Tomislav Zubcic Signed, Waived By Thunder
SEPTEMBER 23: Zubcic was technically waived by the Thunder after signing the second-round tender he received from the team, notes Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). The end result is the same: Zubcic becomes an unrestricted free agent, whose NBA rights are now up for grabs. However, it suggests that perhaps the player forced the issue, rather than the team simply letting him go.
SEPTEMBER 18: The Thunder have renounced the rights to Tomislav Zubcic on Sunday, making the 6’10” power forward a free agent, Erik Horne of The Oklahoman reports.
Zubcic, 26, played 36 games for Oklahoma City’s D-League affiliate last season, averaging 7.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 19.8 minutes per game. Zubcic was fourth on the Blue in 3-pointers made (44), shooting 35.2%.
Zubcic was unlikely to ever join the Thunder, Horne writes, so the move isn’t at all surprising and Zubcic can play with the Blue if he does not sign with another team. The 56th overall pick by the Raptors in 2012 was acquired by the Thunder in June 2015 in a deal that had helped the Thunder create roster space for Cameron Payne.
Bulls Sign Thomas Walkup
The Bulls continue to fill out their training camp roster, signing former Stephen F. Austin wing Thomas Walkup to a deal. Walkup himself broke news of the agreement, publishing a photo on Instagram that showed him signing his first NBA contract (hat tip to HoopsHype).
“Signed my first NBA contract today,” Walkup wrote on Instagram. “So many people that helped me get to this point. Chicago Bulls training camp starting Monday!”
Walkup, 23, averaged 18.1 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 4.5 APG, and 2.1 SPG during his senior year at Stephen F. Austin, earning Southland Conference player of the year honors for a second consecutive season. He went undrafted in June.
Details of Walkup’s agreement with the Bulls aren’t known, but a non-guaranteed summer contract seems likely. Chicago currently has 13 players on its roster with guaranteed salaries, and five with non-guaranteed deals. Walkup figures to become the sixth, joining Spencer Dinwiddie, Cristiano Felicio, Vince Hunter, J.J. Avila, and D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera as camp invitees competing for a 15-man roster spot.
Southeast Notes: Millsap, Heat, Wall, Hornets
Hawks power forward Paul Millsap recently underwent a procedure to reduce mild swelling in his right knee, RealGM.com relays via a team press release. The procedure was not surgical and all indications are that he will be ready to play at the start of the season, according to Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter links). Millsap, who has averaged 17.1 points and 9.0 rebounds last season, has earned a reputation of being an iron man since joining the league during the 2006/07 season. He appeared in 81 regular-season games and 10 playoff games last season and has never missed more than nine games in any season.
In other news around the Southeast Division:
- Nevada Smith has been named head coach of the Heat’s D-League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, Manny Navarro of the Miami Herald reports. Smith previously coached the D-League’s Rio Grande Valley Vipers for two seasons. Former Heat point guard Anthony Carter will join Smith’s staff. Former Skyforce Dan Craig has joined Heat coach Erik Spoelstra’s staff along with Octavio De La Grana, who served as a Skyforce assistant coach last year.
- Wizards coach Scott Brooks is uncertain about point guard John Wall’s status for the start of training camp, according to Candace Buckner of the Washington Post. Brooks is unsure when Wall, who underwent two knee operations during the offseason, will be cleared for five-on-five contact. “He’s improving,” Brooks told Buckner. “His body looks great [but] his conditioning is going to be behind. Once you step into an NBA practice, the level goes way up. Especially in a training camp situation where you have guys trying to make it, guys trying to fight for minutes, trying to fight for starting jobs, but we have to make sure [about Wall] because that’s when things can go sideways.”
- The Heat’s decision on whether Chris Bosh will be cleared to play is not a function of the salary cap, Ira Winderman of the Florida Sun-Sentinel writes. Bosh, who has been diagnosed with blood clots in his leg the past two seasons, must be cleared by medical personnel and the rules of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement have to be followed, Winderman continues. Neither the team nor the players’ union will draw a line in the sand over one player, especially when either could opt out of the CBA as early as mid-December, Winderman adds.
- The return of Michael Kidd-Gilchrist from injury and the addition of free agent center Roy Hibbert raises the defensive ceiling for a team that already ranked in the league’s top 10 last season, according to Basketball Insiders’ season preview of the Hornets. Basketball Insiders takes an optimistic view of the Hornets, with its reporters predicting anywhere from a first to third-place finish for the club this season.
Clippers Sign Xavier Munford
SEPTEMBER 22: The Clippers have signed Munford to a non-guaranteed $874,636 summer contract, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets.
SEPTEMBER 21: The Clippers have begun adding extra bodies to their training camp roster, reaching an agreement on a deal with free agent guard Xavier Munford, reports Shams Charania of The Vertical (via Twitter).
Munford, 22, made his NBA debut in March with the Grizzlies, joining the injury-ravaged Memphis roster for the stretch run. In his 14 contests with the team, Munford averaged 5.7 PPG, 2.2 RPG, and 1.6 APG, while connecting on 39.1% of his three-point attempts. Prior to getting called up by the Grizzlies, Munford scored an impressive 20.4 PPG to go along with 6.4 APG and a .412 3PT% for the 2015/16 Bakersfield Jam in the D-League.
The Clippers still had five openings on their 20-man offseason roster entering the day, but it’s not clear whether there will be any regular-season spots open, since the club’s 15 players all have guaranteed salaries. Munford will likely face an uphill battle to make the team, and could end up back in the D-League to start the 2016/17 campaign.
Dahntay Jones To Rejoin Cavs At Training Camp
Veteran shooting guard Dahntay Jones has agreed to join the defending champion Cavaliers for training camp on a non-guaranteed contract, according to Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com.
The 35-year-old Jones was signed by Cleveland just before the end of the regular season this spring. He appeared in one regular-season game, then saw spot duty in 15 postseason games. He scored five key points late in the first half of Game 6 during the NBA Finals.
Jones was released in late July, just before his $1.55MM contract for this season would have been guaranteed.
Jones attended LeBron James‘ mini-camp in Santa Barbara, California earlier this week, according to Vardon.
The Cavaliers have just 12 players with guaranteed contracts and two others with non-guaranteed deals. However, that does not include starting shooting guard J.R. Smith, who is expected to eventually re-sign with the team. The Cavaliers already have plenty of other veterans along with James at the wing positions, including Richard Jefferson, Iman Shumpert, Mike Dunleavy and James Jones, which means Dahntay Jones could have difficulty making the opening night roster.
The journeyman guard’s career dates back to 2003/04, when he played for the Grizzlies. He’s also played for the Kings, Nuggets, Pacers, Hawks, Mavericks and Clippers.
Rockets Rumors: Harden, Motiejunas, Contracts
Franchise player James Harden believes the Rockets have already shown better chemistry as they head into training camp on Saturday, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle reports. Harden admits that many of the team’s problems last season could be blamed on a lack of harmony but that has changed, Feigen continues. “We’re doing something I haven’t (experienced) since I’ve been here in Houston,” Harden told Feigen. “Just trying to shake things up, just trying to make sure we really know each other in and out on and off the court. I think that will translate to a better team.” That improved camraderie was evident in mini-camps and workouts that Harden organized, Feigen adds. Along with team bonding, Harden has been focused on avoiding a repeat of last season, when the Rockets went .500 and were knocked out in the opening round of the playoffs after reaching the Western Conference Finals the previous season. “I’ve been training all summer,” Harden said. “Last season wasn’t great at all. It was very disappointing. I don’t want to let that happen two years in a row. I’ve been in the gym working out to get my mind, body and soul right.”
In other developments regarding the Rockets:
- Harden says that signing restricted free agent Donatas Motiejunas is “very important,” Feigen relays in a tweet. There’s not much going regarding the impasse between the Rockets and Motiejunas, a source told Feigen (Twitter link). The power forward has not received a serious offer from the club, according to his agent, B.J. Armstrong. Motiejunas does not want to sign the $3.4MM qualifying offer the Rockets have made. The Pistons rescinded a deal with the Rockets at the trade deadline in February when Motiejunas failed a physical because of lingering back problems.
- The team plans to sign point guards Gary Payton II, Isaiah Taylor and Bobby Brown and power forward Kyle Wiltjer on Thursday or Friday, Feigen added in the same tweet regarding the lack of progress with Motiejunas’ contract talks. Those contracts are likely to to be two-year deals, according to Feigen. Payton II, Taylor and Wiltjer are undrafted rookies who agreed to deals shortly after the draft. Brown, who hasn’t played in the NBA since 2010, agreed in July to attend the Rockets’ camp.
Bucks, Rockets Swap Tyler Ennis, Michael Beasley
3:40pm: The Bucks have announced the deal in a press release, confirming that they’ve sent Ennis to the Rockets in exchange for Beasley.
“We’re excited to add a player with Michael’s skill set to our team,” said general manager John Hammond in a statement. “He’s someone that we’ve kept our eye on the last few seasons and we’re looking forward to watching him compete throughout training camp and the season.”
3:21pm: With Khris Middleton expected to be sidelined for the next six months due to a torn hamstring, the Bucks have found a stop-gap depth piece at forward. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (via Twitter), Milwaukee has shipped Tyler Ennis to the Rockets in exchange for Michael Beasley.
[RELATED: Khris Middleton to miss six months with torn hamstring]
According to Charles F. Gardner of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Twitter links), the swap isn’t a “reactionary” move for the Bucks, who were said to be discussing a deal with the Rockets before Middleton went down with his hamstring injury on Tuesday. Nonetheless, it’s not hard to think Milwaukee was further motivated to get something done after Middleton went down. A report last night indicated that the team was exploring the trade market for help on the wing.
Still, the Bucks are dealing from a position of strength in the trade. Newly-extended Giannis Antetokounmpo is expected to see plenty of time at the point, along with Michael Carter-Williams and free agent addition Matthew Dellavedova. Barring injuries, that wouldn’t leave much playing time for Ennis.
The 18th overall pick in the 2014 draft, Ennis was sent from Phoenix to Milwaukee at the 2015 trade deadline, and has played in 71 games for the Bucks since then, averaging just 4.1 PPG and 2.1 APG in 13.5 minutes per contest. The 22-year-old will provide point guard depth for a Rockets team that currently features Patrick Beverley and Pablo Prigioni at the position.
From the Rockets’ perspective, the move could indicate that they have confidence in bringing back Donatas Motiejunas, and are willing to give up some of their depth at forward, tweets Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Motiejunas is the last restricted free agent on the market, and his agent suggested last week that he’s still waiting for a “serious” contract offer from Houston.
As for the Bucks, they certainly won’t expect Beasley to replicate Middleton’s production, but the former second overall pick is coming off a decent stint in Houston. The sample size wasn’t significant – Beasley played just 20 regular-season games for the Rockets – but the 27-year-old’s numbers (12.8 PPG, 4.9 RPG, .522 FG%) were promising. Prior to signing with the Rockets, Beasley had a huge year in China, recording 31.9 PPG, 13.4 RPG, 3.8 APG, and 2.0 APG for the Shandong Golden Stars, earning the CBA’s foreign MVP award.
From a financial perspective, the trade certainly isn’t a blockbuster for either team — Ennis is owed a salary of $1,733,880, while Beasley will make $1,403,611, so the Rockets will take on a little extra money. The Bucks should also be able to create a trade exception worth Ennis’ salary, since they’ll be able to acquire Beasley using the minimum salary exception.
Beasley’s contract will expire at season’s end, making him an unrestricted free agent in 2017. The Rockets will be able to control Ennis through the 2017/18 season, assuming they decide to exercise their team option on him. The decision on that option, which would be worth $2,666,707 and would make Ennis a potential 2018 RFA, is due by October 31.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Clippers, Dorell Wright Agree To Deal
The Clippers have increased their training camp roster count to 17 players, according to Dan Woike of The Orange County Register, who reports (via Twitter) that the team is bringing in veteran forward Dorell Wright.
[RELATED: Clippers to sign Xavier Munford]
Wright, 30, spent most of last season in China before signing with the Heat in mid-April. He didn’t play any regular season games with Miami, but did appear in five playoff contests, averaging 3.2 points and 3.8 minutes per game. The Heat elected not to bring back the 6’9″ small forward after the postseason ended.
Prior to last season, Wright had appeared in 549 total NBA regular-season contests, spending time with the Heat, Warriors, Sixers, and Trail Blazers over the course of 11 years. In those seasons, he averaged 8.4 PPG and 3.8 RPG, and shot 36.5% on three-point attempts.
The Clippers already appear to have their roster for the coming season fairly set, with 15 players on guaranteed salaries. However, the team will bring in a few more players to compete in camp. Wright is the second reported camp invitee for Los Angeles, along with Xavier Munford.
Arthur Hill contributed to this post.
Bucks To Sign Jaleel Roberts
The Bucks are reportedly looking for help on the wing after losing Khris Middleton to a torn hamstring, but in the meantime, the team has made another move that’s not connected to Middleton’s injury. According to RealGM’s staff report, Milwaukee is signing free agent center Jaleel Roberts to a deal for training camp.
Roberts, who will turn 24 next month, played his college ball for UNC-Asheville, going undrafted in 2015 after averaging 7.0 PPG and 5.0 RPG in his senior season. Despite his modest college stats, Roberts received a training camp invite from the Wizards last season, and after being waived by Washington last fall, the seven-footer rejoined the club for Summer League play this July.
For training camp this fall though, it appears Roberts will be joining a Bucks squad that is still reeling from the news of Middleton’s potential six-month absence. In addition to its 15 players currently on guaranteed contracts, Milwaukee is also bringing Orlando Johnson and J.J. O’Brien to camp on non-guaranteed deals, and reportedly agreed to terms with Jabari Brown this week, along with Roberts.
Xavier Henry recently signed a non-guaranteed contract with the Bucks, but NBA.com’s transactions log suggests the club waived him on Tuesday — that move has yet to be announced by the team. Ronald Roberts was also rumored to be heading to camp with Milwaukee, but that deal hasn’t come to fruition, so there should be one opening on the Bucks’ 20-man offseason roster as they explore replacements for Middleton.
Jazz Sign Henry Sims
The Jazz have filled one of the remaining two openings on their 20-man offseason roster, announcing today in a press release that they’ve signed Henry Sims to a training camp contract. Terms of the agreement haven’t been reported, but it figures to be a minimum-salary pact with little to no guaranteed money.
Sims, who saw a little NBA action last season for the Nets, spent the 2014/15 campaign with the Sixers, appearing in 73 games (32 starts) for the club. Over the course of that season, he averaged 8.0 PPG and 4.9 RP in 19.2 minutes per contest. In 2015/16, he spent most of the season with the D-League’s Grand Rapids Drive, recording 15.7 PPG and 8.9 RPG in 40 games.
After working out for the Jazz earlier this month, Sims will join the team looking to earn a regular-season roster spot. As Tony Jones of the Salt Lake Tribune tweets though, a return to the D-League is more likely for the 26-year-old center.
Currently, the Jazz have 14 players on guaranteed salaries, which would suggest that there’s one open spot for the regular-season roster. However, Jeff Withey, whose contract is partially guaranteed, is the strong favorite for that 15th slot. Chris Johnson, Marcus Paige, and Quincy Ford will also be in the mix, and Utah still has one open roster spot that could be filled at some point in camp — perhaps by second-round pick Tyrone Wallace.