Suns Sign Bryce Cotton
7:30pm: The signing is official, the team announced.
2:31pm: The Suns are in the midst of calling up point guard Bryce Cotton from the D-League affiliate of the Spurs, sources tell Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Signing Cotton to an NBA contract wouldn’t require a corresponding move, since Phoenix has an open roster spot beneath the 15-man limit. Phoenix already has three point guards, with Eric Bledsoe, Brandon Knight and Ronnie Price, but Bledsoe is questionable for tonight’s game with sore right knee. Bledsoe missed Monday’s game, when coach Jeff Hornacek gave lottery pick Devin Booker his first start since high school in Bledsoe’s place, notes Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic.
Cotton, 23, finished last season with the Jazz after signing a pair of 10-day contracts and a three-year deal. However, that three-year contract didn’t include any guaranteed salary beyond last season, and Utah released Cotton during the preseason last month, choosing to give more time to wing players instead of carrying a third healthy point guard. He joined the D-League shortly thereafter, heading back to the Spurs affiliate, which had acquired his rights when San Antonio designated Cotton as an affiliate player in 2014.
The undrafted former Providence player averaged 5.3 points, 1.0 assist and 0.8 turnovers in 10.6 minutes per game across 15 NBA appearances with Utah last season. He’s been impressive against D-League competition in his two seasons as a pro, piling up 22.4 points, 4.7 assists and 2.5 turnovers in 39.8 minutes per contest during 38 total games, four of which have come this month.
Do you think Cotton can help the Suns? Leave a comment to let us know.
Hornets, Steve Clifford Agree To Extension
The Hornets and coach Steve Clifford have agreed to an extension with guaranteed salary through 2018/19, as the team acknowledged via Twitter and as Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer originally reported. Clifford’s contract had been set to expire at season’s end. It’s unclear how much the extension is worth, but his existing deal, worth $6MM over three years, was one of the NBA’s cheapest for a head coach.
The relationship between Clifford, 54, and GM Rich Cho became chilly after the departure of former president of basketball operations Rod Higgins in 2014, sources told Zach Lowe of ESPN.com this summer, though Clifford and Cho downplayed that idea. Clifford made it clear last month that he wants to stay, and he’s guided the team to an 8-6 mark so far this season, good for seventh place in the Eastern Conference.
Charlotte missed the playoffs last season after the disastrous signing of Lance Stephenson in the summer of 2014, knocking the shine off the success Charlotte enjoyed in the 2013/14 season, its first with Clifford as head coach. That year, the then-Bobcats went to the postseason for just the second time in franchise history. It was a quick turnaround for a team that in 2011/12 finished 7-59, the worst winning percentage in NBA history.
The Heat swept Charlotte in the first round of the playoffs in the spring of 2014, and Clifford is only 84-94 in the regular season during his time in charge of the Bobcats/Hornets, who gave him his first NBA head coaching gig. He’d previously served as an assistant for the Knicks, Rockets, Magic and Lakers. He has close ties to the Van Gundy brothers, having worked under Jeff Van Gundy in New York and Houston and Stan Van Gundy in Orlando.
Do you agree with the decision to keep Clifford for the long term? Leave a comment to let us know.
Pelicans Waive Jimmer Fredette
The Pelicans have waived Jimmer Fredette, the team announced. The team signed the former BYU star to a non-guaranteed contract November 10th using a 16th roster spot the league granted them via the hardship rule. That provision for an extra player lasts only 10 days, and though the Pelicans are still dealing with copious injuries, Fredette’s release is a signal that the league won’t be giving the team another 10-day exception, likely because one of the injured players is poised to return, as John Reid of The Times Picayune speculates (on Twitter).
Letting go of Fredette is also a financial savings for the Pels, who only used him for a total of 13 minutes spread over four games this month. His prorated minimum salary cost them $5,572 a day. Fredette is also collecting money this season from the Spurs, who guaranteed him $507,711 before cutting him at the end of the preseason. He remains under contract with the D-League affiliate of the Knicks, who drafted him after he inked a D-League deal late last month.
Omer Asik and Anthony Davis are questionable for Friday’s game against the Spurs, but four others have been out with long-term injuries, which gave New Orleans enough to qualify for the extra roster spot. Kendrick Perkins is just a couple of weeks into a three-month recovery timetable and Tyreke Evans still appears to be about two weeks away, judging by the timeframe that Reid reported a month ago, so Norris Cole and Quincy Pondexter, who’ve yet to play this season, look like the candidates to return soon.
What do you think comes next for Fredette? Leave a comment to let us know.
Rockets Fire Kevin McHale, Promote J.B. Bickerstaff
11:13am: Morey has confirmed the move to reporters, as the team’s Twitter account notes. “The team was not responding to Kevin McHale,” Morey said, according to Feigen (Twitter link). “There is no time in the West.”
10:27am: Owner Leslie Alexander and the front office, including GM Daryl Morey and fellow executive Gersson Rosas, jointly made the decision, Wojnarowski writes in a full story. The organization has faith in Bickerstaff’s ability to become a successful head coach, but he’s not assured of the job for the long term, Wojnarowski adds.
10:04am: McHale confirmed his ouster, saying that he thought he would be able to turn the team around if given more time, but he doesn’t blame the Rockets for their decision to fire him, Feigen tweets. McHale had more meetings with players over the last four to six weeks than at any other point, he added, as Feigen also relays (Twitter link). It doesn’t sound as if McHale wants to retire even as he’s unsure what he’ll do next, according to Feigen (on Twitter).
9:00am: The Rockets have decided to fire coach Kevin McHale, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Wojnarowski indicates the move has already taken place, though the team has yet to make an announcement. Assistant J.B. Bickerstaff will take over as interim head coach, with fellow assistant Chris Finch moving into the lead assistant’s role, Wojnarowski adds (on Twitter). Houston, expected to contend for the title this year, is just 4-7, and the team held a players-only meeting Tuesday. McHale earlier this week called out his team’s effort and defense and wouldn’t rule out benching marquee trade acquisition Ty Lawson from the starting lineup.
The Rockets signed McHale to a three-year, nearly $13MM extension on Christmas Eve last year, and he led the team to the Western Conference Finals in the spring. Still, the front office is cognizant of the level of talent on the roster this season and felt a need to remedy the team’s disappointing performance thus far, so the Rockets didn’t hesitate to make a move, Wojnarowski explains (Twitter link).
McHale, 57, entered the season as the NBA’s fifth-longest tenured head coach, having taken over the Rockets in June 2011. His old-school philosophy seemed an odd match for Houston’s analytically forward approach, but McHale nonetheless led the team to success. Houston had a winning record in each of McHale’s full seasons, with last year’s 56-26 mark the best of his tenure. His .598 regular season winning percentage is the best of all-time among Rockets coaches, notes Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle (on Twitter). He was 193-130 in the regular season and 13-16 in the playoffs overall with the Rockets. McHale went 39-55 over two separate stints as coach of the Timberwolves in the 2000s, and he didn’t coach Minnesota in a postseason game.
The vacancy in Houston, once the team makes the move official, will become one the league’s most attractive, though for now, Bickerstaff is poised to inherit the position. He was an assistant with the Hornets and Timberwolves before joining the Rockets along with McHale in 2011, and he’s the son of longtime NBA head coach Bernie Bickerstaff.
The job is not without its challenges. Dwight Howard isn’t playing in back-to-backs as the team tries to protect his health, and Donatas Motiejunas has yet to make an appearance as he recovers from back surgery. Sam Dekker, the team’s first-round pick this year, will have back surgery Friday and is expected to miss three months.
Jabari Brown To Play In China
Shooting guard Jabari Brown has agreed to a deal with the Foshan Long Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association, Marc Spears of Yahoo Sports reports (via Twitter). The length and terms of the arrangement are not yet known, nor if the pact includes an NBA out clause. It’s likely a one year deal that will allow Brown to return to the NBA after the Chinese season, or playoffs if his team qualifies, conclude, though that is merely my speculation.
Brown was the final player cut by the Lakers during the preseason this year, losing a battle with Metta World Peace for the team’s final roster spot. Lakers coach Byron Scott had called the choice to waive Brown a “very, very, very … difficult decision,” and added that “It was probably the most difficult cut that I’ve ever had to make,” as was relayed by Baxter Holmes of ESPN.com. Scott also told Holmes that with such a young roster, it was important to add a veteran who could mentor the team’s plethora of younger players, thus eliminating Brown.
The Lakers also cut Brown at the end of the preseason a season ago, and they claimed his D-League rights, making him an affiliate player. The team had that same option this year, and reportedly wanted Brown to rejoin the D-Fenders, according to Mike Bresnahan of The Los Angeles Times. But that was a prospect that didn’t tantalize the 22-year-old, and he apparently decided to go with the bigger payday overseas.
Brown made 19 regular season appearances for the Lakers during the 2014/15 campaign, including five starts. He averaged a respectable 11.9 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 2.1 assists in 29.9 minutes per contest. His shooting numbers were .412/.371/.753.
Grizzlies Acquire Mario Chalmers
5:10pm: The trade is official, the Heat and Grizzlies have announced, though no mention was made of a second-rounder changing hands in the deal. “This is a tough day for myself and the organization in trading Mario Chalmers and James Ennis,” said Heat president Pat Riley. “Mario was a part of two championships with us and Ennis is a solid young player, but it is part of the business and it was a move necessary to make because of our crowded backcourt. We feel that it is in the best interest of Mario and we want him to be successful and be a part of a good team. We wish them nothing but the best. We would also like to welcome Beno Udrih, an accomplished veteran and someone that has playoff and championship experience, and the addition of Jarnell Stokes, a young player that we would like to develop.”
4:04pm: The Heat don’t see either Udrih or Stokes as long-term pieces, but they’d still execute the two-team trade with the Grizzlies if they can’t find a third team, Stein writes. The ESPN scribe also invokes Andersen’s name, suggesting that he remains available.
2:57pm: The Heat are looking for a third team willing to take Udrih, Stokes or both, and that’s keeping the deal with the Grizzlies from becoming official, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter links). Miami has the option of simply pulling off the two-teamer with Memphis, but the Heat would prefer to include a third team, Stein adds.
12:27pm: The Grizzlies and Heat are have agreed to a deal that will send Mario Chalmers and James Ennis to Memphis for Beno Udrih, Jarnell Stokes and a second-round pick, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (Twitter links). Wojnarowski’s full story indicates Miami is receiving a second-round pick from Memphis, too, but it makes no mention of, who was in Wojnarowski’s Twitter report, which didn’t include the second-rounder. In any case, the teams are preparing for a trade call with the league office today, Wojnarowski notes. Marc Stein of ESPN.com first reported a week ago that the sides had talked about a potential trade involving Chalmers, and a few days later Stein wrote about growing concern within the Grizzlies organization amid a slow start. Memphis, at 3-4, next plays Wednesday at home against the Warriors.
The move is a cost-cutter for the Heat, who give up the $4.3MM salary of Chalmers in exchange for Udrih and his pay of $2.17MM, which is only a little more than half of what Chalmers makes. Stokes and Ennis are have identical one-year veteran’s minimum salaries, though Stokes has a full guarantee while Ennis has a partial guarantee of only about $254K, since he and the Heat reworked the terms of his contract before the start of the regular season. Memphis will likely use part of its $967,500 trade exception left over from the offseason Jon Leuer deal to absorb the $845,059 that Stokes makes and offset the unbalanced exchange of salaries, notes Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter).
Miami is set to remove about $6MM from its potential luxury tax bill with the trade, according to Wojnarowski, though the tax isn’t calculated until the final day of the regular season. The Heat would still be in line to pay repeat-offender tax penalties in the wake of today’s deal, and many of the same offseason rumors that raised the idea of a Chalmers trade also made mention of Chris Andersen, who could be the next to go, as Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel speculates (Twitter link).
Memphis hasn’t been pleased with the play of its bench and hopes that Chalmers will be an upgrade behind starting point guard Mike Conley, league sources told Wojnarowski. Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal had heard from some people, ostensibly around the Grizzlies, who quietly expressed disappointment with what they perceived to be Udrih’s lack of conditioning, athleticism and defense, and the team wasn’t ready to turn the backup job over to third-stringer Russ Smith, Tillery also wrote.
A desire to avoid the tax plus confidence in Tyler Johnson and Gerald Green helped prompt the Heat to make the move, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald (Twitter link), though Green remains away from the team following his hospitalization last week. Green is out of the hospital and is reportedly expected to return to the team soon, however. In any case, the acquisition of Udrih gives the team an experienced backup at the point as it attempts to regain its status among the Eastern Conference elite, even with the concerns about Udrih from Memphis. Of course, no guarantee exists that the team won’t flip Udrih to further its efforts to dodge the tax, tweets Ethan Skolnick of the Miami Herald.
Chalmers first became a trade candidate in June, when Ramona Shelburne and Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com reported that the Heat were shopping him and Andersen to try to clear room for a new deal with Dwyane Wade. Team president Pat Riley denied that, ESPN’s Zach Lowe heard in July that Chalmers and Andersen could be had “for nothing” in return, which speaks to the idea that the Heat wanted their salaries off the books. Miami had apparently backed away, at least temporarily, from the idea of a Chalmers trade by late August, but at that point they wouldn’t rule out a deal as soon as October, as Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reported.
The Grizzlies have to renounce cap holds for unsigned free agents from years past who didn’t return to the NBA, notes former Nets executive Bobby Marks (All Twitter links). The cap holds they’re renouncing are the ones for Gilbert Arenas, Leon Powe, Stephen Hunter and Marcus D. Williams, according to Chris Herrington of The Commercial Appeal (Twitter link). That’s because those cap holds technically put the Grizzlies over the tax line, which would mean they could only take in 125% plus $100K of what they sent out — not enough to accommodate this deal, as Marks explains. Renouncing the cap holds would up that limit to 150% plus $100K, which allows the trade to take place, Marks notes.
Which team do you think is getting the better end of this deal? Leave a comment to let us know.
Pelicans Sign Jimmer Fredette
12:20pm: It’s a non-guaranteed contract, according to Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com (Twitter link).
TUESDAY, 11:39am: The signing is official, the Pelicans announced via press release, adding that they indeed received league approval for a 16th roster spot.
2:39pm: The team has submitted its application for a hardship provision, Reid writes in a full story. Coach Alvin Gentry said uncertainty remains until the league grants approval for the 16th roster spot, adding that the Pelicans hold Fredette in high regard, but Reid hears from sources who confirm that the Pelicans will indeed sign Fredette, pending NBA approval, which could come as early as Tuesday.
11:43am: The team is in the process of applying for the hardship provision, as John Reid of The Times Picayune hears (Twitter link), so it would appear the signing has still yet to occur.
MONDAY, 10:23am: The Pelicans are signing Jimmer Fredette using the hardship provision for a 16th roster spot, reports Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). The team hasn’t made an announcement, but Charania indicates the move has already taken place. The former college star and 10th overall pick had started the season in the D-League with the Knicks affiliate shortly after the Spurs released him from their training camp roster last month. New Orleans, the team for which Fredette played last year, has been dealing with a rash of injuries for several weeks, and Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports reported Friday that Kendrick Perkins is expected to miss the next three months.
Fredette, who made his reputation at BYU as a dead-eye shooter from behind the arc, made just 18.8% of his 3-point attempts for the Pelicans last season, and he didn’t impress during the small sample size of San Antonio’s preseason, going 2 for 10 from the floor and 0 for 3 from 3-point range. Still, New Orleans is in need of healthy players, with Perkins joining Norris Cole, Tyreke Evans and Quincy Pondexter among those currently shelved with long-term injuries. Omer Asik is questionable for Tuesday’s game. Teams need four players who are expected to miss at least two weeks to qualify for the extra roster spot via hardship, so New Orleans fits the bill.
The Pelicans are set to become the second team to use a hardship provision this season. The Sixers last week signed Phil Pressey to become their 16th man. It’s temporary relief, as both the Pelicans and Sixers would have to apply for another hardship provision after 10 days. If the league denies them, the teams would have to cut back to 15 men, though they could elect to keep Fredette and Pressey and offload other players instead. It’s unclear if Fredette is receiving any guaranteed money on his deal.
Fredette is also joining Pressey as the second D-League call-up of the season. New York’s D-League team picked Fredette second overall in the D-League draft on November 1st, after the Jazz affiliate took Jeff Ayres. Fredette, the once-heralded prospect, said recently that he hadn’t heard from Knicks team president Phil Jackson or coach Derek Fisher about joining New York’s NBA roster, which includes an open spot.
Do you think Fredette will stick with the Pelicans for this season, or will he be gone as soon as the team returns to health? Leave a comment to tell us.
Rockets Waive Chuck Hayes
7:30pm: The move is official, the team announced (Twitter link).
5:02pm: Hayes’ agent Calvin Andrews confirmed the move to Mark Berman of Fox 26 (Twitter link).
4:43pm: The Rockets are waiving Chuck Hayes, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). The team has yet to make an announcement, though Wojnarowski indicates that it has already taken place. Hayes’ time with Houston was expected to be short, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle tweets, as he was filling in while the team had some injuries. Feigen also tweets that power forward Terrence Jones will likely return soon from an injury.
The deal the Rockets signed with Hayes last weekend covered one year at the prorated minimum salary and was non-guaranteed. Hayes was reportedly going to sign with the Rockets over the summer, but a deal fell through in late August. He received assistant coaching interest from several teams, including the Rockets, but wanted to continue his playing career.
Hayes agreed to a one-year deal with the Clippers, but lost a training camp battle with Luc Mbah a Moute for their final roster spot. The 32-year-old began his NBA career with the Rockets in 2005/06 and spent six seasons in Houston. He played last season in Toronto, averaging 1.7 points and 1.8 rebounds in 29 games.
Henry Walker Signs Overseas Deal
Five-year NBA veteran Henry Walker has signed with Cedevita Zagreb of the Croatian League, international journalist David Pick reports (Twitter link). The deal covers the 2015/16 campaign, and the contract does include an NBA out clause, Pick notes.
Walker, 28, appeared in 24 games with the Heat last season, averaging 7.3 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in 26.2 minutes per contest. His career numbers are 6.0 PPG and 2.2 RPG to accompany a slash line of .446/.369/.760. The swingman had joined Miami on a pair of 10-day contracts that led to a deal for the rest of the 2014/15 season, with a non-guaranteed salary for the 2015/16 campaign included in that pact. Miami released him back in July, and it was reported that the Blazers had interest in Walker, but no NBA deal materialized for the player.
The small forward had agreed to a deal to join the fledgling Amerileague back in October, but that was before the league’s CEO, Cerruti Brown, was outed for using a fictitious name and was revealed to be Glendon Alexander, a former McDonald’s All-American with multiple fraud convictions.
Mavs Sign Rick Carlisle To Extension
4:55pm: The extension is official, the Mavericks announced via press release. “We are excited to retain Coach Carlisle in the Mavericks family,” Cuban said. “He is a championship-caliber coach that has made this organization better on and off the court.”
The coach was equally excited about remaining with Dallas. “Mark Cuban, Donnie Nelson and Dirk Nowitzki are the reason an extension like this is possible,” Carlisle said. “I have the best owner and general manager in sports, and one of the greatest players in NBA history to thank for this opportunity. There is much work to be done as we move forward.”
3:59pm: The Mavericks and head coach Rick Carlisle have reached an agreement on a five-year, $35MM contract extension, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (Twitter links). Carlisle will finish out his current deal covering both this season as well as 2016/17, which is a team option, and his extension will run through the 2021/22 campaign, Stein notes. Stein first reported that the two sides were close to reaching an agreement last month.
Carlisle signed a four-year deal before the 2012/13 season, and team owner Mark Cuban had said a few weeks ago that he and Carlisle shared interest in continuing their partnership for the long term. Mavs president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson also said this past spring that Carlisle could remain with Dallas as long as he wished.
The 56-year-old is the president of the NBA Coaches Association and is widely respected around the league. Carlisle led the Mavs to the NBA title in 2011 and has been with the franchise since May 2008, making him the third longest-tenured head coach in the NBA. He won Coach of the Year honors for the Pistons back in 2002, which was his first season as an NBA head coach. Carlisle led Detroit to back-to-back 50-win seasons before beginning a four-year tenure with the Pacers. He’s 619-431 over 13 full seasons as an NBA head coach, and he owns a 57-58 postseason record. For Dallas, he’s gone 338-220 in the regular season and 27-26 in the playoffs.