Jazz, Enes Kanter Break Off Extension Talks
12:49pm: Ergul cited Kanter’s potential for growth this season with new Jazz coach Quin Snyder as well as the influx of TV money into the league as reasons why he and his client walked away from negotiations, as Ergul told Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune (Twitter links). Ergul praised Lindsey and Snyder and pointed to Kanter’s satisfaction with the franchise’s direction, Falk notes, which suggests strong interest in a deal next summer.
12:11pm: The Jazz and Enes Kanter have decided against signing an extension by Friday’s deadline, agent Max Ergul tells Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. That sets the forward/center up to become a restricted free agent next summer. The Jazz continue talks with fellow extension-eligible Alec Burks, according to Wojnarowski.
“We have mutually agreed with Utah to concentrate on the season and look at our options again in the summer,” Ergul told Wojnarowski. “Enes likes Utah and the organization very much, and now he can concentrate on continuing to grow as a player and helping them win.”
Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey acknowledged extension talks with both Kanter and Burks a month ago and spoke of his desire for a long-term commitment to the two of them, suggesting that he’d continue to pursue that even if they weren’t able to close on extensions. Still, neither has the sort of star potential that’s usually associated with players who sign rookie scale extensions, as I noted when I examined the extension candidacies of both Kanter and Burks.
Fellow big men Derrick Favors, who signed a four-year, $48MM extension a year ago, and Rudy Gobert, who’s entering the second season of his rookie scale contract, complicate the notion of Kanter’s future in Utah, since there’s only so much playing time to go around. The Jazz have about $40.3MM on the books for 2015/16, and while deals for both Kanter and Burks would probably leave the team with significant leftover cap room, Utah has several other former first-round picks who’ll become extension-eligible in the years ahead, which threatens to put a squeeze on the club’s flexibility.
Clippers Opt In For 2015/16 With Reggie Bullock
The Clippers have picked up their team option for 2015/16 on Reggie Bullock‘s rookie scale contract, according to the RealGM transactions log. The team has yet to make an official announcement. Bullock will make more than $1.252MM that season, as our Rookie Scale Team Option Tracker shows. The team has been facing a Friday deadline to make its decision.
Bullock wasn’t particularly impressive as a rookie last season, but it’s nonetheless no surprise to see the Clippers keep him for another year, as I suggested during the offseason. The 25th pick in the 2013 draft averaged just 2.7 points in 9.2 minutes per game as a rookie, and he saw similar playing time during the preseason this month. Still, the 23-year-old shows promise, and the Clippers are weakest at the wing positions, where Bullock plays.
Exercising the option puts the Clippers at nearly $58.9MM in commitments for 2015/16, though that entails fully guaranteed salary for only six players. The team has partially guaranteed salary out to Jamal Crawford and Matt Barnes for that season, and if they remain on the team and Jordan Farmar picks up his player option worth close to $2.2MM, it adds approximately $8.7MM to the team’s ledger. DeAndre Jordan is also poised to hit unrestricted free agency next summer, so the Clips will have a tough time avoiding the tax.
Bucks Guarantee Contract Of Kendall Marshall
The Bucks had until January to make the call, but the Bucks have decided to guarantee the contract of guard Kendall Marshall, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. Marshall’s contract was a non-guaranteed pact, but he’s now guaranteed to earn $915K for the season.
Marshall has impressed in training camp and figures to be the first point guard off of the bench this year. New head coach Jason Kidd knows a thing or two about the point guard position and the organization is clearly high on the 23-year-old.
The Bucks claimed Marshall over the summer shortly after he was waived by the Lakers in a cap clearing move. The UNC product never hit his stride with the Suns, but he revived his career last season when he averaged 8.0 PPG, 2.9 RPG, and 8.8 APG while playing 29 minutes per game for the Lakers.
Hornets Push For Extension With Kemba Walker
Hornets owner Michael Jordan intends to sign an extension with Kemba Walker rather than let him hit free agency and said that he’s hopeful that the “real conversations” between the sides bear fruit in advance of Friday’s deadline, as he tells Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (All Twitter links). Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported earlier this month that Charlotte was in talks with the Jeff Schwartz client.
Executives around the league often say that Walker isn’t a “championship point guard,” as Grantland’s Zach Lowe wrote about a month ago, though the 24-year-old hasn’t had much chance to show what he can do in meaningful games during his three years with the team. Last year’s playoff appearance was his first, and he held steady at 17.7 points per game during the 2013/14 regular season in spite of the addition of marquee free agent Al Jefferson. The Hornets are poised to return to the postseason this year, but it appears Jordan is anxious to strike a deal before skeptical executives have a chance to drive up the point guard’s value next summer.
The Hornets only have about $45.2MM in guaranteed salary for 2015/16 even with Walker’s extension. That doesn’t include a $13.5MM player option for Jefferson nor a $6MM player option for Gerald Henderson, however.
Photo courtesy USA Today Sports Images.
Knicks Opt In With Tim Hardaway Jr. For 2015/16
The Knicks have exercised their option to keep Tim Hardaway Jr. on his rookie scale contract through 2015/16, the team announced (Twitter link). He’ll make close to $1.305MM that season, as our Rookie Scale Team Option Tracker shows. Reports indicated that New York would pick up Shane Larkin‘s 2015/16 team option, too, but it appears that’s still up in the air.
Hardaway impressed in his rookie season after the Knicks made him the 24th overall pick in the 2013 draft. The 6’6″ shooting guard averaged 10.2 points in 23.2 minutes per game across 81 appearances, earning an All-Rookie First Team selection.
New York, which has targeted next summer for a free agent push, has about $32.7MM in commitments for 2015/16 as a result of today’s move. That doesn’t include Larkin’s option or a new deal for Iman Shumpert, who’d hit restricted free agency if he and the Knicks don’t sign an extension by the end of Friday.
Jazz Signed, Then Waived Tre’ Bussey
MONDAY, 10:39pm: Bussey was indeed signed and then waived by the Jazz after working out with the team in Salt Lake City, reports Jody Genessy of the Deseret News (via Twitter). Genessy adds that the Idaho Stampede, Utah’s D-League affiliate, didn’t retain Bussey’s rights due to a complication, which is why he filed to enter the D-League draft. The Jazz signed him Thursday and waived him Friday, according to the RealGM transactions log.
SUNDAY, 2:15pm: Bussey never actually signed with the Jazz, tweets Shams Charania of RealGM, despite interest from Utah. However, he has filed to enter the D-League draft.
SATURDAY, 5:52pm: Although no team announcement was made regarding the signing of Tre’ Bussey, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets that the rookie has been waived. Three Eye Sports reported that Bussey was signed yesterday (on Twitter). It’s likely that Utah inked the Georgia Southern product with the sole intention of releasing him and securing his D-League rights.
In his senior year, Bussey averaged 16.2 PPG with a slash line of .457/.385/.662. The 22-year-old told Gino Pilato of DLeagueDigest.com earlier this month that he is hoping to develop an NBA-caliber game at point guard in the D-League.
Sixers Waive Travis Outlaw
The Sixers have waived Travis Outlaw, the team announced. Philadelphia acquired Outlaw from the Knicks earlier today along with a 2019 second-round pick and the right to swap 2018 second-rounders, all in exchange for Arnett Moultrie. News of Outlaw’s release was expected, as the Sixers needed to trim their roster to 15 by today’s afternoon deadline. The team also confirmed the releases of Marquis Teague and Elliot Williams within the same announcement.
Outlaw’s release is just the latest example of Philly GM Sam Hinkie using his team’s cap space to stockpile future assets, as the Sixers continue to pay no mind to the present. Believe it or not, Moultrie was the longest-tenured player on Philadelphia’s roster. Meanwhile, Outlaw hits free agency at age 30, 11 years after he was drafted in the first round of out high school by the Blazers. He has a career scoring mark of 8.5 points per game, but hasn’t averaged over 20 minutes of playing time since the 2010/11 season with the Nets. He is in line to collect $3MM from the Sixers this season provided he clears waivers.
Bucks Waive Micheal Eric
8:36pm: The release of Eric is official, the team announced.
4:32pm: The Bucks are waiving their non-guaranteed contract with Micheal Eric, reports Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). The team had been carrying 16 players, one over the regular season roster limit, so someone had to go. Milwaukee tried to find a way to accommodate the 26-year-old big man, but was simply unable to, according to Charania. He nonetheless seemed the likeliest cut, since he’s on a non-guaranteed contract, and the only other player without a fully guaranteed salary on the team is Kendall Marshall, who’ll likely play a large role this season.
Eric averaged 5.5 points and 4.3 rebounds in 14.9 minutes per game across four preseason appearances this month, the second time in three years he spent training camp with an NBA team. The first time was with the Cavs in 2012, but he saw significantly less playing time for Cleveland that October before hitting waivers. The former Temple Owl has spent much of his pro career in the D-League after going undrafted in 2012.
The native of Nigeria was one of only two camp invitees for the Bucks this year. Eric beat out Elijah Millsap and 2013/14 holdover Chris Wright to become the final contender for a spot on the regular season roster.
Sixers Waive Marquis Teague, Elliot Williams
8:31pm: The release of Teague and Williams is now official, the team announced.
4:21pm: The Sixers are waiving Marquis Teague and Elliot Williams, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Wojnarowski indicates the moves have already taken place, though the team has made no formal announcement. The Sixers faced a 4:00pm Central deadline to cut ties with at least three players to meet the league’s 15-man regular season roster limit, so it’s likely Teague and Williams are already on waivers. The same is probably true of Travis Outlaw, whom the team was reportedly likely to release just as it traded for him.
Teague had just arrived in Philadelphia via last week’s trade with the Nets. His salary of about $1.12MM is fully guaranteed for this season. He had a team option for about $2.023MM for 2015/16, but that option goes away once he clears waivers. It’s been a quick descent for the 29th pick from 2012, whom the Bulls sent to the Nets via trade last season. He’s averaged 2.3 points in 9.6 minutes per game for his career.
Williams was about to start season two of a four-year non-guaranteed contract, one that he’d signed after missing a year with a torn left Achilles tendon. The 22nd overall pick from 2010 was a rotation player for the Sixers last year, averaging 6.0 PPG in 17.3 MPG, but Philadelphia elected against bringing him back this year, even though the team’s roster is worse than last year’s.
The moves will leave the Sixers with just nine fully guaranteed contracts, plus a small partial guarantee to JaKarr Sampson. The team’s other five players are on non-guaranteed deals, leaving Philadelphia with plenty of flexibility and likely setting up more transactions.
Suns Pick Up Option On Miles Plumlee
The Suns have picked up their rookie scale team option on Miles Plumlee for the 2015/16 season, the team announced. The Duke product will make just over $2.109MM in his fourth season, as our Rookie Scale Team Option Tracker shows. Phoenix also exercised rookie scale options on Archie Goodwin and Alex Len earlier today. Plumlee emerged as a pleasant surprise for the Suns last season after being acquired via trade from Indiana last July.
He started 79 times for the Phoenix and played 24.6 minutes per game, averaging 8.1 points and 7.8 boards while shooting nearly 52 percent from the field. He led the Suns in rebounding and blocks (1.13 per game). Plumlee was selected 26th overall in 2012 by the Pacers but only managed 3.9 minutes per game in his rookie season before coming to the desert as part of the package for Luis Scola. He figures to again be the primary starter at center this season for a Suns team with playoff aspirations.