Jordan Hamilton To Sign With D-League
Swingman Jordan Hamilton will sign with the D-League, reports Gino Pilato of D-League Digest (Twitter link). The former 26th overall pick in the NBA draft reportedly worked out for the Lakers last week after a brief stint with the Jazz earlier this month. He’ll be subject to the D-League waiver system, according to Pilato, so it’s not yet clear which D-League team he’ll play for.
Hamilton signed this summer with the Raptors on a minimum-salary deal that was partially guaranteed for $25K, and despite a strong performance in the preseason, when he averaged 9.5 points on 54.5% three-point shooting in 18.3 minutes per game, Toronto let him go just before opening night. The Jazz claimed him off waivers, but he didn’t appear in any of Utah’s first five games and the Jazz put him back on waivers a little more than a week into the season. The Aaron Mintz client was one of several players to try out for the Lakers last week, but the team has so far elected not to make a move. Hamilton’s decision to sign with the D-League will keep him available to ink with any NBA team should he draw interest.
The 24-year-old has spent most of his career with the Nuggets, who acquired him on draft night in 2011. They declined their fourth-year team option on his rookie scale contract, which would have covered this season with about $2.11MM in guaranteed salary, and shipped him to the Rockets at the deadline last season.
Heat Sign Hassan Whiteside, Cut Shannon Brown
8:40pm: Miami has officially signed Whiteside, the team announced in a press release, which also reveals the team has cut ties with Brown and his non-guaranteed deal to make room for the newly acquired center. Brown inked his deal with the Heat in late August but didn’t see much burn during his tenure in Miami. He averaged 17.8 minutes per night across just five contests during his time in South Beach.
8:44am: The Heat will sign D-League center Hassan Whiteside, a source tells Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel (Twitter link), which confirms a Sunday report from Marc Stein of ESPN.com that the team was lining up the move. There will have to be a corresponding transaction, since the Heat are at the 15-man roster limit. Miami has non-guaranteed contracts with Shannon Brown and Andre Dawkins and more than $408K in partially guaranteed salary out to Justin Hamilton, whose partial guarantee jumps to about $612K if he’s on the roster through next Monday. Still, it’s unclear if any of those three are the players that Miami will cut to make the Whiteside signing official.
Whiteside hasn’t played in an NBA regular season game since the 2011/12 season, when he was with the Kings, but he was on the Grizzlies roster for a day last week as Memphis sought a temporary fill-in for five players who were out with stomach viruses. He’s otherwise been with the Grizzlies D-League affiliate, putting up impressive totals of 22.0 points, 15.7 rebounds and 5.3 blocks in 28.7 minutes per game across a small sample size of three D-League contests. The 7’0″ center has spent extensive time in the D-League during his five years as a pro as well as parts of two seasons in Lebanon. The former 33rd overall pick out of Marshall has averaged just 1.5 PPG, 2.1 RPG and 0.8 BPG in 5.8 MPG in 19 NBA appearances.
Miami is limited to giving just the minimum salary, though it’s unclear if the deal involves any guaranteed money. Ten-day contracts don’t start until January, but deals don’t have to be guaranteed for the season until around the same time.
Heat Interested In Hassan Whiteside
Marc Stein of ESPN.com (on Twitter) hears that the Heat are planning to pluck Hassan Whiteside from the D-League. Whiteside has put up big numbers so far this season for the Iowa Energy.
The Grizzlies waived Whiteside last week, terminating his second contract with Memphis this season. Whiteside’s last stint with the Grizzlies lasted a grand total of one day. The 7-footer was signed along with Kalin Lucas to help fill the gap as five Grizzlies players were out of action with stomach viruses. Still, Whiteside did not see the floor for the Grizzlies and has yet to see a minute of NBA action in 2013/14.
As Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel (on Twitter) notes, the Heat could cut Andre Dawkins to make room for Whiteside. The undrafted shooting guard is on a non-guaranteed pact and could be moved to the team’s D-League affiliate. Eventually, Winderman posits (link), a Whiteside signing could unseat Justin Hamilton, who has a December 1st partial-guarantee date.
Bernard James Signs With Chinese Team
FRIDAY, 8:04am: James has officially signed with the Shanghai Sharks, the team announced (translation via Sportando’s Enea Trapani).
WEDNESDAY, 9:45pm: James has indeed signed a deal to play in China, Sefko reports. Eduardo Najera, James’ coach with the Texas Legends, has also confirmed that James has left the team and is on his way to China, though the team that inked James is still unknown, Sefko adds.
12:34pm: Former Mavs center Bernard James is set to play in China, reports Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News (Twitter link). The identity of the team the Happy Walters client is joining is unclear, as are the terms of the deal. James, whom the Mavs cut before the season began, had been playing for the Mavs D-League affiliate after Dallas retained his D-League rights.
James re-signed with Dallas in September on a guaranteed one-year deal for the minimum salary, and he was presumably in line to reprise the backup big man role he had played for the Mavs the previous two seasons. However, the resurgence of training camp invitee Charlie Villanueva during the preseason helped push the 29-year-old James out, and Dallas decided to eat his guaranteed salary and keep Villanueva on his non-guaranteed pact. James, a former U.S. Air Force Staff Sergeant, is averaging 11.5 points and 10.0 rebounds per game in two D-League appearances so far.
The Mavs might be in line to recoup a portion of the $915,243 they owe him this year if James’ Chinese deal is lucrative enough to trigger set-off rights. A similar scenario is at play should Gal Mekel, whom the Mavs also let go in spite of a guaranteed contract, wins a spot with the Lakers after his tryout this week.
John Lucas III Spurns Lakers To Play In China
FRIDAY, 7:49am: Lucas is joining the Fujian Sturgeons, the team that signed Al Harrington this past summer, Stein reports (Twitter link).
WEDNESDAY, 8:40am: Seven-year NBA veteran John Lucas III has called off a scheduled workout with the Lakers this week to sign with a Chinese team instead, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Sportando’s Enea Trapani first reported that Lucas was finalizing a deal in China, and while the identity of the club isn’t entirely clear, Trapani suggests that it’s the Yao Ming-owned Shanghai Sharks, who just let go of Delonte West. The financial terms of the Chinese pact for Lucas are unclear, but it likely involves guaranteed money of the sort that the Lakers would be hesitant to offer.
Lucas turned down offers from Chinese Basketball Association teams Jilin Northeast and Fujian, as agent Bernie Lee told Shams Charania of RealGM earlier this month, shortly after the Wizards released him at the end of the NBA preseason. The Thunder, Pacers and Grizzlies were showing interest in the point guard, too, as Charania reported, adding that Lucas was looking for a longer-term arrangement than any Chinese or NBA teams were willing to provide. Lucas appeared to be targeting a return to the Bulls, for whom he played in 2010/11 and 2011/12, but it doesn’t look like there’ll be a reunion in the near future.
It’s been a whirlwind past few months for Lucas, who turns 32 on Thursday. The Jazz had him under contract for a non-guaranteed $1.6MM at the beginning of the offseason, but they traded him to the Cavs in July. Cleveland flipped him two months later to the Celtics, who promptly waived him. The Wizards picked him up in late October, presumably with an eye on keeping him for the start of the regular season, but Washington put him back on waivers before opening night.
Reports have indicated the Lakers are working out Quincy Miller, Tyrus Thomas and Dwight Buycks as they seek upgrades for their 2-9 squad. Bleacher Report’s Kevin Ding suggested this week that Xavier Henry would be the odd man out if Miller came aboard, though Henry has a guaranteed salary. Ronnie Price and Wayne Ellington have partially guaranteed deals. In any case, the Lakers would have to let someone go if they were to make a signing, since they already have a full 15-man roster.
Grizzlies Waive Kalin Lucas, Hassan Whiteside
In what is rapidly becoming a repetitive trend between the team and these two players, the Grizzlies have announced in a press release that they have waived Kalin Lucas and Hassan Whiteside. These moves will reduce Memphis’ current roster count to 14 players, one below the league maximum. Both players were signed just yesterday because five Grizzlies were sidelined for last night’s contest against the Raptors with stomach viruses.
This concludes Lucas’ third stint with the Grizzlies this season, as he was with the Grizzlies during the summer league and the preseason before the franchise cut him a few days shy of opening night. Lucas was then re-signed to provide depth behind starting point Mike Conley, who had been nursing a tender ankle. He was waived for the second time on November 9th. Lucas recorded one steal in six minutes of action in his NBA debut last night.
This was Whiteside’s second deal with the Grizzlies this season. He was originally signed on September 25th and he appeared in five preseason games averaging 3.4 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.0 blocks before being waived on October 22nd. Whiteside did not enter last night’s game, and has not seen a single minute of NBA action this season.
Grizzlies Re-Sign Kalin Lucas, Hassan Whiteside
The Grizzlies have re-signed Kalin Lucas and Hassan Whiteside, the team announced in a press release. The additions of Lucas and Whiteside today bring the Grizzlies’ roster count to 16 players, an allowance likely made because of the 20-game suspension that Nick Calathes is serving. The length and terms of the deals were not disclosed, though they are likely non-guaranteed, minimum salary arrangements.
This marks Lucas’ third stint with the Grizzlies this season, as he was with the Grizzlies during the summer league and the preseason before the franchise cut him a few days shy of opening night. Lucas was then re-signed to provide depth behind starting point Mike Conley, who had been nursing a tender ankle. He was waived for the second time on November 9th.
Lucas has not made a regular season appearance for Memphis after playing in all eight of the team’s preseason games, averaging 3.1 points and 1.0 assists in 8.0 minutes per contest. He contributed 17.0 PPG and 3.4 APG in 33.4 MPG during his senior year with the Michigan State Spartans in 2010/11 before logging time in Turkey, Greece and the D-League over the first three years of his pro career.
This will be Whiteside’s second deal with the Grizzlies this season. He was originally signed on September 25th and he appeared in five preseason games averaging 3.4 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.0 blocks before being waived on October 22nd.
The league may grant hardship exceptions to the 15-man roster limit when a player goes down with an injury or illness after at least three players have already missed at least three games with injuries or illnesses of their own, as long as all four are expected to continue to miss time. A virus has sidelined Tony Allen, Kosta Koufos, Courtney Lee, Jon Leuer and Beno Udrih for the Grizzlies tonight, though none have missed as many as three games yet.
That means it’s most likely that the allowance for a 16th roster spot springs from the team’s ability to transfer Calathes to the Suspended List. Teams may do so once a player suspended by the league has sat out for five games. Calathes, who received the suspension in April, has already served 18 games, spanning last season’s playoffs and the start of the 2014/15 regular season, and his placement on the Suspended List allows the Grizzlies to add an extra player in his stead.
No Deal For Scotty Hopson, Turkish Team
5:56pm: Hopson has decided against signing the deal, agent Eric Fleisher tells David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter link).
11:09am: Small forward Scotty Hopson is close to putting pen to paper on a deal with Galatasaray of Turkey, Ismail Senol of NTV Spor reports (Twitter link; translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). A follow-up tweet from Carchia indicates that the sides have already reached agreement and that Hopson is likely to make his debut for the team this weekend. The arrangement only covers a month and a half, though Hopson will have an option to extend it through the end of the season, according to Senol. It’s unclear how much the 25-year-old stands to earn through the pact.
Hopson spent the summer as NBA trade fodder, going from the Cavs, who signed him late last season, to the Hornets, to the Pelicans, to the Rockets, and finally to the Kings, who waived him the week before training camps began. Hopson had a non-guaranteed salary of more than $1.45MM that teams found useful to help them match salaries thanks to Cleveland’s decision to use its prorated room exception to ink him at the end of March. The Cavs would have been able to create an even larger non-guaranteed salary, and thus a more attractive trade chip, had they signed a veteran to a minimum-salary deal, but Hopson came aboard without NBA experience, having played overseas since going undrafted out of Tennessee in 2011. He was with Turkey’s Anadolu Efes when Cleveland came calling last season.
Reports shortly before Sacramento waived Hopson indicated that he was moving close to a deal with Italy’s Enel Brindisi, though the Italian team denied that there were talks, and the sides never wound up coming to terms. The former McDonald’s All-American had his best pro season in 2012/13, when he put up 17.7 points and 5.2 rebounds in 32.3 minutes per game for Hapoel Eilat of Israel. He appeared in only two games for a total of less than seven minutes during his stint with the Cavs last season.
Kings Sign Rudy Gay To Extension
Rudy Gay has signed a three-year, $40MM contract extension with the Kings, the team announced. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports first reported the deal on Sunday. The extension begins with the 2015/16 campaign and includes a player option on the third year (2017/18).
“I am very excited to announce that Rudy Gay will be a part of the Kings for the long term,” owner Vivek Ranadivé said. “He is an immensely talented player who is critical to our team on and off the court, and he is a significant reason why things are changing in Sacramento. Players as talented as Rudy have their choice on where to play. He is committed to making the Kings great again and we are committed to his success. I am looking forward to seeing a sea of No. 8 jerseys filling the seats of the new arena.”
As Wojnarowski rightly notes, the ability to get out of the deal after 2016/17 gives Gay a chance to hit the open market in the summer of 2017, when there should be an opportunity to cash in thanks to the league’s new $24 billion television deal. The forward will only be 31 years old at that point, so he should be able to secure another multiyear deal if he continues to play at his current level.
It was only in recent days that Gay decided to really work toward an agreement with Sacramento rather than letting the open market dictate his value next summer, and re-energized talks led to the two sides shaking hands on a deal Saturday night, Wojnarowski writes. In late September, Gay said that he briefly began extension talks with the Kings over the summer but put them on hold when he joined Team USA. Since then, we hadn’t heard a ton of buzz regarding an extension prior to Wojnarowski’s report.
Gay is just the sixth player to sign a veteran extension since the current collective bargaining agreement took hold for the 2011/12 season, joining Andrew Bogut, Kobe Bryant, Tony Parker, Zach Randolph and Anderson Varejao. Randolph, Parker and Varejao all signed their extensions within the past five months.
“I feel blessed to be in this situation,” Gay said in the team’s statement. I’m grateful for the confidence the Kings have shown in my abilities and appreciate the way Sacramento and its passionate fans have embraced me and my family from day one. The future is bright for this franchise, and I’m thrilled to play a role in helping the organization succeed on the court and in the community.”
The client of Octagon Sports agents Alex Saratsis and Jeff Austin will make more than $19.3MM this season in what was to have been the final year of his contract. The Kings are barred from trading Gay for the next six months because he signed an extension that tacks three additional seasons onto his deal.
For his career, Gay has averaged 18.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game across eight NBA seasons with the Grizzlies, Raptors, and Kings. So far in 2014/15, the 28-year-old is averaging 21.8 PPG, 6.5 RPG, and 3.6 APG for Sacramento. Prior to the start of the season, our own Chuck Myron looked at Gay as an extension candidate.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Jason Collins Retires
Jason Collins has decided to retire, detailing his thoughts in a first-person account for Sports Illustrated. Collins made history last season as the first openly gay athlete to play in either the NBA, National Football League or Major League Baseball. The 35-year-old veteran of 13 NBA seasons will make a formal announcement today at the Barclays Center, as he writes in his essay for the magazine.
Collins spent the second half of last season with the Nets, who signed him in February to the first of a pair of 10-day contracts before inking him on March 15th for the rest of the season. The 7’0″ center cites the support of Jason Kidd as key to his tenure, as he writes in Sports Illustrated, and Collins presumably chose to make his announcement today in Brooklyn to coincide with Kidd’s return there for the first time as Bucks coach after he coached the Nets last year.
Kidd put Collins into 22 games last year, including one start, but he saw just 7.8 minutes per appearance, and he didn’t make it into any of Brooklyn’s postseason contests. Collins said in May that he wasn’t sure he wanted to continue his playing career, and an August report indicated that he would likely walk away from the professional game.
Collins came out as a homosexual after the 2012/13 season, one in which he played 38 games split between the Celtics and Wizards. He languished as a free agent throughout the summer and well into the season as speculation swirled about whether any team would sign him and invite the media attention that would follow. Such worries turned out to be unfounded as his presence on the Nets largely became an afterthought soon after the team signed him, as Collins details in a longer piece on his retirement for The Players’ Tribune.
He was never a household name throughout the majority of his playing career despite having played a prominent role on back-to-back Eastern Conference championship teams with the Nets in 2001/02 and 2002/03. Collins didn’t make it back to the Finals after doing so the first two years of his career, but he became well-known to NBA front offices as a rugged defender capable of going toe-to-toe with the league’s elite inside scorers. He played for the Grizzlies, Timberwolves and Hawks in addition to his time with the Nets, Celtics and Wizards, averaging 3.6 points and 3.7 rebounds in 20.4 minutes per game over his 13 seasons, numbers that belied his work on the defensive end. The Arn Tellem client collected nearly $34.2MM in salary as an NBA player, according to Basketball-Reference.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.