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By | at December 6, 2012 4:18 pm

If you want to keep tabs on all of Hoops Rumors' stories and updates, you can follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook, or subscribe to our feed through your RSS reader of choice. However, if you prefer to only receive news about your favorite NBA team, we have you covered. Below are links to our Facebook, Twitter, and RSS pages and feeds for all 30 teams.

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NBA Training Camp Cuts On D-League Rosters

By | at November 27, 2012 6:09 pm

Dozens of players were let go at the end of NBA training camps last month, and while some of them have signed overseas, many resurfaced Friday on D-League opening-night rosters. In fact, for a few, that seemed to be the plan all along. The Spurs, Timberwolves and Celtics quietly signed players toward the end of the preseason with the purpose of gaining their "affiliate rights," or the right to protect them from the D-League draft. Teams can protect as many as three training camp cuts for their affiliates, though the Cavs and Warriors managed to wind up with four former training camp invitees on their respective D-League teams.

Note that the players below are no longer on NBA rosters, unlike guys who've simply been assigned to the D-League. Some of the players listed were with multiple NBA teams in camp this fall, but we'll go with their latest NBA team here. If you notice any omissions, please let us know.

Spurs

  • *JaMychal Green, Austin Toros
  • Tyler Wilkerson, Austin Toros
  • Wesley Witherspoon, Austin Toros

Grizzlies

Jazz

Nets

  • Stephen Dennis, Bakersfield Jam
  • James Mays, Springfield Armor
  • Carleton Scott, Springfield Armor

Hawks

Raptors

  • Jerel McNeal, Bakersfield Jam

Cavaliers

  • Kevin Anderson, Canton Charge
  • D'Aundray Brown, Canton Charge
  • Micheal Eric, Canton Charge
  • Kevin Jones, Canton Charge

Knicks

  • Oscar Bellfield, Erie BayHawks
  • Henry Sims, Erie BayHawks
  • Mychel Thompson, Erie BayHawks 

Trail Blazers

  • Demonte Harper, Eric BayHawks

Rockets

  • JaJuan Johnson, Fort Wayne Mad Ants
  • Kyle Fogg, Rio Grande Valley Vipers
  • Demetri McCamey, Rio Grande Valley Vipers

Thunder

Magic

  • Justin Harper, Idaho Stampede
  • Chris Johnson, Rio Grande Valley Vipers

Blazers

  • Justin Holiday, Idaho Stampede
  • Coby Karl, Idaho Stampede
  • Dallas Lauderdale, Idaho Stampede

Timberwolves

  • Seth Tarver, Idaho Stampede
  • Phil Jones, Los Angeles D-Fenders
  • *Troy Hudson, Sioux Falls Skyforce
  • *Demetris Nichols, Sioux Falls Skyforce 

Bucks

  • Mustapha Farrakhan, Iowa Energy
  • Orien Greene, Los Angeles D-Fenders

Hornets

  • Dominique Morrison, Iowa Energy
  • Chris Wright, Iowa Energy

Clippers

Wizards

Sixers

Celtics

  • Micah Downs, Maine Red Claws
  • *Brian Cusworth, Maine Red Claws

Raptors

Heat

  • Garrett Temple, Reno Bighorns
  • Jarvis Varnado, Sioux Falls Skyforce 

Bobcats

Warriors

  • Carlon Brown, Santa Cruz Warriors
  • Lance Goulbourne, Santa Cruz Warriors
  • Stefhon Hannah, Santa Cruz Warriors
  • Rick Jackson, Santa Cruz Warriors

Lakers

Kings

  • Willie Reed, Springfield Armor

Nuggets

Magic

Mavericks

*-signed so the NBA team could retain his affiliate rights

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Most Productive Offseason Acquisitions By PER

By | at November 27, 2012 12:36 pm

2012/13's first iteration of John Hollinger's stat-based power rankings has been unveiled at ESPN.com, with the Grizzlies, Knicks, Thunder, Heat, and Clippers making up the top five. Now that the NBA regular season is nearly a month old, there's enough data related to scoring margin, strength of schedule, and home-road difference for Hollinger's formula to produce a reasonably accurate list.

By the same token, after four weeks of games, it's worth taking a look at another one of Hollinger's creations, Player Efficiency Rating. While the sample size is still small, the fact that LeBron James and Kevin Durant are first and second in the league in PER suggests the numbers are starting to reflect what we can expect to see for the rest of the season.

PER doesn't necessarily capture a player's all-around contribution to a team, but it comes about as close as a single statistic can. As such, let's use this season's PER leaders to check out which offseason acquisitions have been the most effective so far. These players changed teams via trades or free agency since the end of last season and have appeared in at least half of their new clubs' games so far. Here's the top 15:

Kyle Lowry (Raptors): 24.6
Carl Landry (Warriors): 22.7
Goran Dragic (Suns): 22.3
James Harden (Rockets): 21.5
Jason Kidd (Knicks): 21.3
Dwight Howard (Lakers): 21.0
Ryan Anderson (Hornets): 21.0
Andray Blatche (Nets): 20.7
Jermaine O'Neal (Suns): 20.7
Louis Williams (Hawks): 20.2
O.J. Mayo (Mavericks): 20.0
Jamal Crawford (Clippers): 19.6
Ray Allen (Heat): 19.5
Rasheed Wallace (Knicks): 19.3
Andrei Kirilenko (Timberwolves): 19.1

A few notes on the list:

  • Some players who re-signed as free agents with their previous teams, such as Brook Lopez (Nets) and JaVale McGee (Nuggets) are also among the league leaders on PER. They weren't listed here since they didn't change teams.
  • A trio of big men who were virtually written off, Blatche, O'Neal, and Wallace made the top 15, but have played limited minutes. They're averaging 16.2, 18.8, and 15.8 minutes per contest, respectively.
  • Blatche, O'Neal, and Wallace are also among the best values on the list, as all of them signed for the veteran's minimum. Other bargains so far: Landry ($4MM), Mayo ($4MM), Kidd ($3.1MM), and Allen ($3.1MM).
  • Lowry and O'Neal have each appeared in only eight games so far.
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Atlantic Notes: Bynum, Lin, Bargnani, Celtics

By | at November 21, 2012 3:40 pm

The latest update on Andrew Bynum sounds particularly ominous, but does that mean the 76ers made a mistake in acquiring him? Not according to several GMs that spoke Ric Bucher of 95.7 The Game (Sulia link). Bucher says the consensus is that Bynum still has the ability to be the best big man in the East and that if this season is lost, it may open the door for the Sixers to lock him up at a potential discount.

Here are a few more pre-Thanksgiving items from around the Atlantic Division:

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Hoops Rumors Features

By | at November 20, 2012 11:32 am

Hoops Rumors passes along the latest news and rumors on NBA player movement 365 days a year, but those aren't the only updates you'll see on the site. On our right sidebar, you'll find a number of additional features and featured posts. Here's a rundown of a few of them:

  • Our Free Agent Tracker gives you the opportunity to look back on this summer's free agent signings, with data sortable by team, position, contract years, and contract amount. For a quick look at which players remain unsigned, you can check out our list of 2012/13 free agents.
  • We also have free agent lists for both next summer, and the summer of 2014, which will continue to be modified as needed.
  • Throughout the season, we'll be keeping tabs on roster counts for each NBA team, the year's D-League assignments and recalls, and all the trades consummated in-season.
  • Using our 10-day contract tracker, you can find any 10-day contract signed since 2007, sorting by player, team, year, and other variables.
  • Our offseason in review series continues to gain new installments, as we look back on the moves made by each of the NBA's 30 teams over the summer.
  • On Thursdays at 4:00pm CT, I answer readers' questions in a live chat. Due to the Thanksgiving holiday, there won't be a chat this week, but you can check out transcripts of our past live discussions here.
  • Our list of outstanding traded player exceptions is updated whenever a trade exception is used or expires.
  • We're also tracking teams' amnesty provisions — using our complete list, you can check to see which clubs have used the amnesty clause and which will carry it into next summer.
  • The Hoops Rumors glossary helps explain some of the more complex concepts in the NBA's Collective Bargaining Agreement.
  • Zach Links rounds up the best of the blogosphere every Saturday in his weekly Hoops Links feature.
  • If you're looking to catch up on a few days worth of content, our Week in Review posts round up the week's news and rumors, while our Hoops Rumors Originals posts recap the site's original content for the week. Both round-ups are published every Sunday.
  • Be sure to check out the Featured Posts section on the right sidebar for more original pieces from the Hoops Rumors writing team. Recently, we examined the money teams spent on rookie scale extensions, submitted our predictions for the 2012/13 season, and listed the longest-tenured GMs in the NBA.
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Where 2012 Second Rounders Are Playing

By | at November 18, 2012 10:21 pm

Unlike last year, when No. 5 overall pick Jonas Valanciunas remained in Lithuania, all 30 first-round picks from the 2012 draft are in the NBA this season. Only 20 of the 30 second-round picks from this June have NBA contracts. We looked at the status of the second-rounders back in September, when many of them remained unsigned, but now that the season is under way, all 30 are playing pro basketball somewhere, even if it's not in the Association. This list tells you where those players wound up, and also provides contract details for each of the second-rounders with NBA deals. 

  1. Bobcats: Jeff Taylor (SF, Vanderbilt) — Signed for three years, $2.279MM. The third year is not guaranteed.
  2. Wizards: Tomas Satoransky (SG, Czech Republic) — Remains with Cajasol Banca Civica in Spain, the team he played for before being drafted.
  3. Mavericks: Bernard James (C, Florida St.) — Signed for two years at the minimum salary. The second year is not guaranteed.
  4. Mavericks: Jae Crowder (SF, Marquette) — Signed for three years, $2.305MM. The third year is a team option.
  5. Warriors: Draymond Green (SF, Michigan St.) — Signed for three years, $2.640MM. The third year is partially guaranteed for $250K.
  6. Pacers: Orlando Johnson (SG, UC Santa Barbara) — Signed for three years, $2.254MM. The third year is not guaranteed.
  7. Raptors: Quincy Acy (SF, Baylor) — Signed for three years, $2.369MM. The third year is not guaranteed.
  8. Nuggets: Quincy Miller (SF, Baylor) — Signed for three years at the minimum salary. The second and third years are not guaranteed. Currently assigned to the D-League.
  9. Pistons: Khris Middleton (SF, Texas A&M) — Signed for three years at the minimum. The third year is not guaranteed.
  10. Trail Blazers: Will Barton (SG, Memphis) — Signed for three years, $2.254MM. The third year is not guaranteed.
  11. Nets: Tyshawn Taylor (PG, Kansas) — Signed for two years at the minimum.
  12. Bucks: Doron Lamb (SG, Kentucky) — Signed for three years, $2.354MM. The third year is not guaranteed.
  13. Hawks: Mike Scott (PF, Virginia) — Signed for two years at the minimum. The second year is not guaranteed.
  14. Pistons: Kim English (SG, Missouri) — Signed for two years at the minimum. The second year is not guaranteed.
  15. Heat: Justin Hamilton (C, LSU) — Signed with Cibona Zagreb in Croatia.
  16. Hornets: Darius Miller (SF, Kentucky) — Signed for two years at the minimum. The second year is not guaranteed.
  17. Jazz: Kevin Murphy (SF, Tennessee Tech) — Signed for two years at the minimum. This year is partially guaranteed for $200K and the second year is not guaranteed.
  18. Knicks: Kostas Papanikolaou (SF, Greece) — Rights traded to the Blazers in July as part of the Raymond Felton sign-and-trade deal. Remains with Olympiacos Piraeus in Greece, the team he played for before being drafted.
  19. Magic: Kyle O'Quinn (C, Norfolk St.) — Signed for three years, $2.493MM. The second and third years are not guaranteed.
  20. Nuggets: Izzet Turkyilmaz (C, Turkey) — Remains with Banvit in Turkey, the team he played for before being drafted.
  21. Celtics: Kris Joseph (SF, Syracuse) — Signed for two years at the minimum. Neither year is guaranteed. Currently assigned to the D-League.
  22. Warriors: Ognjen Kuzmic (C, Bosnia) — Playing with FIATC Joventut Badalona in Spain, on loan from Unicaja Malaga, another Spanish club. 
  23. Clippers: Furkan Aldemir (PF, Turkey) — Rights traded the day after the draft to the Rockets in the four-team swap that sent Lamar Odom to the Clippers. Remains with Galatasaray Medical Park in Turkey. He signed a four-year deal with Galatasaray last year.
  24. Nets: Tornike Shengelia (SF, Georgia) — Signed for two years at the minimum. 
  25. Lakers: Darius Johnson-Odom (SF, Marquette) — Signed for one year at the minimum, with no guarantee. Currently assigned to the D-League.
  26. Raptors: Tomislav Zubcic (SF, Croatia) — Remains with KK Cibona in Croatia. Last year he signed an extension with KK Cibona that runs through 2014.
  27. Nets: Ilkan Karaman (PF, Turkey) — Signed with Fenerbache Ulker Istanbul in Turkey.
  28. Timberwolves: Robbie Hummel (SF, Purdue) — Signed with Obradoiro in Spain.
  29. Spurs: Marcus Denmon (SG, Missouri) — Signed with Elan Chalon in France.
  30. Lakers: Robert Sacre (C, Gonzaga) — Signed for one year at the minimum, with no guarantee. 

Storyteller's Contracts, ShamSports, Sportando and RealGM.com were used in the creation of this post.

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Players On Minimum-Salary Contracts

By | at November 18, 2012 12:59 pm

The minimum salary in the NBA is something of a misnomer, since there are actually 11 different minimums based on a player's years of experience. The rookie minimum is $473,604, while the minimum for a veteran of 10 or more seasons is $1,352,181. To offset that disparity and ensure teams don't discriminate against qualified veterans simply based on price, the league compensates teams who sign one-year contracts with veterans who have three or more years experience for the difference between their minimum and the two-year veteran's minimum.

As long as a team hasn't put itself up against a hard cap, it can sign as many minimum-salary players as it wants, up to the 15-man roster maximum. Every team in the NBA has at least one player on a minimum-salary deal, though teams with deeper pockets seem to employ more minimum-salary guys, ironically. 

ShamSports was used in the creation of this post.

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Players Who Can Veto Trades

By | at November 17, 2012 2:21 pm

When you think of players vetoing trades, you probably think of a guy who has a no-trade clause. In the NBA, however, a greater number of players have the ability to veto trades for reasons other than a standard no-trade clause.

The CBA stipulates that players who accept a qualifying offer or sign for a one-year contract that would allow them to have early Bird or full Bird rights at the end of the deal can veto trades as they see fit. If one of these players consents to a trade, he would only have non-Bird rights, giving him plenty of incentive to use his veto power. Players who sign an offer sheet, only to have it matched by their original team, can also veto a trade for one year after they sign.

Below is a list of the players with veto power in 2012/13, including the only four in the league to have negotiated no-trade clauses in their contracts, a privilege reserved only for long-tenured superstars, as you can see. The players listed under the last two categories would give up either early or full Bird rights if they consent to a trade. If there are any omissions from this list, please let us know in the comments. 

No-trade clauses

Players whose offer sheets were matched

Players accepting qualifying offers

Players re-signing for one year

ShamSports and Larry Coon's NBA Salary Cap FAQ were used in the creation of this post.

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Free $300 Fantasy Basketball Contest From DraftStreet

By | at November 15, 2012 11:07 pm

Put together a squad of eight NBA players, and you'll have a chance to win part of a $300 prize pool in DraftStreet's latest freeroll for Hoops Rumors readers! You've got nothing to lose by signing up and making your picks, as there's no entry free. Here's how it works:

The NBA freeroll begins Friday at 7:00pm eastern time, so you have until then to create your team.  You're given a $100K salary cap, and each player is assigned a price by DraftStreet. You'll select eight players — two guards, two forwards, two centers, and two utility players. Then you'll accumulate fantasy points based on how your squad performs in categories like points, rebounds, assists, blocks, and more in Friday night's games. The teams that rack up the most fantasy points on Friday will split the $300 prize pool.

I've put together a balanced squad led by Josh Smith, Paul Millsap, and Andrei Kirilenko. Here's a screenshot of my roster:

Draftstreet

If you're interested in trying to top my team and others, sign up and create a roster prior to Friday's games (7:00pm eastern time). It's quick, easy, fun, and the Hoops Rumors league gives you a free chance to win some of the $300 prize pool. If you enjoy the competition, you can try other leagues for free and earn credits, or deposit real money.

Please note that this post is a paid advertisement by DraftStreet.

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Early Returns On Big Free Agent Contracts

By | at November 15, 2012 3:50 pm

Over the summer, eight free agents signed contracts that were worth a guaranteed $40MM or more — in some cases, such as Deron Williams' $98.77MM deal, they were worth a lot more.

Since all these contracts were for either four or five years, it will be a while yet before we can determine whether they'll be bargains, busts, or something in between. Still, with the season well underway, it's not too early to look at how these eight guys are handling the pressures of their big new deals so far.

Because Ersan Ilyasova's $40MM contract with the Bucks isn't fully guaranteed in its last year, he isn't included here. Extended players like Blake Griffin, James Harden, and others aren't on our list either, since their new contracts won't officially kick in until next season. Here's a look at the early returns on this summer's top eight free agents:

  • Deron Williams, Nets (Five years, $98.77MM): Williams has helped lead the Nets to a 4-2 start in Brooklyn, averaging 17.7 PPG and 7.7 APG to date. The Nets' wins have come against some mediocre competition in the Raptors, Cavaliers, and Magic, and Williams' numbers across the board are slightly below his career averages, including an ugly .258 3PT% on over five three-pointers per game. But as D-Will continues to adjust to all his new teammates, I expect those numbers to improve.
  • Brook Lopez, Nets (Four years, $60.83MM): Like his aforementioned Nets teammate, Lopez has taken advantage of a few early-season contests against Eastern Conference lottery teams to get off to a good start, including a 24.0 PER. Even more encouraging than Lopez's stats though is his health — after a lost 2011/12 season, Lopez will have a much easier time living up to his maximum-salary contract if he returns to the 82-game form he displayed in his first three years.
  • Eric Gordon, Hornets (Four years, $58.37MM): While Lopez has started strong after injuries wiped out his 2011/12 campaign, Gordon hasn't bounced back quite so nicely from an injury-plagued '11/12. After a summer in which he essentially urged New Orleans not to match his offer sheet with the Suns, Gordon didn't seem to be on the same page as the Hornets when it came to his health. There's still plenty of time for this contract to work out, but when it's newsworthy that Gordon is expressing a commitment to the Hornets and hasn't requested a trade, that's not a great sign.
  • Roy Hibbert, Pacers (Four years, $58.37MM): With Danny Granger out of action, the Pacers have struggled as a team, getting off to a 3-6 start. Hibbert hasn't exactly stepped up in Granger's absence, shooting 38.6% from the floor in his first nine games, with his PPG, RPG, and PER all well below last year's marks. For his part, Hibbert says his contract isn't weighing on his mind, and figures his shots will start falling eventually.
  • Nicolas Batum, Trail Blazers (Four years, $46.12MM): My pick for 2012/13's Most Improved Player, Batum is making me, and the Blazers, look good through eight games. On Portland's new-look roster, Batum is playing more minutes (38.8 to 30.4), taking more shots (14.6 to 10.9), and shooting more threes (7.3 to 4.6) than he did a year ago, and his overall numbers reflect that, with career-high averages virtually across the board so far.
  • JaVale McGee, Nuggets (Four years, $44MM): The Nuggets are off to a bit of a slow start, winning just four of their first eight games, and they'll likely need more of a contribution from McGee to become an elite team. The former Wizard is coming off the bench and averaging less than 20 minutes per contests so far, which isn't something you want to see from a guy making an eight-digit salary. McGee has been productive in limited action, so we'll see if his minutes increase as he gets more comfortable in George Karl's system.
  • George Hill, Pacers (Five years, $40MM): Like Batum in Portland, Hill is earning more minutes and taking way more shots after signing a lucrative new contract. Part of that can be attributed to Granger's injury, but the Pacers are leaning on Hill heavily with Darren Collison playing in Dallas, and he's been handling the extra pressure in Indiana better than Hibbert has so far.
  • Gerald Wallace, Nets (Four years, $40MM): Wallace has appeared in just one game this season for the Nets, having been forced out of action with a sprained ankle. The 30-year-old forward misses a few games every season with various ailments, so hopefully he's just getting that out of the way early this year. If he's plagued by injuries for much of 2012/13, this four-year contract will be off to an ominous start.
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