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Suns Sign Jordan McRae To Second 10-Day Contract

February 8th, 2016 at 12:04pm CST by Will Joseph

MONDAY, 12:04pm: The signing is official, the team announced.

SUNDAY, 5:08pm: The Suns will sign Jordan McRae to a second 10-day contract, according to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). The shooting guard’s original 10-day deal is set to expire today. The Suns play Monday and Wednesday before the break.

The Suns have been decimated by injuries and combo guard Brandon Knight is expected to be out through the All-Star break. McRae has played decently for the Suns, appearing in five games. He scored 12 points against the Knicks in his season debut on January 29th. He is averaging 5.8 points per game.

McRae, 24, played for Philadelphia’s D-League affiliate late last season after spending the first part of 2014/15 playing overseas in Australia. In September, he signed the required tender of a one-year, non-guaranteed, minimum-salary deal that Philadelphia had to offer to retain his draft rights. The Sixers waived him during the preseason this year after he averaged 7.1 points over seven appearances.

Knicks Fire Derek Fisher, Promote Kurt Rambis

February 8th, 2016 at 10:05am CST by Chuck Myron

Russ Isabella / USA TODAY Sports Images

10:05am: Fisher’s dismissal and the promotion of Rambis to interim head coach are official, the team said (Twitter links). The Knicks attributed the announcement to Jackson.

9:54am: The Knicks have fired coach Derek Fisher, reports Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com (Twitter links). The team hasn’t made any announcement, but Shelburne hears from sources that the move has taken place. New York will name Kurt Rambis interim coach, Shelburne adds, though league sources tell Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com that they believe Brian Shaw and Luke Walton, both of whom have ties to team president Phil Jackson, are the team’s top long-term candidates for the position (Twitter link). Former Knicks assistant Tom Thibodeau has always wanted to become the head coach in New York and “would crawl” to Madison Square Garden for the job, a confidant told Ian O’Connor of ESPNNewYork.com (Twitter link), though it’s unclear if the team will consider him.

Knicks owner James Dolan wasn’t thrilled to hear Fisher say that it wouldn’t be disappointing if the team missed the playoffs in comments the coach made last week on the “The Michael Kay Show” on ESPN 98.7 FM, as a source told Frank Isola of the New York Daily News for a piece that came out overnight. Fisher’s job didn’t appear to be in jeopardy because he had the support of Jackson, Isola wrote then, but Dolan, who has the ultimate authority, hasn’t been reluctant to exercise it years past, as the Daily News scribe pointed out.

Knicks “management” has been disappointed with the team’s performance, tweets Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com, though it’s not clear if it was Jackson, Dolan or someone else who was primarily dismayed. New York has lost nine of its last 10 games, including back-to-back home losses to the Grizzlies and Nuggets this weekend, to drop to 23-31, five games back of the Pistons for eighth place in the Eastern Conference. Fisher’s record in a season and a half with the team was 40-96, including last season’s 17-65 disaster. Many executives and assistant coaches from other teams around the league thought Fisher put on the league’s worst coaching performance last year, according to Jake Fischer of SI Now (Twitter link). Last season was Fisher’s first as an NBA coach, having scored the Knicks job immediately after the end of his playing career. The team feels as though Fisher wasn’t effectively making the transition from player to coach, sources told Windhorst.

The Knicks signed Fisher to a five-year, $25MM deal after the team reportedly encountered difficulty in its negotiations with Jackson’s top choice, Steve Kerr, who chose to take the Warriors job instead. Fisher made headlines during his time with New York for an alleged run-in with Matt Barnes, though the relationship Fisher had with soon-to-be free agent Kevin Durant, his former teammate on the Thunder, was always part of his appeal. Durant spoke highly of the Knicks when Oklahoma City was in New York for a game recently.

Did Fisher deserve to be fired? Leave a comment to tell us.

Suns Sign Orlando Johnson To 10-Day Contract

February 5th, 2016 at 12:28pm CST by Chuck Myron

12:28pm: The signing is official, the team announced. It’ll cover three games, against the Jazz, Thunder and Warriors, the only ones Phoenix has left until the All-Star break, and expire before the February 18th trade deadline.

7:57am: The Suns will sign former Pacers and Kings shooting guard Orlando Johnson to a 10-day contract, reports Shams Charania of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). The two-year NBA veteran has been playing for much of this season with the Spurs affiliate in the D-League. He’s poised to go into the open spot on Phoenix’s roster and add depth on the wing to compensate for the loss of T.J. Warren, who suffered a season-ending broken foot.

Johnson, 26, averaged 4.0 points in 12.1 minutes per game with 38.3% shooting from behind the arc as a rookie in 2012/13 for the Pacers, who had acquired him via trade shortly after the Kings drafted him 36th overall in 2012. His minutes fell the next season and the Pacers waived him at the trade deadline in 2014 to accommodate their deal for Evan Turner and Lavoy Allen. He resurfaced on a pair of 10-day contracts with the Kings later that season but has been out of the NBA ever since, though it appeared the Pelicans were considering him last month.

The former UC Santa Barbara player spent the last year and a half playing in Spain, the Philippines and the D-League. He’s averaging 15.2 points in 31.4 minutes per game and hitting 3-pointers at a scintillating 48.6% clip for the D-League Austin Spurs this season. He was slated to take part in the D-League All-Star Game and 3-point shooting contest, but he’ll be ineligible to participate in either if he indeed joins the Suns.

Phoenix already has Jordan McRae on a 10-day contract, as only 13 Suns have deals that run through at least the end of the season. The Suns are reportedly a strong bet to make at least one trade before the February 18th trade deadline, so they have plenty of flexibility to do so. Johnson’s contract would lapse and leave an open roster spot for the trade deadline as long as Phoenix signs him by the end of Monday.

Jazz Sign Erick Green To Second 10-Day Contract

February 5th, 2016 at 11:59am CST by Chuck Myron

The Jazz have signed point guard Erick Green to a second 10-day contract, the team announced. His first expired overnight. The latest deal will cover four games, against the Bucks, Suns, Mavericks and Pelicans. It’s set to end before the February 18th trade deadline, leaving Utah to decide whether to re-sign Green for the duration of the season or leave him in free agency and keep an open roster spot. The other 14 Jazz players are signed through at least the end of the season.

Green originally joined the Jazz the day after starting point guard Raul Neto suffered a concussion in a game against the Pistons, but Neto returned to play in time for Utah’s next game and hasn’t missed any time since. Green has only seen six total minutes of playing time with the Jazz, scoring four points, but it appears the team is interested in keeping him around nonetheless. He was the 46th overall pick in the 2013 draft and averaged 26.7 points, 4.4 assists and 1.6 turnovers per game in 23 D-League appearances after the Nuggets let him go earlier this season.

Utah has reportedly considered a pursuit of Hawks trade candidate Jeff Teague, but the Jazz have often gone without a point guard on the floor this season, using a three-wing lineup while Neto and backup Trey Burke sit. Dante Exum, who started 41 games at the position as a rookie last year, is out for the season with a torn ACL, but the team apparently remains 100% committed to him, leaving it unclear where a developing prospect like Green would fit in.

Clippers Sign Jeff Ayres To Second 10-Day Deal

February 2nd, 2016 at 5:18pm CST by ChrisCrouse

TUESDAY, 5:18pm: The signing is official, the team announced.

SUNDAY, 12:52pm: The Clippers will sign Jeff Ayres to a second 10-day deal, Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times reports (Twitter link). The Arizona State product will cost the Clippers $55,722 in payroll over the length of this deal. The 28-year-old played in two games for Los Angeles during his first 10-day stint with the team, tallying just seven minutes of action.

Ayres filled the roster spot left vacant by Josh Smith after Smith was dealt to the Rockets and with the latest report on Blake Griffin‘s hand sounding pessimistic, Los Angeles has a need for an additional big man. Coach/executive Doc Rivers told reporters last week that Griffin’s timetable of returning in four to six weeks was unrealistic.

Ayres was having an excellent season with the Idaho Stampede before signing with the Clippers, notching a D-League All-Star selection in the process. However, he won’t be eligible to participate in the festivities unless he’s in the D-League at the time of the February 13th game.

Suns Name Earl Watson Interim Coach

February 1st, 2016 at 5:40pm CST by Chuck Myron

5:40pm: The move is official, the team announced.

5:04pm: The Suns have decided to name assistant coach Earl Watson as interim head coach, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Watson beat out other reported candidates Corey Gaines and Nate Bjorkgren for the temporary position that came open when the team fired Jeff Hornacek on Monday.

Watson, 36, is not far removed from his playing career. He was in the league as recently as the 2013/14 season, when he appeared in 24 games with the Trail Blazers. He will make his head coaching debut on Tuesday against the Raptors.

Watson’s first coaching job was last season, when he was hired by the Spurs’ D-League affiliate, the Austin Spurs, as an assistant. He joined Hornacek’s staff prior to this season. Watson appeared in 878 games during his 13-year playing career with six different franchises, averaging 6.4 points and 4.4 assists.

The Suns added a veteran coach to help out Watson by hiring four-time NBA head coach Bob Hill as an assistant, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical tweets.

Watson will hire agent Rich Paul of Klutch Sports Group as his agent, league sources informed Chris Haynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer (Twitter link). Paul also represents several prominent players, including LeBron James and John Wall, as well as Suns point guard Eric Bledsoe.

(Dana Gauruder contributed to this report.)

Grizzlies Sign Ryan Hollins To Second 10-Day Pact

February 1st, 2016 at 2:13pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Grizzlies have signed Ryan Hollins to a second 10-day contract, the team announced via press release. His first 10-day deal expired at the end of Saturday. The latest arrangement covers all five of the games remaining on the Memphis schedule prior to the All-Star break and the February 18th trade deadline. The Grizzlies will play the Pelicans, Knicks, Mavericks, Trail Blazers and Nets during the next 10 days.

Hollins, a 10th-year veteran, begins his fifth NBA contract this season and his fourth with the Grizzlies. He was a preseason signee but lost a battle for an opening night roster spot despite a strong performance in exhibitions. Memphis re-signed him in late December after he spent about a month with the Wizards, but the Grizzlies once more waived him early last month, only to bring him back two weeks later on the first of his 10-day contracts. He’s averaged 3.1 points and 2.6 rebounds in 10.6 minutes per game across nine appearances for the Grizzlies this season.

Memphis has 14 other players on contracts that carry through at least the rest of the season. That the sort of deal the Grizzlies would have to give Hollins if they sign him again once his latest 10-day pact runs to term.

Pelicans Sign Dejean-Jones To Second 10-Day Deal

February 1st, 2016 at 12:32pm CST by Will Joseph

MONDAY, 12:32pm: The signing is official, the team announced. New Orleans plays six games in the next 10 days, against the Grizzlies, Spurs, Lakers, Cavs, Timberwolves and Jazz.

SUNDAY, 2:51pm: The Pelicans will sign combo guard Bryce Dejean-Jones to a second 10-day contract on Monday, Scott Kushner of The New Orleans Advocate reports. Dejean-Jones’ original 10-day pact expired at the end of Saturday.

In his last two games as a starter filling in for Tyreke Evans, Dejean-Jones has averaged 11 points and 5.5 rebounds, as John Reid of the New Orleans Times-Picayune notes. It is also worth noting that shooting guard Eric Gordon is still out because of a broken finger. Dejean-Jones’ second 10-day contract would be set to expire on February 10th and the Pelicans would then have to either sign him for the rest of the season or simply let him go. The sides are working toward a long-term pact, according to Kushner.

Dejean-Jones had signed with the Pelicans in August as an undrafted free agent after earning a spot on New Orleans’ summer league team. He averaged 8.8 points in 18.2 minutes per game during the preseason, but the Pelicans waived him prior to opening night.

Knicks Signing Thanasis Antetokounmpo To 10-Day

January 29th, 2016 at 2:45pm CST by Chuck Myron

FRIDAY, 2:45pm: Antetokounmpo signed today, the team announced (on Twitter). New York plays six games, against the Suns, Warriors, Celtics, Pistons, Grizzlies and Nuggets, in the next 10 days.

2:25pm: The signing won’t happen until Friday, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post (Twitter link). That means he won’t be available for tonight’s game against the Raptors but would still be under contract for a February 7th game against the Nuggets.

THURSDAY, 1:22pm: The Knicks have added Thanasis Antetokounmpo on a 10-day contract, league sources told Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Charania indicates the signing has already taken place, though the team has yet to make announcement. The older brother of Bucks phenom Giannis Antetokounmpo was a somewhat surprising cut at the end of the preseason, when the Knicks elected to keep an open roster spot, and it appears he’ll go right back into that spot, which New York has left vacant all season.

Thanasis has been playing for New York’s D-League affiliate in the meantime, though his offensive production has lagged. The 23-year-old is averaging just 10.3 points in 27.8 minutes per game for the D-League Westchester Knicks. However, the D-League has twice named him to one of its yearly All-Defensive teams, and he’s quietly shown plenty of improvement this season, according to Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor (Twitter link).

New York drafted the small forward 51st overall in 2014 after he’d spent the previous season as a draft-eligible player with the Sixers D-League affiliate. He spent 2014/15 as a draft-and-stash player with the Westchester Knicks, and the Knicks added him to the NBA roster this past summer with a deal that included a partial guarantee of $75K. The Knicks gave up his draft rights when they waived him in October, but he opted to return to their D-League team even though it seemed he would have preferred to go overseas instead. He’s in line to receive $30,888 on his 10-day deal.

Suns Sign Jordan McRae To 10-Day Pact

January 29th, 2016 at 12:54pm CST by Eddie Scarito

FRIDAY, 12:54pm: The signing is official, the team announced. Phoenix plays five games, against the Knicks, Mavs, Raptors, Rockets and Jazz, in the next 10 days.

WEDNESDAY, 9:20pm: The Suns intend to sign free agent shooting guard Jordan McRae to a 10-day contract, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports reports (via Twitter). The Suns currently possess 15 players on their roster but Lorenzo Brown‘s second 10-day deal is set to expire on tonight, thus clearing a spot for McRae. Teams can only ink players to a maximum of two 10-day deals per campaign and Phoenix would have had to ink Brown for the remainder of the season if it wished to retain him.

McRae was the 58th overall pick out of Tennessee back in 2014, though the Spurs promptly traded his rights to the Sixers. The now 24-year-old played for Philadelphia’s D-League affiliate late last season after spending the first part of 2014/15 playing overseas in Australia. In September, he signed the required tender of a one-year, non-guaranteed, minimum-salary deal that Philadelphia had to offer to retain his draft rights.

The Sixers waived him during the preseason this year after he averaged 7.1 points over seven appearances. In 28 games for the Sixers D-League affiliate in Delaware this season, McRae has averaged 23.1 points, 4.5 rebounds and 5.2 assists. His shooting line is .452/.310/.798.