2012 October | Hoops Rumors

Grizzlies Sale Approved By NBA

October 25th, 2012 at 12:03pm CST by Luke Adams

THURSDAY, 12:03pm: The NBA's Board of Governors has unanimously approved the sale of the Grizzlies to Robert Pera's group, the league announced today in a press release. The final hurdle before the team changes hands involves closing the sale with Michael Heisley, tweets Kyle Veazey of the Memphis Commercial Appeal.

WEDNESDAY, 5:21pm: The sale of the team received unanimous approval from the league's finance committee today, as Ronald Tillery and Kyle Veazey of the Memphis Commercial Appeal report. As Stein surmised earlier, that means tomorrow's vote by the Board of Governors is largely a formality, the newspaper tweets. Pera and his group still must close the deal with Heisley before the sale is complete.

TUESDAY, 8:36am: The NBA's Board of Governors is scheduled to meet this week in New York City this week, and as we learned last night, one of the topics on the table will be the sale of the Memphis Grizzlies to tech magnate Robert Pera. According to ESPN.com's Marc Stein, the Board of Governors is scheduled to vote on the sale on Thursday, and the agreement is expected to be approved.

As Stein writes in his piece, approval is generally considered to be a formality once it's brought to the Board of Governors. The transfer of ownership from Michael Heisley to Pera didn't always appear to be a lock, but Pera has solidified his bid by bringing aboard a number of potential minority owners, including actor/musician Justin Timberlake, NFL star Peyton Manning and his wife Ashley, and former NBA All-Star Penny Hardaway.

"We've heard a lot of good things about him and his intentions are all good," Grizzlies guard Mike Conley said earlier this month of Pera. "I know the city of Memphis should be excited. As a team, we are excited. It's going to be a different expectation for us, and we're just looking forward to taking it on."

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Memphis Grizzlies

Clippers Waive Trent Plaisted, Hank Thorns

October 25th, 2012 at 11:57am CST by Luke Adams

The Clippers are the latest team to make roster cuts, officially announcing today that they've waived camp invitees Trent Plaisted and Hank Thorns. The Clips will have to make at least one more move before finalizing their roster, since they still have 16 players under contract.

The Clippers were carrying the maximum 20 players when camp began, but have cut Courtney Fortson and Chris Johnson in addition to Plaisted and Thorns. I would assume Marqus Blakely will be next to go, since he's the only remaining Clipper on a non-guaranteed contract.

Western Notes: Blazers, West, Sacre, Iguodala

October 25th, 2012 at 11:47am CST by Luke Adams

According to Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com, Trail Blazers GM Neil Olshey is hoping Nicolas Batum can increase his scoring this season like Eric Gordon did in his third year, when his PPG jumped from 16.9 to 22.3. If Batum can take that sort of step forward, Olshey says he has reason to be optimistic about the Blazers' future.

"I'm not putting a number on Nic, but if Nic can make a jump, if Wes [Matthews] can make a jump, if L.A. [LaMarcus Aldridge] can just be L.A., and Damian [Lillard] can be who we think he has the ability to be, we're not that far away," Olshey said. "And having a lottery pick potentially, and three second [round picks], and having $13MM in room potentially, is a pretty good position to be in eight months from now."

Here are a few more updates from around the Western Conference:

The Mavericks have indefinitely suspended Delonte West again for conduct detrimental to the team, the club announced today in a press release. As Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com tweets, it seems likely this suspension will last longer than West's last one did.
Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News thinks Mavericks rookie Bernard James, the third pick of the second round this June, could use some D-League seasoning.
Robert Sacre is moving closer to locking up a spot on the Lakers roster, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post believes Andre Iguodala, who can invoke an early termination option for 2013/14, will instead sign a long-term deal with the Nuggets.
Even after waiving Eddy Curry and Derrick Brown, the Spurs won't necessarily keep Josh Powell on their regular season roster, but Powell tells Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News that he thinks he's shown the team enough to warrant consideration.

76ers Exercise Option On Evan Turner

October 25th, 2012 at 11:09am CST by Luke Adams

The 76ers have picked up their fourth-year option on Evan Turner, the team announced today in a press release. Turner had been the only Sixer with an outstanding team option for 2013/14.

As John Hollinger of ESPN.com points out (via Twitter), even though the move was a formality, Turner's fourth-year salary as a former second overall pick isn't insignificant. Turner will earn $5.29MM this season, then be in line for $6.68MM in 2013/14. He'll be eligible for a contract extension next summer, or restricted free agency in the 2014 offseason.

As next Wednesday's deadline approaches, be sure to check out Hoops Rumors' rookie contract option tracker to keep tabs on which teams have exercised '13/14 options so far.

Nuggets Waive Anthony Carter, Ben Uzoh

October 25th, 2012 at 11:00am CST by Luke Adams

The Nuggets have officially waived point guards Anthony Carter and Ben Uzoh, the team announced today in a press release. The cuts reduce Denver's roster to 15 players.

Both Carter and Uzoh were signed to the Nuggets' camp roster back on October 1st, the only two players the team brought in on summer contracts. Carter appeared in three preseason games for Denver, while Uzoh played in just one. Neither player was in a great position to earn a spot on the club's regular season roster, since there are 14 Nuggets on fully guaranteed contracts, plus Julyan Stone, whose deal has a partial guarantee.

Carter told HoopsWorld last week that Nuggets coach George Karl had offered him a job as an assistant, so it'll be interesting to see if the veteran guard transitions into coaching or attempts to continue his playing career with another team.

Kyler On Extension Candidates

October 25th, 2012 at 9:47am CST by Luke Adams

Last week, both TNT's David Aldridge and ESPN.com's Marc Stein passed along rumors and rumblings they'd heard about this offseason's extension candidates. With just six more days for Ty Lawson, Taj Gibson, and other extension-eligible players to work out new deals with their teams, Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld throws his hat into the ring, rounding up a few of the latest updates:

James Harden would like to end speculation about his contract situation, and that could mean he accepts an offer worth less than the max from the Thunder, says Kyler. A contract that includes incentives is a possibility.
The Kings are unlikely to lock up Tyreke Evans this month, and could even explore trading him prior to this season's deadline. Kyler hears from sources close to Evans that he'd welcome free agency "if only to find a situation that believes in him as a player."
The Warriors still like Stephen Curry and figure to retain him beyond this season, but an extension probably won't happen within the next week. Given Curry's ankle issues, it's simply too hard to value him fairly.
DeMar DeRozan appears headed for restricted free agency, and the Raptors would like to see a "big leap" from him this season before committing too heavily next summer.
Brandon Jennings is "far from secure" in Milwaukee, and the Bucks could consider trading him before the deadline, according to Kyler.
Kyler hears that the 76ers have offered Jrue Holiday an extension in the neighborhood of $9MM annually, but that's Holiday's camp turned it down, expecting to see a bigger payday in free agency.
Lawson still appears to be one of the players most likely to be extended, and Kyler says the Nuggets could include incentives in their offer.
The Bulls are likely to extend Gibson, who wants to stay in Chicago, though that doesn't necessarily mean he'll accept a hometown discount.

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October 25th, 2012 at 8:40am CST by Luke Adams

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Eastern Notes: Jennings, DeRozan, Boozer, Jaric

October 24th, 2012 at 11:39pm CST by Chuck Myron

Bucks GM John Hammond said Wednesday the team wants to keep Brandon Jennings around long-term, adding that he'll continue to have talks about an extension with Bill Duffy, the agent for Jennings, until either a deal is reached or the October 31st deadline passes, as Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports. We've got more on another player up for an extension and other notes from the Eastern Conference tonight.

DeMar DeRozan is eligible for extension before next week's deadline, but the Raptors reportedly "want to be wowed" by his performance this season before signing him to a long-term deal next summer. DeRozan is making strides toward that so far, as Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun observes.
Carlos Boozer, an amnesty candidate for next summer, has looked sharp in preseason for the Bulls as he tries to pick up the slack for the injured Derrick Rose, writes K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune.
Marko Jaric was waived by the Bulls today, but expressed appreciation for his time in camp via Twitter, and wrote that he hopes he'll be back with the team next month, when it can afford him on a minimum-salary deal under its hard cap (hat tip to Shams Charania of RealGM.com). Until then, Jaric is free to sign with any team.
When asked by reporters why he re-signed with the Celtics, Jeff Green pointed to Rajon Rondo, whom he called "the best point guard in the league," notes Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald.
Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal weighs the chances Kevin Jones has of making the Cavs opening-night roster. Jones has a diminutive partial guarantee of $50K on his deal.
John Denton of Magic.com takes a look at Nikola Vucevic, the likely starting center for the Magic after coming over from the Sixers in the Dwight Howard trade.
The Bobcats were the league's worst offensive team last year, and they haven't been much better in the preseason, notes Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer.

Northwest Rumors: Thunder, Blazers, Batum

October 24th, 2012 at 10:21pm CST by Chuck Myron

When GMs were polled recently on their thoughts about the upcoming season, the only two teams who received consideration to win the Western Conference other than the Lakers were the Thunder and Nuggets. The nod to Oklahoma City is no surprise, but the mention of Denver might have raised a few eyebrows, since the Nuggets haven't gotten out of the first round the past three years. Nuggets coach George Karl would be pleased if his team notched 50 wins, but with Andre Iguodala on board, he believes this year's squad has a chance to break the franchise record of 54 victories, as Aaron J. Lopez of Nuggets.com writes. Here's the latest on a couple of the Nuggets' division rivals.

The Thunder have 14 players on fully guaranteed deals, and another four with partial guarantees, meaning the team will likely owe money to at least three players who don't make the team. Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman gives reasons why he believes Daniel Orton will edge out DeAndre Liggins for the final regular season spot, adding that it's a decision that may pit GM Sam Presti against coach Scott Brooks (All four Twitter links).
Mayberry also believes there's a chance the Thunder could trade Daequan Cook or Lazar Hayward to free up a spot for both Orton and Liggins, but thinks finding a taker for either would be a tough task (All Twitter links).
With Demonte Harper and Dallas Lauderdale reportedly about to be waived and sent to the D-League, Mike Tokito of The Oregonian identifies Coby Karl, Adam Morrison and Justin Holiday as other camp invitees the Blazers will probably cut.
Nicolas Batum signed for about $12MM less in his four-year deal than Eric Gordon is getting his four-year contract, but Blazers GM Neil Olshey hopes Batum can increase his scoring this year in a manner similar to 5.4 PPG jump Gordon took from his second year in the league to his third, writes Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com.

2011/12 Starters Who Are Out Of The League

October 24th, 2012 at 9:38pm CST by Chuck Myron

Full-time NBA starters are usually fixtures who at least wind up in a rotation the next season, if not the starting lineup. In a few cases, though, starters wind up out of the league entirely, either because of retirement or declining skills. That was the case for three players who were among those who met the starter criteria as defined by the CBA. For last year's lockout-shortened season, that meant players who started at least 33 games or played at least 1,610 minutes, pro-rated figures of the usual 41 starts and 2,000 minutes over an 82-game season.

Here are the three starters from last season who are no longer in the league, and an explanation why.

Shelden Williams — Started 35 games for the Nets last season, but will spend this year playing in France after receiving interest from the Warriors over the summer.
Anthony Parker — Started 51 games for the Cavaliers last season before retiring. He now works as a scout for the Magic.
Derek Fisher — Started 43 games for the Lakers prior to his trade to the Rockets, who bought him out and allowed him to sign with the Thunder. He remains unsigned but continues to seek an NBA deal.

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Month: November 2024