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Deal Off Between Heat, Briante Weber

September 11th, 2015 at 1:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

1:30pm: The deal is indeed off, since Weber was unable to pass a physical, Winderman writes in a full story.

SEPTEMBER 11TH, 12:33pm: Weber is “still not ready to be signed” as he continues to recover from the knee injury that he suffered on January 31st, his agent told Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel (Twitter links), so presumably the deal is off. His goal is to join the Heat organization eventually, perhaps via the D-League, the agent also said to Winderman. Weber tore his ACL, MCL and meniscus in his right knee while playing for VCU. Weber is a client of Bill Neff of the Saga Sports agency. The Pacers reportedly had interest in him before he struck a deal with the Heat.

SEPTEMBER 3RD, 7:44pm: The Heat have agreed to sign undrafted free agent combo guard Briante Weber, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports reports (Twitter link). Charania refers to the pact as a training camp deal, which means that it is likely a minimum salary arrangement that includes little or no guaranteed salary, though that is merely my speculation.

The addition of Weber will give the Heat a roster count of 19 players, which is one below the preseason maximum. Weber is unlikely to make the final cut and remain on the regular season roster, though the team could have an eye on the 22-year-old playing for its D-League affiliate in Sioux Falls.

Weber, a defensive specialist, played his collegiate ball for VCU, and averaged 8.1 points, 3.7 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 3.9 steals in 26.5 minutes per contest as a Senior. His career collegiate numbers are 6.8 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 3.0 APG, and 2.9 SPG to go along with a slash line of .426/.274/.769.

Mitchell, Newton To Fill In For Ailing Saunders

September 11th, 2015 at 10:14am CST by Chuck Myron

FRIDAY, 10:14am: Saunders recently experienced complications related to treatments that he’s completed for his cancer, and he’s undergoing tests and treatment at a Minnesota hospital, the team announced via press release, adding that GM Milt Newton will take on an expanded role in the front office while Saunders recovers. The team also confirmed that Mitchell will serve as interim head coach. Wolves CEO Rob Moor says the timetable for the return of Saunders, who is taking what the team calls a leave of absence, is a matter of months, not weeks, tweets Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune.

“First and foremost, my immediate concern is for the Saunders family and the health of Flip,” owner Glen Taylor said in the team’s statement. “Our priority right now is for him to regain his strength so that he can be 100 percent when he returns to his Timberwolves duties. In the interim, I remain confident in the direction of our team. I have known Sam Mitchell for a number of years, back to his playing days in Minnesota. He is a former NBA Head Coach of the Year. I have no doubt he will get the most out of our players and will continue to serve as a great mentor to our young and talented players as interim head coach.”

Newton, also quoted in the release from the team, expressed confidence in Mitchell and said he doesn’t anticipate a change in the team’s basketball philosophy, and Mitchell conveyed similar sentiments in his contribution to the statement and in his comments during today’s press conference, as the Wolves relay via Twitter.

THURSDAY, 3:03pm: The Timberwolves will soon name assistant coach Sam Mitchell as interim head coach while Flip Saunders continues to battle cancer, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Saunders had planned to stay in his dual jobs of head coach and president of basketball operations despite his treatment for Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, but it appears that plan has changed. Hope exists for Saunders to return to the bench at some point this season, Wojnarowski adds (on Twitter).

Saunders, 60, has a career regular season coaching record of 654-592 that he compiled as head man of the Timberwolves, Pistons, and Wizards. His career regular season mark in Minnesota is 427-392, and his Timberwolves teams have gone 17-30 in the postseason.

Mitchell has previous head coaching experience, having spent four plus seasons as coach of the Raptors from 2004/05 through part of the 2008/09 campaign. He won the Coach of the Year award in 2006/07, when the Raptors went 47-35 and won the Atlantic Division. Through 345 regular season games Mitchell has compiled a mark of 156-189, and he owns a lackluster 3-8 postseason mark. He had previously interviewed for the head coaching job with the Wolves, and he is reportedly a favorite of owner Glen Taylor after having spent 10 seasons with the franchise as a player. The 52-year-old’s most important task this season as coach will be to continue developing Minnesota’s wealth of young talent.

Eddie Scarito contributed to this post.

Knicks Ink Wesley Saunders

September 10th, 2015 at 4:10pm CST by Eddie Scarito

SEPTEMBER 10TH, 4:10pm: The Knicks have announced that the signing is official.

JULY 29TH, 8:06am: The partial guarantee will be worth no more than $75K, reports Marc Berman of the New York Post.

JULY 24TH, 8:16pm: The Knicks continue to fill out their roster, and are closing in on an agreement with undrafted free agent Wesley Saunders, league sources tell Shams Charania of RealGM.com (Twitter link). The full contract details are unknown at this juncture, but Charania notes the pact will include a partial guarantee.

New York could be hoping to catch lightning in a bottle for a second time by adding another former Harvard guard to its roster. Jeremy Lin had previously parlayed a successful 35 game run with the Knicks during the 2011/12 campaign into a multiyear deal from the Rockets. The addition of Saunders provides some much needed depth to the Knicks’ backcourt, though he’ll still likely be a longshot to make the regular season roster.

In 30 appearances last season for the Crimson, the 22-year-old averaged 16.6 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 4.3 assists in 34.4 minutes per contest. Saunders’ career numbers at Harvard were 12.6 PPG, 4.1 RPG, and 3.2 APG to go along with a slash line of .481/.402/.755.

The Knicks were one of the teams on the predraft workout docket for Saunders, as he told Zach Links of Hoops Rumors. The Ivy League prospect spoke to Zach about several topics, including what it was like to balance Harvard academics with basketball.

Knicks Sign Darion Atkins

September 10th, 2015 at 4:08pm CST by Eddie Scarito

SEPTEMBER 10TH, 4:08pm: The signing is official, the Knicks have announced.

AUGUST 7TH, 2:40pm: Atkins has signed the deal, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post, though the team has yet to make an official announcement (Twitter link). That’s expected to happen next week, tweets Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com.

JULY 24TH, 5:57pm: The Knicks intend to sign undrafted forward Darion Atkins, Shlomo Sprung of SheridanHoops reports (via Twitter). The length and terms of the agreement are not yet known, but Sprung indicates the contract will include a partial guarantee.

The former Virginia Cavalier made 33 appearances during the 2014/15 campaign, averaging 7.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks. His slash line was .511/.000/.520. Atkins’ career numbers in four NCAA seasons were 4.4 PPG, 3.4 RPG, and 0.8 BPG.

It is certainly a bit surprising to see team president Phil Jackson adding more depth at forward when the roster currently has only four backcourt players signed to deals. Atkins will join a crowded frontcourt in New York, and he’s likely a longshot to stick with the team when the regular season commences. The Knicks already have Kyle O’Quinn, Derrick Williams, Kristaps Porzingis, Louis Amundson, Cleanthony Early, and Lance Thomas available to play power forward, and Carmelo Anthony will likely see some minutes at the four as well.

Nets Sign Dahntay Jones

September 10th, 2015 at 3:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

THURSDAY, 3:00pm: The signing is official, the team announced via a press release.

MONDAY, 12:18pm: The Nets and 11-year veteran Dahntay Jones have agreed to terms on a non-guaranteed deal, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. The Clippers, Kings and Knicks expressed interest in signing the Mark Bartelstein client on the first day of free agency, as Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders reported at that point, but the market for the 34-year-old had seemed to dry up since then.

Jones finished this past season on the Clippers after signing a pair of 10-day contracts. It was his first NBA action in a while, since he hadn’t played in the NBA during the 2013/14 season, and the Jazz waived his non-guaranteed contract shortly before opening night in 2014. His work on the defensive end has helped him to a lengthy NBA career even though he’s only averaged double-digit points per game once, in 2009/10 with the Pacers. Jones put up less than a point per game in 3.7 minutes per contest for the Clippers, but the team apparently thought highly of his contribution to team chemistry.

His pedigree as a former Duke Blue Devil surely endears him to fellow Dukie Billy King, the Nets GM, but Jones nonetheless faces a challenge to make the opening night roster in Brooklyn. The Nets only have 12 fully guaranteed contracts, but five others have partially guaranteed money in their deals with Brooklyn.

Do you think the Nets will keep Jones for the regular season, or will he be a camp casualty? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.

Warriors, Juwan Staten Agree To Deal

September 10th, 2015 at 10:35am CST by Chuck Myron

The Warriors and undrafted West Virginia point guard Juwan Staten have agreed to a one-year deal, agent Colin Bryant tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Staten was with the Kings for summer league. Golden State has been carrying 17 deals, at least 13 of which are fully guaranteed.

Staten, 23, was the 81st-best draft prospect this year in Chad Ford’s ESPN Insider rankings, while Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress had him at No. 98 about a week before the draft. His playing time shrunk this past season as a senior compared to his junior year, when he averaged six more minutes per game. The 5’11” Ohio native put up 14.2 points, 4.6 assists and 2.0 turnovers in 31.3 minutes per contest for the Mountaineers this year.

A sore left knee curtailed Staten’s summer league experience, as he appeared in just one game. The Warriors are short on traditional point guards behind Stephen Curry, with Shaun Livingston and Leandro Barbosa the backups, so Staten will try to make his case for the regular season as a more conventional insurance option. If he doesn’t make it to opening night, the Warriors can retain the D-League rights to him and as many as three other camp cuts.

Do you think Staten can win a place on the Warriors regular season roster? Leave a comment to let us know.

Pelicans Sign Sean Kilpatrick

September 10th, 2015 at 10:08am CST by Eddie Scarito

THURSDAY, 10:08am: The deal is official, the Pelicans announced.

WEDNESDAY, 5:40pm: The Pelicans have signed unrestricted free agent shooting guard Sean Kilpatrick, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reports (Twitter link). The arrangement is a two-year, minimum salary deal that includes a partial guarantee of $50K for the 2015/16 season, Pincus adds. The 25-year-old was also a participant in recent workouts with the Hawks, Spurs and Lakers.

The former Cincinnati Bearcat averaged a strong 18.2 points in 28.7 minutes per game in summer league play for the Bucks this year, but Milwaukee already has 15 players on its roster possessing full guarantees. The path to a regular season roster spot for Kilpatrick would appear to be a bit less muddled with the Pelicans, with the team having 13 players with fully guaranteed pacts on its roster currently.

Kilpatrick appeared in four contests for the Timberwolves while on a 10-day contract during the 2014/15 campaign, averaging 5.5 points in 18.0 minutes per appearance. He spent the bulk of last season in the NBA D-League, playing for the affiliates of the Sixers and Warriors.

Nets Forfeit Draft Rights To Xavier Thames

September 10th, 2015 at 10:05am CST by Chuck Myron

The Nets declined to extend the required tender necessary to keep the draft rights to Xavier Thames, the 59th overall pick from 2014, so he’s free to negotiate a deal with any NBA team, reports Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Brooklyn had until the league’s deadline today to make the former San Diego State shooting guard an offer of at least a non-guaranteed minimum salary for one year.

The move is somewhat surprising, since the Nets have only 18 players, with just 12 who have fully guaranteed contracts, and NBA teams are allowed as many as 20 players for the preseason and 15 for the regular season. Brooklyn seemingly had room to make the required tender, in which case the worst scenario would have seen Thames sign it and fail to win a regular season roster spot, meaning the Nets would have lost his rights when they placed him on waivers. That would have given Brooklyn a chance to see him perform against others in training camp, but it appears that the Nets decided they have already seen enough.

The 24-year-old wasn’t dazzling in summer league this July, averaging 4.0 points in 12.6 minutes per game across eight appearances, with 4 for 13 three-point shooting. Thames shot 37.2% from behind the arc as a senior in college, but his stroke has appeared to desert him since, as he hit on just 28.0% of his three-pointers in 18 regular season games after joining the D-League Fort Wayne Mad Ants last season He went 2 for 10 from long distance in the D-League playoffs and connected on 28.6% of his three-pointers earlier in the season with Sevilla of Spain.

The Raptors originally drafted Thames, but they traded his rights to the Nets that same night in exchange for cash. Brooklyn used cash to acquire three 2014 second-rounders, but with Cory Jefferson off to the Suns, Markel Brown is the only one remaining on the Nets.

Did the Nets make the right call here? Comment to share your thoughts.

Suns Sign Kyle Casey To Camp Deal

September 10th, 2015 at 8:07am CST by Chuck Myron

SEPTEMBER 10TH, 8:07am: The signing has taken place, according to the RealGM transactions log, though the team has made no official announcement.

AUGUST 21ST, 8:31am: The Suns have agreed to sign former Harvard combo forward Kyle Casey to a contract for training camp, reports Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. Casey, who turns 26 in November despite having been out of college ball for only a year, will join former 36th overall pick Terrico White, with whom Phoenix also has a deal for camp, as Shams Charania of RealGM reported Thursday. The Suns have their $2.814MM room exception available, but these are likely minimum-salary arrangements with little or no guaranteed money.

Casey spent the past season playing for Helios Domzale of Slovenia, averaging 12.6 points and 7.2 rebounds in 28.5 minutes per game. That was more playing time than he saw as a senior for Harvard in 2013/14, when he put up 9.7 PPG and 5.6 RPG in 22.0 MPG. At 6’7″, he averaged 1.2 blocks per game as a college senior but fewer than one block per contest in Slovenia last year, and he shot less than 30% from three-point range in both seasons. Casey played for the Nets summer league team in 2014 but didn’t take part in NBA summer league this year.

The additions of White and Casey give Phoenix deals with 15 players, 13 of which are fully guaranteed. The pair stand decent chances to make the regular season roster, depending on the other moves the Suns make between now and opening night, though it wouldn’t be at all surprising to see them end up with Phoenix’s one-to-one D-League affiliate. The Suns brought four players to camp last fall with the understanding that they would play for the D-League Bakersfield Jam if they didn’t stick in the NBA for opening night, as Coro notes.

Who do you think has a better chance to make the regular season roster for the Suns, Kyle Casey or Terrico White? Leave a comment to let us know.

Kings Re-Sign Eric Moreland

September 10th, 2015 at 7:57am CST by Chuck Myron

SEPTEMBER 10TH, 7:57am: The signing has taken place, according to the RealGM transactions log, though the Kings have yet to make an official announcement. In any case, Moreland’s partial guarantee is $200K, according to former Nets executive Bobby Marks (Twitter link).

SEPTEMBER 3RD, 1:51pm: The Kings and Eric Moreland have reached agreement on a new one-year deal that contains a “significant” partial guarantee, sources tell Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Charania reported Sunday that the Pistons were the front-runners for the one-year NBA veteran, with the Lakers and Sacramento also in the running, but it appears the Kings closed the gap to secure the power forward they released in July. They would have had to fully guarantee his salary if they had held on to him at that point. That contract called for him to make the minimum salary, and while it’s unclear how much Sacramento has agreed to give him this time, the Kings have the $2.814MM room exception available to exceed the minimum if necessary.

The Relativity Sports client had an abbreviated first year as a pro, having suffered a labral tear in his left shoulder in December that forced him out for the rest of this past season. He’d only made his way into three games for the Kings, but he showed his value as a rebounder in the D-League, pulling down 12.7 boards in 28.7 minutes per game across seven appearances. Moreland averaged 10.3 RPG in 29.4 MPG in his final college season at Oregon State, but he went undrafted in 2014.

Similarities between Moreland’s playing style and that of Willie Cauley-Stein, whom Sacramento drafted sixth overall this year, apparently helped lead the Kings to waive Moreland earlier this summer, but front office chief Vlade Divac made it clear early last month that the team maintained interest in bringing him back. The Lakers reportedly worked him out shortly thereafter.

Sacramento has 14 fully guaranteed salaries, plus a deal with Vince Hunter that’s reportedly partially guaranteed and a non-guaranteed contract with David Stockton. Marshall Henderson apparently has a camp deal with the team, though it’s unclear what level of guaranteed salary, if any, is involved with that.

Do you think Moreland will make the opening night roster? Leave a comment to tell us.