Nuggets Re-Sign Papanikolaou, Waive Green
11:42am: The moves are official, the team announced via press release.
10:10am: The Nuggets are waiving Erick Green to clear the way for the return of Kostas Papanikolaou, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports reports (Twitter link). Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post confirms the team is indeed expected to re-sign Papanikolaou, whom Denver cut before the season (Twitter link). The Nuggets are thin in the frontcourt with injuries to Wilson Chandler, Jusuf Nurkic, Joffrey Lauvergne and Nikola Jokic, as Wojnarowski and Dempsey point out (Twitter link), so Papanikolaou, a 6’8″ combo forward, can shore up that part of the team. Green, a point guard, was on a deal partially guaranteed for $100K, so the Nuggets will owe him that amount if he clears waivers.
It’s possible that Lauvergne and Jokic will play tonight, according to Dempsey (Twitter link), so the Nuggets don’t qualify for a hardship provision of a 16th roster spot, which would require them to have four players who are expected to be sidelined for at least two weeks. Thus, Denver, which has been carrying the maximum 15 players, has to drop a player in order to add one.
Papanikolaou, a 25-year-old native of Greece, averaged 4.2 points and 2.7 rebounds in 18.5 minutes per game across 43 appearances with the Rockets last season, his first in the NBA. He didn’t live up to his contract, worth more than $9MM over two years, and they traded him to the Nuggets in the Ty Lawson deal. Denver released Papanikolaou before his nearly $4.798MM salary for this season would have become guaranteed, and that was no surprise after he averaged just 1.8 points per game for the Greek national team at this summer’s Eurobasket tournament.
It’s a quick turn of fortunes for Green, whom the Nuggets kept instead of Nick Johnson when they had to trim their roster at the end of the preseason. Johnson, another player who came to Denver in the Lawson trade, had $1.825MM worth of guaranteed salary remaining over two seasons on his contract. Still, Green, the 46th pick in the 2013 draft, had yet to score in only about seven minutes of action so far this season.
Do you think the Nuggets are making a wise move? Leave a comment to let us know.
Sixers Sign Phil Pressey
6:22pm: The signing is official, the Sixers announced in a press release.
1:31pm: The Sixers will sign point guard Phil Pressey using a hardship provision for a 16th roster spot, a source tells Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News (Twitter link). Coach Brett Brown expressed a preference for the team to add a point guard as he spoke with reporters today, notes Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Big man Furkan Aldemir was reportedly a likely addition, but he’s close to signing a deal to play in Turkey. The Sixers qualify to petition the league for the right to add a 16th player, one more than the regular season limit, because Joel Embiid, Carl Landry, Kendall Marshall and Tony Wroten are all expected to miss at least the next two weeks. Robert Covington, who aggravated a sprained right MCL in practice Tuesday, will also likely miss the next two weeks, Pompey wrote today in a separate piece.
Pressey, 24, had just joined the roster of the Idaho Stampede, the the Jazz’s D-League team, after Utah had designated him as an affiliate player. Thus, Pressey is poised to become the first D-League call-up of the year, notes Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor (on Twitter). The Jazz briefly had him on their NBA roster after snagging him off waivers from the Trail Blazers, for whom he played in training camp. Pressey lost a training camp battle for the third point guard job in Portland to Tim Frazier, a former Sixers point guard.
The Celtics, who released Pressey this summer, remain the only NBA team for which he’s ever seen regular season action. He impressed as a rookie in 2013/14, posting a 3.2-to-1.2 assists-to-turnovers ratio in 15.1 minutes per game for Boston.
Hardship provisions had been rare before last season, when the league granted them to a handful of injury-hit teams. The Sixers will have a 10-day window to keep a 16-man roster before they must reapply to the NBA. They can keep Pressey if they wish once their other players return to health and the extra roster spot is no longer available to them, but they would have to offload someone else to do it. The Sixers nonetheless have a wealth of cap flexibility, with only 10 fully guaranteed deals among the 15 players already on the roster. The team is also about $4MM below the league’s $63MM minimum team salary.
Do you think Pressey is the right pickup for the Sixers? Leave a comment to let us know.
Raptors Ink Terrence Ross To Three-Year Extension
The Raptors and swingman Terrence Ross have reached an extension deal for three years and nearly $33MM, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports tweets. It comes closer to $10.5MM than $11MM, according to Sportsnet’s Michael Grange (on Twitter). In any case, Sam Amick of USA Today confirms the agreement (Twitter link) and the team’s media relations department later tweeted the extension was formally signed.
Raptors GM Masai Ujiri believes Ross is developing into a core player, Wojnarowski adds in a subsequent post. He started 61 games last year, averaging 9.8 points, and had a 21-point game against the Celtics on Friday.
Ross is currently serving as a backup to All-Star DeMar DeRozan and DeMarre Carroll. Ross is the second Raptors player to sign a rookie extension before the deadline, Wojnarowski notes, joining center Jonas Valanciunas, who signed a four-year, $64MM extension during the offseason.
The Raptors made a business decision to extend Ross and Valanciunas because they would have had to spend as much or more in summer to retain them, Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports tweets.
Ross, the eighth overall pick in the 2012 draft, said this weekend that it would be “an honor” to receive an extension. The Raptors planned in July to pursue the idea, and they began talks over the summer, as Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun reported.
Projecting that Ross’ salary for 2016/17 will be in the range of $10.5MM, Toronto now has more than $70MM in salary committed against a projected $89MM cap, though some executives and agents reportedly think the cap will go up to $95MM.
Is this deal better for the Raptors, better for Ross, or did they arrive at a fair number for both sides? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.
Blazers, Meyers Leonard Fail To Reach Extension
The Trail Blazers and center Meyers Leonard have failed to reach an extension agreement, Jason Quick of CSNNW.com tweets. Leonard can become a restricted free agent in July. Leonard hopes to pump up his value with a strong season, Quick adds in a separate tweet. “I’m betting on myself,” he told Quick.
That appears to be a sound strategy, considering that several teams have been quietly rooting for Leonard to enter the free agent market, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Leonard’s salary for this season is $3,075,880. The team has until the end of June to extend the qualifying offer of $4,210,880 that would make Leonard a restricted free agent.
Neil Olshey, the Blazers’ president of basketball operations, delayed the negotiation process because he wanted to avoid drawn-out negotiations with Leonard’s agent Aaron Mintz, Quick reported in late October. The Blazers wanted to preserve cap space for next summer by putting off the extension, Quick pointed out, because the first year of his salary would have counted against the cap if they had signed him before the deadline.
Leonard is averaging 7.0 points and 4.0 rebounds through the team’s first three games after averaging 5.9 points and 4.5 rebounds during his third NBA season.
Sixers Decide Against Extension For Tony Wroten
The Sixers will not give fourth-year combo guard Tony Wroten an extension prior to the midnight deadline on Monday night, a source told Derek Bodner of Phillymag.com (Twitter link). That reiterates what Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported over the weekend.
The Sixers have until June 30th to extend their qualifying offer of approximately $3.2MM to Wroten, which would make him a restricted free agent in July. He is making $2,179,353 this season. By deciding against an extension for Wroten, the Sixers still have just $24.5MM in guaranteed salary commitments for the 2016/17 season.
Hornets Opt In With Zeller, But Not With Hairston
4:31pm: The team isn’t planning to pick up Hairston’s option barring an 11th-hour change of heart, a league source told Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (Twitter link). If so, the Hornets couldn’t re-sign Hairston next summer for more than the value of his option.
3:16pm: The Hornets have exercised their 2016/17 rookie scale team option on Cody Zeller, the team announced (on Twitter). The team has yet to announce its intentions regarding P.J. Hairston, who also has a pending rookie scale team option, seemingly a signal that Charlotte will decline that option. The Hornets face a deadline of 11pm Central tonight to opt in with Hairston. Zeller’s option is worth more than $5.318MM, while Hairston’s is in excess of $1.253MM.
“We are excited to keep Cody Zeller as a part of our core for another season,” Cho said as part of a press release from the team. “We have been very pleased with Cody’s development on both ends of the floor and look forward to him continuing to expand his game as a member of our roster.”
Zeller, the fourth overall pick in the 2013 draft, started about half the season for Charlotte last year, though his 7.6 points and 5.8 rebounds in 24.0 minutes per game from 2014/15 hardly justify his draft position. The 23-year-old’s scoring is off but his rebounding is up so far this season. He’s come off the bench in all three of Charlotte’s regular season games.
Hairston was the 26th overall pick in 2014, but unlike the more highly drafted Zeller, he’s started all three of Charlotte’s games this season, in part because of the absence of the injured Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. The 22-year-old Hairston has put up only 4.3 points in 19.3 minutes per game so far this year, a slight uptick from the 15.3 minutes per game he averaged as a rookie last season.
The addition of Zeller’s option gives the Hornets only about $39MM in salary commitments for 2016/17, not counting the team’s three-year, $21MM extension with Jeremy Lamb. Agents and executives around the league reportedly believe the salary cap will go up to $95MM this summer. Charlotte’s cap figure for next year doesn’t include any money for Al Jefferson and Nicolas Batum, who come off the books at the end of this season, though it would still be somewhat surprising if Charlotte indeed elects not to pick up Hairston’s option. I considered both options as generally likely to be exercised when I took a leaguewide look at options in September.
Hornets Sign Jeremy Lamb To Extension
3:02pm: The deal is official, the team announced via press release.
“We were thrilled with the opportunity to add Jeremy Lamb to our roster this past summer,” Hornets GM Rich Cho said. “Through the preseason and start of our regular season, Jeremy has proven to be the type of player and professional we seek here in Charlotte. We’re excited to have him as a part of the Hornets for years to come.”
MONDAY, 10:30am: The sides have an agreement in principle, tweets Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer.
SUNDAY, 8:39pm: The Hornets and Jeremy Lamb are closing in on a three-year extension for around $21MM, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports.
Lamb is under contract for 2015/16, the final season on his rookie-scale contract, at a salary of $3,034,356. The 23-year-old shooting guard has long been considered to have high upside because of his athleticism and solid outside shooting ability. At 6’5″ and 185 pounds, Lamb also has good size for his position.
Ken Berger of CBS Sports recently touted Lamb’s potential but added that he needs to develop his drive game and get to the paint in order to take full advantage of his opportunity with the Hornets. Much of that has been said about Lamb ever since the Rockets drafted the former UConn player with the 12th pick of the 2012 draft. Houston then traded him to the Thunder as part of the James Harden deal.
Lamb was acquired by the Hornets from the Thunder in June in exchange for Luke Ridnour and a 2016 second-round pick. In 47 appearances last season he averaged 6.3 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 0.9 assists. Lamb was never able to consistently crack the Thunder’s rotation, and while he displayed range, he was also an inconsistent shooter. Thus, it is a risky move for Charlotte. Still, while $21MM may seem like a lot right now, it’s worth keeping in mind the expected rise in salary cap next year.
The league officially projects that the cap will leap to $89MM for 2016/17, though Sean Deveney of The Sporting News recently heard from many agents and executives around the league who believe it will end up at $95MM. Prior to the Lamb deal, Charlotte had been carrying about $34MM in guaranteed salary for 2016/17. Al Jefferson and Nicolas Batum, the team’s two most highly paid players this season, are on expiring contracts.
Pacers Decline 2016/17 Option On Solomon Hill
The Pacers have decided not to exercise their team option for 2016/17 on Solomon Hill, reports Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports. That means he’s set to become an unrestricted free agent this coming summer. Hill, the 23rd overall pick in 2013, was to make about $2.306MM on the option, which covered the fourth season of his rookie scale contract. The deadline for the team to make its call on the option was 11:00pm Central tonight.
Hill was a rock for the Pacers last season, when he was the only member of the team to appear in all 82 games and led an injury-hit Indiana squad in total minutes played, as Scott Agness of VigilantSports noted earlier today. The 24-year-old small forward has only made a brief two-minute cameo so far this season, however.
The decision will make it difficult for the Pacers to re-sign Hill next summer if he manages to find his way back into the rotation this season, since they won’t, by rule, be able to give him any more than the value of the option next year. That impediment would transfer if the Pacers dealt Hill to another team, likely making him a less attractive trade target for potential suitors who find his upside intriguing.
Still, Indiana elected to keep the $2.306MM off the books for 2016/17, a season for which the team already has more than $57MM committed against a salary cap that many agents and executives reportedly think will go up to $95MM. The Pacers are without any other pending rookie scale options or extensions. Hill joins Sergey Karasev, whose option the Nets will reportedly turn down, as the only two players whose teams declined their options among the more than 50 who entered camp with rookie scale options left on their respective contracts. Anthony Bennett had a rookie scale team option on his contract with the Timberwolves, but it disappeared when the Wolves released him in a buyout deal.
Do you think Hill should be part of an NBA rotation? Leave a comment to tell us.
Rockets To Pick Up 2016/17 Option On Clint Capela
SUNDAY, 6:45pm: The Rockets have picked up the option, Feigen reports. The team has yet to make an announcement.
SEPTEMBER 28TH: The Rockets will exercise their team option to keep center Clint Capela on his rookie scale contract for the 2016/17 season, a source tells Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. The formal decision on the option, worth $1,296,240, is due November 2nd, nearly a year before the option season begins.
It’s no shock to see Houston poised to make the move, since most rookie scale team options are picked up, even though Capela saw action in only 12 games and scored a total of 32 points in the regular season this past year, his first in the NBA after the Rockets made him the 25th overall pick in 2014. Capela took a step forward in the postseason, when he saw minutes in place of the injured Donatas Motiejunas. The rookie appeared in more playoff games (17) than regular season contests and averaged 3.4 points in 7.5 minutes per postseason game.
The option will put a slight squeeze on Houston’s cap flexibility for next summer, though the team will only have about $45.6MM in commitments once the option formally goes on the books. That doesn’t count a player option worth more than $23MM for Dwight Howard, Ty Lawson‘s non-guaranteed salary in excess of $13.2MM, or any money for Terrence Jones and Donatas Motiejunas, whose contracts will expire at season’s end if they don’t reach extensions with Houston by that same November 2nd date. The salary cap is projected to hit $89MM next summer.
Do you think Capela will become a productive player for the Rockets? Leave a comment to let us know.
Rockets Sign Chuck Hayes
The Rockets have reached an agreement with veteran Chuck Hayes, the team has announced. Houston, which has been beset by injuries to its frontcourt, had an open roster spot so no other move is necessary. It’ll have to be a minimum-salary deal, though it’s unclear whether it’s a one-year or two-year arrangement. If it’s a one-year deal, the league will pay a portion of Hayes’ salary, limiting the impact against Houston’s hard cap. The Rockets were already about $1.5MM shy of the $88.74MM hard cap that the Montrezl Harrell signing triggered.
Hayes was reportedly going to sign with the Rockets over the summer, but a deal collapsed in late August. He was reportedly offered a coaching position, 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.