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Wizards Sign Toure’ Murry

September 9th, 2015 at 10:57pm CST by Eddie Scarito

SEPTEMBER 9TH, 10:57pm: Murry has signed with the Wizards, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reports (on Twitter).

AUGUST 28TH, 4:18pm: The Wizards have agreed to a deal with unrestricted free agent Toure’ Murry, J. Michael of CSNMid-Atlantic reports. The pact is a non-guaranteed training camp arrangement, Michael notes. The addition of the guard will give the Wizards a roster count of 17 players, 15 of whom possess fully guaranteed contracts, making it a longshot for Murry to make the opening night roster.

Murry had inked a one-year, $1MM contract with Utah last offseason, but it was only partially guaranteed, and he saw just one minute of action with the Jazz prior to his January release, much to the dismay of his agent, Bernie Lee. Murry later resurfaced on a pair of 10-day contracts with the Wizards, for whom he totaled six points in 17 minutes.

The Lakers had reportedly brought in Murry as part of a group workout held in Los Angeles earlier this month, though no contract offer came out of that showcase for the 25-year-old.

Wizards To Bring Ish Smith To Camp

September 9th, 2015 at 10:56pm CST by Chuck Myron

SEPTEMBER 9TH, 10:56pm: The signing is official, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reports (via Twitter).

SEPTEMBER 8TH, 11:27am: The Wizards have a non-guaranteed pact with Ish Smith for training camp, reports Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post (Twitter link). Castillo also confirms an earlier report from J. Michael of CSNWashington.com that Washington will bring Toure’ Murry to camp on a non-guaranteed contract, too. Smith and Murry have already put pen to paper, according to Castillo, though the team has yet to make a formal announcement.

Washington also agreed to a non-guaranteed camp deal with undrafted UNC-Asheville center Jaleel Roberts, as Shams Charania reported at that point for RealGM, though Castillo refers to Roberts as a “possibility” for the Wizards (Twitter links). In any case, Smith, Murry and Roberts all seem to face long odds to make Washington’s roster, which includes 15 others who have fully guaranteed contracts.

Smith finished last season with the Sixers, and on a roster painfully short on point guard options, the five-year veteran had the most productive stretch of his career, averaging 12.0 points, 6.1 assists and 2.8 turnovers in 27.1 minutes per game across 25 appearances. He expressed interest at season’s end in a return to Philadelphia, but his unrestricted free agency this summer has been surprisingly quiet, with a lack of reports about any teams in pursuit. It’s possible that he was waiting on the Sixers, whose flurry of activity over Labor Day weekend left them with no more wiggle room for their camp roster, though that’s just my speculation.

The Raymond Brothers client signed a fully guaranteed contract for the minimum salary with the Rockets last summer, but Houston waived him before the start of the regular season. The Thunder added him as their 16th man via the hardship provision in November and kept him over Sebastian Telfair when they trimmed back down to 15 players. Oklahoma City nonetheless traded him to the Pelicans at the deadline, and New Orleans immediately released him. That’s when the Sixers jumped into the picture, claiming him off waivers two days later.

Do you think Ish Smith deserves to stick with the Wizards? If so, which of their 15 fully guaranteed contracts should go? Leave a comment to tell us.

Grizzlies, Lazeric Jones Agree To Camp Deal

September 9th, 2015 at 10:55pm CST by Chuck Myron

SEPTEMBER 9TH, 10:55pm: No official announcement has been made by Memphis, but Jones has indeed signed a non-guaranteed minimum salary contract with the team, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets.

SEPTEMBER 7TH, 2:30pm: The Grizzlies have agreed to sign former UCLA point guard Lazeric Jones to a non-guaranteed deal, a source tells Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). The 25-year-old was with the Pelicans for summer league in July, but he’s chiefly played out his pro career overseas so far, with stops in Israel, Greece and Hungary.

Only one roster spot would appear to be up for grabs in Memphis, which has 14 fully guaranteed deals, though the Grizzlies have carried fewer than 15 players on opening night each of the last three seasons, as I noted earlier today. Jones would be competing against JaMychal Green, who has a $150K partial guarantee, and fellow non-guaranteed camp signee Michael Holyfield for a regular season roster spot if the Grizzlies decide to buck their recent trend. It’s more likely that Memphis would cut him at the end of the preseason and retain his D-League rights for its one-to-one affiliate, though that’s just my speculation.

Jones, who went undrafted in 2012, put up 13.6 points, 4.1 assists and 2.6 turnovers in 33.5 minutes per game in his final collegiate season with the Bruins in 2011/12. He posted 7.8 PPG, 1.6 APG and 1.2 TOPG in 16.3 MPG across five summer league appearances this year. The 6’0″ Chicago native spent this past season in Hungary, where he posted 12.8 PPG, 4.1 APG and 2.5 TOPG in 26.6 MPG for Szolnoki Olaj.\

Do you think Jones stands a realistic chance to make the regular season roster for the Grizzlies? Leave a comment to let us know.

Kings Sign Vince Hunter

September 9th, 2015 at 10:53pm CST by Eddie Scarito

SEPTEMBER 9TH, 10:53pm: Hunter has signed with the Kings, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets. The pact is a one-year, minimum salary arrangement that includes a partial guarantee of $35K, Pincus notes. No official announcement has been made by the team.

AUGUST 13TH, 3:53pm: The Kings have reached a contract agreement with undrafted forward Vince Hunter, Shams Charania of RealGM reports (Twitter link). The length and terms of the pact are not yet known, but Charania notes that the deal includes a partial guarantee. Hunter was ranked as the No. 56 overall prospect in the 2015 NBA Draft according to Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress, while ESPN’s Chad Ford slotted him at 42nd overall.

The addition of Hunter will bring Sacramento’s roster count to 16 players, 14 of whom possess fully guaranteed contracts, making Hunter a longshot to make the opening night roster. The Kings may have designs on the 6’8″ forward spending the 2015/16 season with their D-League affiliate in Reno, though that is merely my speculation. Hunter is an excellent athlete who is a solid rebounder, and he is an exciting finisher around the rim, but his lack of a reliable perimeter game will hurt his chances to earn a regular spot in the NBA.

The 21-year old made 33 appearances for UTEP during the 2014/15 campaign, averaging 14.9 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in 28.5 minutes per contest, and he owned a slash line of .526/.400/.602. Hunter played for the Sixers’ squad in the Las Vegas Summer League, logging averages of 7.0 PPG and 5.5 RPG in four appearances.

Sixers Sign Kendall Marshall

September 9th, 2015 at 5:48pm CST by Eddie Scarito

SEPTEMBER 9TH, 5:48pm: The signing is official, the team announced in a press release.

SEPTEMBER 4TH, 5:34pm: The Sixers are set to sign unrestricted free agent point guard Kendall Marshall, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports reports. The deal is said to be a multiyear arrangement, and Marshall’s salary for the 2015/16 campaign will be fully guaranteed, Wojnarowski adds. Philadelphia currently has a roster count of 19 players, though only 12 possess fully guaranteed deals.

The addition of Marshall comes as little surprise, with Michael Kaskey-Blomain of ESPN’s TrueHoop Network first reporting Philly’s interest in the point guard, and Jake Fischer of SI Now first reported that Marshall had been working out with the Sixers at their practice facility over the past few days. Marshall is still recovering from a torn ACL, and he is expected to be ready to return to action sometime during the first half of the upcoming season, league sources have informed the Yahoo scribe.

Marshall’s 2014/15 campaign was cut short when he tore his right ACL in January while playing for the Bucks, who had made the unusual move of guaranteeing his non-guaranteed salary before the season, more than two months before they needed to make a decision on the matter. The 24-year-old made 28 appearances for Milwaukee prior to his injury, and he averaged 4.2 points, 1.0 rebound, and 3.1 assists in 14.9 minutes per contest. His career numbers through parts of three NBA seasons are 5.3 PPG, 1.7 RPG, and 5.4 APG to go along with a slash line of .405/.377/.593.

Magic Close To Deal With Greg Stiemsma

September 9th, 2015 at 4:54pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Magic are close to reaching an agreement with veteran center Greg Stiemsma, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN reports (on Twitter). The length and terms of the proposed pact are unknown, though it is likely a minimum salary training camp deal, and Wolfson does note that it would be a non-guaranteed contract.

Stiemsma, 29, appeared in 17 contests for the Raptors in 2014/15, averaging 0.8 points, 0.9 rebounds, and 0.2 assists in 3.9 minutes per contest. His career numbers through 203 games are 3.2 PPG, 3.3 RPG, and 1.1 BPG to accompany a slash line of .509/.000/.705.

Orlando currently has a roster count of 17 players, including 13 with fully guaranteed pacts. The Magic could certainly benefit from adding some depth at the pivot, with Dewayne Dedmon and Jason Smith being the primary backups to starter Nikola Vucevic.

Lakers Sign Marcelo Huertas

September 9th, 2015 at 1:29pm CST by Chuck Myron

SEPTEMBER 9TH, 1:29pm: The deal is official, the Lakers announced.

AUGUST 31ST, 3:54pm: The Lakers and Brazilian point guard Marcelo Huertas have come to terms on a one-year deal, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (on Twitter). Ismail Senol of the Turkish outlet NTV SPOR had reported earlier today that Huertas would sign with a Western Conference team (Twitter link; translation via Sportando’s Orazio Cauchi). Huertas had reportedly agreed to a deal with Galatasaray of Turkey, but he asked for more time to scan NBA interest, as Cauchi relays via Senol.

Wojnarowski first reported four months ago that Huertas was planning to sign with an NBA team this year and that he was expected to draw aggressive pursuit from teams seeking a backup. The 6’3″ Huertas, who turned 32 in May, seemed to change his mind shortly thereafter, but agent Gerard Darnes said a month ago that Huertas was still focused on landing an NBA deal and that Octagon colleague Alex Saratsis continued to negotiate toward that end on his behalf.

Huertas went undrafted back in 2005 and has played each season since in Spain, save for a year in Italy. He’s been a mainstay for FC Barcelona the past four seasons, and he averaged 7.7 points, 4.3 assists and 1.8 turnovers in 21.1 minutes per game in 2014/15.

It’s unclear whether the Lakers are exceeding the rookie minimum of $525,093 for Huertas, though that’s often required to convince European players to sign stateside. If that’s the case, the Lakers have their $2.814MM to dip into. They only have 12 fully guaranteed contracts, as our roster count shows, so there’s plenty of roster flexibility and a decent chance for Huertas to stick for opening night if he isn’t the 13th Laker with a guaranteed deal.

The Lakers are taking some risks this offseason. What do you think of their approach? Leave a comment to tell us.

Cavs Sign Sasha Kaun

September 9th, 2015 at 10:05am CST by Chuck Myron

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10:05am: Windhorst pegs the total value at $2.6MM (Twitter link).

9:42am: The two-year package is worth $2.5MM total, sources tell Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

SEPTEMBER 9TH, 9:35am: The deal is official, the team announced. Kaun will make $1.2MM this season, as Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer wrote recently.

7:38pm: Chris Haynes of Cleveland.com hears that the second year is not a player option, in contrast to what sources told Windhorst (Twitter link).

6:40pm: The contract gives Kaun a player option for the second year, tweets Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com.

AUGUST 22ND, 4:44pm: Kaun and the Cavs have reached an agreement on a two-year pact, international journalist David Pick reports (via Twitter).

AUGUST 17TH, 4:09pm: Draft-and-stash center Sasha Kaun appears on his way to the Cavaliers for this season, as a source tells Chris Haynes of Cleveland.com that “it’s only a matter of time” before a deal is done. Kaun and the Cavs had reportedly engaged in talks last month, and GM David Griffin confirmed the team’s interest in bringing the big man aboard for this coming season. Griffin pointed to finances as a concern, and while every dollar the Cavs spend this season will likely entail multiple additional dollars going out in tax penalties, Kaun downplayed any financial hurdles. Still, no deal is imminent, and Kaun, who’s in Cleveland this week to house hunt, among other pursuits, is scheduled to leave town Tuesday, and the sides probably won’t have an agreement in place by then, Haynes writes.

The Cavs can offer no more than the $1.276MM sliver of the mid-level exception they have left over after signing Mo Williams to his deal earlier this summer, and that’s much less than the $2.9MM he had been making for Russia’s CSKA Moscow. Using the balance of that exception on Kaun would also make it virtually impossible for Cleveland to offer a market-rate deal to Cedi Osman, whom the Cavs drafted No. 31 overall this year.

The 30-year-old Kaun, who played collegiately at Kansas, was the 56th overall pick in 2008. The Cavs have seemingly been giving thought to bringing him aboard for the season ahead since at least this past March. Cleveland reportedly had talks with the Nets about trading Kaun’s rights to Brooklyn, but it looks like the Cavs won’t be dealing him away. Cleveland has plenty of room on its roster, as Sunday’s apparent deal with Jared Cunningham gives the team contracts or verbal agreements with only 12 players. Re-signing Tristan Thompson remains the focus for the Cavs, Haynes notes.

Do you think Kaun is the right fit for one of the final roster spots on the Cavs? Leave a comment to tell us.

Cavaliers To Sign D.J. Stephens

September 8th, 2015 at 10:44am CST by Zachary Links

High-flying swingman D.J. Stephens has agreed to a training camp deal with the Cavaliers, a league source tells Hoops Rumors. Stephens appeared in three contests for the Bucks while on a 10-day contract in 2013/14 and he’ll now look to get back to NBA action with Cleveland in 2015/16.

Last fall, Stephens inked a non-guaranteed minimum-salary camp deal with the Pelicans and was among the team’s final cuts about a week before Halloween. In December, the Keith Kreiter client signed on with Russia’s Zenit St. Petersburg, where he enjoyed a starting role. In 31 games (28 starts) between the VTB United League and Eurocup play, the 24-year-old averaged 7.0 points and 5.1 rebounds while shooting 57.7% from the floor in 22.7 minutes per game. The defensive specialist also tallied 21 steals and 26 blocks over the course of 31 appearances last year.

Stephens went undrafted out of the University of Memphis in 2013, even though his 46-inch vertical leap at the draft combine set an all-time record that still stands, as DraftExpress shows. He never averaged double figures in points during his four years at Memphis, but he used his athleticism on the other end of the floor, winning the Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year award in his senior season. In 2013/14, the strong defender played in 25 combined games with Ilisiakos BC of Greece and Anadolu Efes of Turkey and averaged 8.4 PPG and 7.0 RPG in 23.8 MPG.

The Cavaliers have been carrying 13 fully guaranteed deals, assuming that the team’s pact with draft-and-stash prospect Sasha Kaun is one of them. They also reportedly have a non-guaranteed deal with Jared Cunningham, a camp arrangement with Jerrelle Benimon, and they’re expected to bring Quinn Cook to camp, too. The unresolved restricted free agency of Tristan Thompson casts a broad shadow on the Cavs roster, of course.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Cavs Expected To Bring Quinn Cook To Camp

September 7th, 2015 at 4:23pm CST by Chuck Myron

SEPTEMBER 7TH, 4:23pm: The Cavs are expected to sign Cook for camp, but they’ve yet to finalize a deal, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders.

11:35am: Cook hasn’t agreed to any deal yet, though the idea of joining the Cavs isn’t off the table, according to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders (Twitter links). Cleveland has made an offer, but he’s considering it along with offers from others, Kyler also tweets.

AUGUST 18TH, 10:03am: The Cavaliers have agreed to sign undrafted point guard Quinn Cook to a non-guaranteed deal for training camp, reports Chris Haynes of Cleveland.com. He joins Jared Cunningham among those who’ll reportedly join the Cavs for camp, and Cleveland is also apparently likely to sign draft-and-stash center Sasha Kaun. The formal addition of all three would bring the Cavs roster to 14 players, not including Tristan Thompson and J.R. Smith, who linger in free agency.

Cook was a mainstay over four years at Duke and flourished as a senior, averaging 15.3 points, 2.6 assists and 1.2 turnovers in 35.8 minutes per game. He played off the ball this past season next to Tyus Jones, who was this year’s 24th overall pick even though he saw fewer minutes per contest than the undrafted Cook. The seemingly superior upside of Jones, who was a freshman in 2014/15, carries appeal, though Cook is still only 22 years old.

The Jim Tanner client split summer league between the Thunder and the Cavs, averaging 7.9 PPG, 3.3 APG and 1.8 TOPG in 18.5 MPG across nine appearances overall. Cook told Zach Links of Hoops Rumors prior to the draft that he was working to become a better finisher, defender, and shooter off the dribble.