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Thunder Pick Up 2015/16 Options On Four

October 22nd, 2014 at 7:31pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Thunder have picked up the third-year team options for Steven Adams and Andre Roberson, as well as the fourth-year options for Perry Jones III and Jeremy Lamb, the team has announced. These moves are not unexpected as all of the players figure to be a big part of Oklahoma City’s rotation going forward.

Lamb has the largest contract of the group, and is scheduled to make $3,034,356, while Adams will make $2,279,040, Jones will earn $2,038,206, and Roberson will rake in $1,210,800. These moves will increase Oklahoma City’s cap commitment for the 2015/16 campaign to approximately $63.6MM. That figure doesn’t include Reggie Jackson, who can become a restricted free agent next summer and is expected to receive significant interest from other teams.

During his rookie season with Oklahoma City after being selected 12th overall in the 2013 NBA draft, Adams appeared in 81 games and averaged 3.3 PPG and 4.1 RPG while logging 14.8 minutes per night. His slash line was .503/.000/.581. Roberson was originally drafted by the Wolves with the No. 26 pick in the 2013 draft, and was subsequently traded to the Thunder. He appeared in 40 contests last season, including 16 starts, and he averaged 1.9 PPG and 2.4 RPG. Roberson figures to see increased playing time to start the season with Kevin Durant expected to miss a minimum of six-to-eight weeks after breaking his foot.

In his two seasons in the NBA, Jones has appeared in 100 games and averaged 3.0 points and 1.8 rebounds in 10.4 minutes per game. He was originally drafted 28th overall back in 2012 by the Thunder. Lamb has also been with the team for two seasons after being selected by the Rockets back in 2012. He was included in the James Harden trade, but hasn’t quite developed into the scoring threat off the bench that Oklahoma City envisioned. Lamb’s career numbers are 7.3 PPG, 2.0 RPG, and 1.2 APG.

Grizzlies Waive Earl Clark, Hassan Whiteside

October 22nd, 2014 at 4:15pm CST by Chuck Myron

4:15pm: Both players have been officially waived, the team announced in a press release.

2:08pm: The Grizzlies have waived Earl Clark and Hassan Whiteside, according to the RealGM transactions log, though the team has yet to make a formal announcement. They possessed two of the team’s four remaining non-guaranteed contracts, and their subtraction leaves Memphis at 16 players, one more than the team can carry on opening night.

Clark was a hot commodity a year ago, when he signed a two-year, $8.5MM deal with the Cavs. However, only the first season was guaranteed, and the forward couldn’t duplicate what had been a career year with the Lakers in 2012/13. The Cavs sent him to the Sixers, who quickly cut him loose, and aside from a pair of 10-day contracts with the Knicks, he spent the second half of last season out of the league. The Spurs auditioned him before he inked with the Grizzlies, but it seems he didn’t make enough of an impression on the Memphis brass to stick into the regular season.

Whiteside was also attempting to return to the NBA, though the former 33rd overall pick’s regular season experience consists of just 19 games over two seasons with the Kings from 2010-12. He was with the Raptors in summer league this year and spent time playing in Lebanon last season.

Patrick Christopher and Kalin Lucas remain as the only players without full guarantees on the Memphis roster, and ostensibly one, if not both, will go by Monday’s deadline for teams to cut down to no more than 15 players. The Grizzlies have only carried 13 players on opening night the last two years.

League Rejects Lottery Reform

October 22nd, 2014 at 10:03am CST by Chuck Myron

The NBA Board of Governors has voted against changing the draft lottery, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Only 17 teams voted to approve reform, short of the 23 needed for it to pass, according to Grantland’s Zach Lowe (Twitter links). The Sixers, Suns, Thunder, Pelicans, Pistons, Heat, Bucks, Spurs, Jazz, Wizards, Hawks, Hornets and Bulls were the “no” votes, Wojnarowski tweets. The news is quite a shock, even though momentum seemed to be gathering to block the change, as most reports indicated that reform was likely to pass easily. Lowe heard from ownership sources as recently as 36 hours ago who expected only one or two teams to vote against the proposal (Twitter link), and the NBA was confident as of 24 hours ago the measure would pass, according to Wojnarowski (on Twitter).

Doubt crept in even for at least one team that voted for the changes that would have given the three teams with the poorest records longer odds at the top pick each year, as the Raptors had mixed feelings, according to Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun (Twitter link). An owner told Wojnarowski that concern about unintended consequences influenced the thinking of several teams, who want to buy time to study the idea further (Twitter link). That echoes a pair of tweets from Lowe, who wouldn’t be surprised if the Board of Governors revisted lottery reform later this season.

The impetus for change came from leaguewide distaste for the drastic rebuilding effort of the Sixers, who’ve stripped their roster of virtually all of its serviceable veterans and whose losing threatens to drive paying customers away in one of the NBA’s large East Coast markets. Such a downturn in interest would affect revenue sharing leaguewide, though many fans have shown their support for the team’s plan to try for greater success later at the cost of middling success in the near term. The Sixers showed opposition to changes from the start, but Thunder GM Sam Presti this week campaigned to stress to league decision-makers the effects that lottery reform would have on small-market franchises. He argued that reducing the odds that inferior teams have of grabbing the No. 1 overall pick would serve as a further disadvantage to small-market teams that already have a handicap in free agency and trades, as Wojnarowski explained Tuesday.

The primary proposal the Board of Governors considered would have given 12% chances at the top pick to each of the teams with the four worst records. A report Tuesday indicated that other ideas, including one that would give each lottery team equal odds at the No. 1 pick, were in play, but it’s unclear if they drew any significant support. Changes, if they had passed, likely would have taken effect for the 2015 lottery, but instead it appears the current system will remain in place for at least one more lottery.

Warriors Sign Sean Kilpatrick

October 21st, 2014 at 5:08pm CST by Chuck Myron

TUESDAY, 5:08pm: Kilpatrick’s deal with Golden State is for the minimum but contains only $35K in guaranteed salary, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (via Twitter).

MONDAY, 4:59pm: The Warriors have signed shooting guard Sean Kilpatrick, the team announced. The team is limited to giving the minimum salary, but it’s unclear if there’s any guarantee involved for the 24-year-old who went undrafted this summer out of the University of Cincinnati. The addition gives Golden State a full 20-man preseason roster and also allows the Warriors to keep Kilpatrick’s D-League rights should the Warriors turn around and waive him before opening night.

The 6’4″ Kilpatrick poured in 20.6 points in 33.8 minutes per game for the Bearcats this season, though he rejects the idea that he’s merely a scorer, as he told Zach Links of Hoops Rumors before the draft. He averaged 4.3 rebounds in his four-year college career in spite of his height. Kilpatrick was in summer league with the Sixers this year.

Golden State has 13 fully guaranteed deals, partial guarantees with five others, and a non-guaranteed pact with Jason Kapono. The Warriors, like every other team in the league, must trim down to no more than 15 players a week from today.

Heat Sign Larry Drew II

October 21st, 2014 at 5:01pm CST by Chuck Myron

TUESDAY, 5:01pm: Drew’s deal with Miami is for the minimum but includes only $25K of guaranteed salary, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (via Twitter).

MONDAY, 12:41pm: The Heat have signed Larry Drew II, the team announced. Miami is limited to giving out the minimum salary, but it’s not clear if there’s any guaranteed money involved for the 24-year-old. The timing of the move is odd, as most teams are paring down their rosters rather than adding to them, and Drew played for the Heat’s affiliate in the D-League last season, which means the team wouldn’t have to sign him to the NBA roster just to gain his D-League rights.

The 6’0″ point guard averaged 11.4 points and 7.0 assists in 35.5 minutes a game across 41 appearances with Miami’s D-League affiliate last year. Drew spent training camp on the Heat’s NBA roster last fall after going undrafted out of UCLA.

The move gives the Heat 19 players. Miami had been carrying only 11 fully guaranteed contracts and partially guaranteed arrangements with four others. Drew is the son of former Hawks and Bucks head coach and current Cavs assistant coach Larry Drew.

Hawks Release Dexter Pittman, Jarell Eddie

October 21st, 2014 at 12:16pm CST by Chuck Myron

12:16pm: The moves are official, the team announced via press release and on Twitter.

12:07pm: The Hawks are waiving Dexter Pittman and Jarell Eddie, reports Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link). Vivlamore indicates the moves have already taken place, though the team has yet to make a public acknowledgement. Each has been on a non-guaranteed contract. Letting them go would leave Atlanta with 15 players, which means the team wouldn’t need to make any more cuts.

Pittman has been on his second stint with the Hawks after having joined the club on a 10-day contract in February. The center briefly spent time on the Rockets roster at the end of the 2013/14 season, but his only two appearances in regular season games last year came with Atlanta. The former 32nd overall pick has struggled with weight issues and has never averaged more than 8.6 minutes per game in any of his four NBA seasons.

Eddie went undrafted this summer out of Virginia Tech and joined the Wizards for summer league before hooking up with the Hawks this fall. He averaged 2.7 points in 13.1 minutes per game in the preseason, but nonetheless made a positive impression on Atlanta’s brass. That suggests the team envisions retaining the D-League rights to the 6’7″ small forward forward, though that’s just my speculation.

The moves leave the Hawks with 14 fully guaranteed contracts plus a partial guarantee of about $408K with Mike Muscala. In a twist of fate, the Hawks released Pittman from his 10-day contract before the 10 days were up last season to accommodate the signing of Muscala, who remains on the same deal.

Mavs Waive Yuki Togashi

October 21st, 2014 at 11:27am CST by Chuck Myron

The Mavs have released point guard Yuki Togashi, the team announced via press release. The move was expected, as GM Donnie Nelson admitted last week that Togashi’s immediate future was with the team’s D-League affiliate. Dallas will presumably retain the D-League rights to the 21-year-old Japanese native, which would allow him to sign directly with the Mavs affiliate rather than enter the D-League draft, providing he clears NBA waivers first. Togashi’s NBA contract was non-guaranteed, so Dallas isn’t on the hook for any dead money.

Togashi, 21, attended the same high school as Kevin Durant before returning to his native Japan to play professionally. Still, he caught the eye of the Mavs, who brought him stateside for summer league this year. He totaled 16 points in more than 36 total minutes of play in four summer league games, grabbing six rebounds, too, in spite of his 5’7″ height.

Dallas still has more cuts to make before Monday’s deadline to set its opening-night roster, and the team would reportedly like to carry fewer than 15 players to start the regular season. The team has 15 fully guaranteed pacts, and a partial guarantee with Ivan Johnson, while Charlie Villanueva has impressed on his non-guaranteed contract. Doron Lamb is with Dallas on a non-guaranteed deal, too.

Wizards Sign John Lucas III

October 21st, 2014 at 11:10am CST by Chuck Myron

11:10am: The deal is official, the team announced.

9:21am: The contract will be non-guaranteed, according to J. Michael of CSNWashington.com.

8:04am: The Wizards are close to signing John Lucas III, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Washington’s interest is related to shooting guard Bradley Beal‘s injury, Stein suggests, though Lucas plays point guard. Still, Lucas would help provide depth that would allow Andre Miller and Garrett Temple to shift to the two-guard position. The Wizards are limited to giving the minimum salary to Lucas, who turns 32 next month, but it’s not clear whether there’ll be any guaranteed money involved.

The seven-year veteran became a free agent last month after the Celtics waived him shortly following their acquisition of him from the Cavs via trade. It was the second trade of the offseason for Lucas, who went from the Jazz to Cleveland in July. His non-guaranteed contract called for him to make $1.6MM for 2014/15, not much more than the minimum, but enough to help two teams view him more as trade ballast than as a potential contributor. He saw 14.1 minutes per game for Utah last season, nearly setting a career high, but his scoring and assists per contest declined for the second year in a row.

Washington has been carrying 17 players, as our roster counts show, and the addition of Lucas would be an ominous sign for Rasual Butler, Damion James and Xavier Silas, each of whom has a non-guaranteed salary. The Wizards have 13 full guarantees plus a partial guarantee with Glen Rice Jr.

Mavs Release Eric Griffin

October 21st, 2014 at 11:07am CST by Charlie Adams

TUESDAY, 11:07am: The move is official, the team announced via press release.

MONDAY, 11:29pm: The Mavs have waived swingman Eric Griffin, reports Shams Charania of Real GM (on Twitter). Griffin was on a partially guaranteed, thee-year deal worth $150K, so he won’t be walking away from Dallas completely empty handed. The 24-year-old has yet to appear in an NBA game after going undrafted out of Campbell in 2012.

Griffin appeared to be a long-shot to make the Mavs out of camp, given that the team has 15 guaranteed deals on their books as well as an apparent fondness for Charlie Villanueva, who’s with Dallas on a partially guaranteed arrangement.

Once the Mavs officially cut ties with Griffin, their roster will feature four players with partially or non-guaranteed pacts. As the October 27th deadline to trim rosters down to 15 players continues to approach, it seems unlikely any of them stick around for opening night.

Lakers Waive Keith Appling

October 20th, 2014 at 4:54pm CST by Chuck Myron

4:54pm: Appling suffered a shoulder subluxation while in camp with the Lakers and remains injured, so he’ll receive $6K from the Lakers under the stipulations of his Exhibit 9 contract, Pincus reports (Twitter links). He’d have drawn paychecks based on his entire minimum salary as long as he was hurt if the Lakers had signed him to a conventional contract.

4:48pm: The move is official, the team announced.

4:35pm: The Lakers are cutting Keith Appling, reports Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link). Pincus indicates that the team has already placed the point guard on waivers, though the team has yet to make an announcement. The 22-year-old’s contract is non-guaranteed, so it won’t cost the Lakers any dead money to part ways with him.

Appling went undrafted out of Michigan State this year and spent summer league with the Blazers before joining the purple-and-gold. He’s appeared in two preseason games for the Lakers but has totaled only two points and two assists in nearly 20 minutes. The 2010 McDonald’s All-American didn’t put up flashy numbers with the Spartans, either, but he was a mainstay of coach Tom Izzo‘s teams for four years.

The move would take the Lakers down to 17 players, 13 of whom have full guarantees. Ronnie Price appears a strong bet to make it to opening night on his non-guaranteed deal, leaving Jabari Brown, Wayne Ellington and Roscoe Smith to fight it out for the last spot, if the Lakers elect to carry the maximum 15 players to start the regular season.