal, but next season’s contract was reportedly non-guaranteed. Quarterman should earn a little over $96K for his brief stint in Houston.

Wolves Convert Amile Jefferson To Standard Contract

April 11th, 2018 at 2:19pm CST by Luke Adams

The Timberwolves have converted Amile Jefferson‘s two-way contract to a standard NBA deal, the team announced today in a press release. The move ensures that the rookie forward will be eligible to play in the postseason, assuming Minnesota earns a spot.

Jefferson, who turns 25 next month, went undrafted out of Duke in 2017 and joined the Timberwolves for training camp. After being waived by the team prior to the start of the regular season, Jefferson headed to the Iowa Wolves for the 2017/18 season. He remained there all year, never appearing in a game for the NBA squad even after signing a two-way contract in January.

In 47 G League games, Jefferson averaged 17.8 PPG and 12.8 RPG for Iowa, making shots at a 62.4% rate. He set a new NBAGL record by racking up 36 double-doubles.

Minnesota still had an open spot on its 15-man squad, so no corresponding roster move was required to make room for Jefferson. With the Cavs, Lakers, Clippers, and Raptors having also made moves to fill their roster openings in recent days, the Hornets and Wizards are the only two teams that still have open spots. It’s not clear if Washington intends to sign a 15th man by the end of the day — Charlotte’s season ended on Tuesday, so the Hornets will head into the offseason without a full roster.

Raptors Convert Lorenzo Brown To Standard NBA Contract

April 11th, 2018 at 9:55am CST by ChrisCrouse

APRIL 11: The Raptors have formally converted Brown’s two-way contract to a standard NBA deal, the team announced today (via Twitter). Toronto now has a full 15-man roster heading into the postseason — two-way player Malcolm Miller is the only Raptor who won’t be eligible for the playoffs.

APRIL 10: The Raptors will sign Lorenzo Brown for the remainder of the season, according to Blake Murphy of Raptors Republic. Brown is currently on a two-way deal with Toronto.

The point guard won the G League’s Most Valuable Player Award this season, appearing in 32 games for the Raptors 905. He averaged 18.8 points, 8.8 assists, and 5.2 rebounds per game while playing for Toronto’s NBAGL affiliate.

By having his contract converted, Brown will be eligible to play for the Raptors in this year’s NBA postseason. Players on two-way deals are not eligible for postseason play, as Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors recently detailed.

Toronto had an open spot on its 15-man roster, so no corresponding move will be required to make room for Brown.

Cavs Sign Kendrick Perkins For Playoff Roster

April 11th, 2018 at 9:11am CST by Dana Gauruder

APRIL 11: The Cavaliers have officially signed Perkins, the team announced today in a press release. As cap expert Albert Nahmad tweets, Perkins will earn $13K+ for his one day of NBA service during the regular season, but the move will cost the team over $43K due to tax penalties.

APRIL 9: The Cavaliers will be signing veteran center Kendrick Perkins to the final spot on their playoff roster, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets. Perkins was released by the club during the preseason, then played 27 games for their G League affiliate, the Canton Charge.

Perkins, 33, averaged 8.7 PPG, 7.1 RPG in 21.3 MPG in G League play. He appeared to be on the verge of an agreement with Cleveland in February, so the imminent signing is not a major surprise.

It’s likely that Perkins will see little, if any, action in the playoffs. But he does give coach Tyronn Lue another big body as insurance. Perkins has not appeared in an NBA game since the 2015/16 season.

He spent his first 7 1/2 seasons with the Celtics before getting traded to the Thunder. He played four-plus seasons with Oklahoma City, then saw action in 17 games with Cleveland in 2014/15 season.

In his most recent NBA season, he played 37 games for the Pelicans.

Warriors Sign Quinn Cook Through 2018/19

April 10th, 2018 at 10:28am CST by marksuleymanov

APRIL 10, 10:28am: The Warriors have officially signed Cook to his new two-year deal, tweets Charania. As cap expert Albert Nahmad notes (via Twitter), Cook’s new contract will pay him just shy of $15K for this season, but will cost Golden State about $54K in additional tax penalties. He’ll get a guaranteed minimum salary for 2018/19.

APRIL 8, 3:10pm: The Warriors have agreed to a multi-year deal with point guard Quinn Cook that he is expected to sign by Tuesday, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports reports. As we noted earlier today, Golden State waived forward Omri Casspi to open a roster spot for Cook.

The guaranteed NBA contract makes Cook eligible for the NBA playoffs. With two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Stephen Curry sidelined for the first round of the playoffs, Cook will enter the postseason as the Warriors’ starting point guard.

Cook has filled in admirably for Curry, averaging 9.4 PPG and 2.7 APG while shooting 44.8% from three-point range in 31 games (16 starts).

The 25-year-old split last season between the Mavericks and Pelicans, appearing in just 14 games. The Duke University product went undrafted in 2015 and spent time in the G League until receiving his first NBA opportunity last season.

Lakers Sign Andre Ingram

April 9th, 2018 at 3:32pm CST by Luke Adams

3:32pm: The Lakers have officially signed Ingram, the team announced today in a press release.

2:42pm: The Lakers are signing veteran G-Leaguer Andre Ingram to a rest-of-season contract that will cover the last two games of the 2017/18 campaign, reports Bill Oram of The Orange County Register (Twitter link). L.A. currently has an open spot on its 15-man roster, so no corresponding roster move will be required.

Ingram, a 6’3″ guard, has played in the G League for 10 seasons, appearing in 384 games for the Utah Flash (now known as the Delaware Blue Coats) and the South Bay Lakers (formerly the Los Angeles D-Fenders).

In 2017/18, Ingram averaged 9.1 PPG and 2.5 RPG in 47 games (22.8 MPG) for South Bay. He’s a three-point specialist, having converted 47.5% of his long-distance attempts this season, and an NBAGL-record 713 over the course of his career (46.1%).

Despite his extensive G League experience, Ingram has never played in an NBA game. At age 32, he’s unlikely to be part of the Lakers’ long-term plans, and his contract won’t extend until next season, given L.A.’s desire to maximize its 2018 cap room. As such, the move looks like an opportunity to give Ingram a chance to play in the NBA for a couple games, and to get him two or three days’ worth of an NBA salary.

A three-day minimum salary for Ingram would be worth just shy of $14K.