2012 October | Hoops Rumors

Kings Exercise Options On Cousins, Fredette

October 17th, 2012 at 4:07pm CST by Luke Adams

The Kings have officially exercised their 2013/14 team options on DeMarcus Cousins and Jimmer Fredette, the team announced today in a press release. Option decisions had been due by the end of the month.

"We’re looking forward to seeing DeMarcus and Jimmer play this year and continue to grow, improve and help this team be successful," said Geoff Petrie in the statement released by the club.

Cousins, who is entering his third season, is now in line for a guaranteed salary of about $4.92MM in 2013/14, the final year of his rookie contract. Fredette, meanwhile, had his third-year option picked up, and will make about $2.44MM in '13/14. A year from now, Cousins will be eligible for a long-term extension with Sacramento, while the Kings will hold another team option for 2014/15 on Fredette, worth $3.11MM.

Be sure to follow Hoops Rumors' rookie-contract 2013/14 option tracker to see the latest option decisions as the October 31st deadline approaches.

Hawks Waive Carldell Johnson

October 17th, 2012 at 3:53pm CST by Luke Adams

The Hawks have waived camp invitee Carldell Johnson, according to Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (via Twitter). The move reduces Atlanta's roster count to 16 players.

Johnson, 29, has played over 200 D-League games for the Austin Toros since going undrafted in 2006. The 5'10" point guard known as Squeaky finally made his NBA debut last season for the Hornets, appearing in 15 contests for New Orleans.

The Hawks have now cut Johnson, Keith Benson, and Isma'il Muhammad from camp, meaning Damion James and James Anderson are the only two non-guaranteed players left on the roster. If the Hawks decide to carry 15 players to open the season, James and Anderson are the candidates to earn that 15th spot, while the other player figures to be waived before opening night.

Kevin Love Breaks Hand, Out Up To Eight Weeks

October 17th, 2012 at 2:55pm CST by Luke Adams

Kevin Love has suffered a broken right hand and will miss the next four to six weeks, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). The team confirmed the injury (Twitter link), indicating the timetable for Love's recovery could be six to eight weeks.

The Timberwolves have 14 players on fully guaranteed contracts, meaning there's still a chance for camp invitees to earn that 15th spot. One of those players, Chris Johnson, is a big, though it's unclear if Love's injury would improve his chances of making the team or whether the T-Wolves are happy with their current frontcourt players besides Love.

Love is entering the first year of the four-year extension he signed earlier in 2012 with Minnesota, and is set to earn $13.67MM this season. With Ricky Rubio still recovering from an ACL injury, the T-Wolves' two most recognizable stars will be out of action when the season gets underway.

Longest-Tenured GMs In The NBA

October 17th, 2012 at 1:28pm CST by Luke Adams

Over a quarter of the NBA's 30 teams have made significant front office changes since the 2011/12 season ended, with nine clubs hiring or promoting executives for their general manager openings. But while many teams are making changes, a number of GMs have been with their current franchises for years, or even decades.

Most of their names at the top of our list of longest-tenured GMs are to be expected — Pat Riley, Joe Dumars, Mitch Kupchak, R.C. Buford, and Danny Ainge make up five of the top six, and each have brought championship banners to their respective franchises since taking over. Still, there are a few surprises, including the number one longest-tenured GM: Geoff Petrie of the Kings.

Not all of the executives listed below necessarily have the title of "general manager," as many top execs are their team's president of basketball operations, or hold a similar title. For clubs that have both a a general manager and a president of basketball ops, the GM is listed below, with the president indicated in parentheses.

Here's the list of the longest-tenured GMs in the NBA, along with the date they assumed the role:

Geoff Petrie, Kings: June 1994
Pat Riley, Heat: September 1995
Joe Dumars, Pistons: June 2000
Mitch Kupchak, Lakers: August 2000
R.C. Buford, Spurs: July 2002
Danny Ainge, Celtics: May 2003
Ernie Grunfeld, Wizards: June 2003
Donnie Nelson, Mavericks: June 2005
Bryan Colangelo, Raptors: February 2006
Daryl Morey, Rockets: May 2007
Sam Presti, Thunder: June 2007
Chris Wallace, Grizzlies: June 2007
John Hammond, Bucks: April 2008
Gar Forman, Bulls: May 2009
David Kahn, Timberwolves: May 2009
Chris Grant, Cavaliers: June 2010
Billy King, Nets: July 2010
Dell Demps, Hornets: July 2010
Lance Blanks, Suns: August 2010 (Lon Babby is president of basketball operations)
Masai Ujiri, Nuggets: August 2010
Glen Grunwald, Knicks: June 2011 (as interim GM; became permanent in April 2012)
Rich Cho, Bobcats: June 2011 (Rod Higgins is president of basketball operations)
Bob Myers, Warriors: April 2012
Neil Olshey, Trail Blazers: June 2012
Rob Hennigan, Magic: June 2012
Danny Ferry, Hawks: June 2012
Kevin Pritchard, Pacers: June 2012 (Donnie Walsh is president of basketball operations)
Dennis Lindsey, Jazz: August 2012 (Kevin O'Connor is executive VP of basketball operations)
Gary Sacks, Clippers: September 2012
Tony DiLeo, Sixers: September 2012

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Stein On Extension Candidates, Boozer, Paul

October 17th, 2012 at 11:43am CST by Luke Adams

Earlier this week, TNT's David Aldridge shared the latest rumors and rumblings he'd heard about this year's fourth-year extension candidates. ESPN.com's Marc Stein follows suit today, and while much of what he's hearing is along the same lines as Aldridge's updates, there's still enough new info that it's worth rounding up the highlights….

Despite chairman Jerry Reinsdorf's apparent aversion to early extensions, it's still likely that the Bulls and Taj Gibson work something out this month, and that the team will eventually release Carlos Boozer using the amensty clause.
An extension for Ty Lawson remains more a question of "when" than "if," sources tells Stein.
The Raptors seem to "want to be wowed" by DeMar DeRozan in the 2012/13 season before committing to him long-term.
The Bobcats aren't expected to lock Gerald Henderson up to an extension unless the terms are very team-friendly.
Although the Hawks like Jeff Teague, they'll likely hold off on committing future cap space to a point guard until they're 100% sure they can't lure Chris Paul to Atlanta.
Extensions for Darren Collison and Rodrigue Beaubois can safely be ruled out as the Mavericks attempt to preserve next summer's cap room.
Stein also believes Stephen Curry and James Harden are likely to be extended, and that a new deal for Jrue Holiday is possible. However, he classifies the rest of this offseason's extension candidates as unlikely to receive long-term contracts by Halloween.

Western Notes: Lakers, T-Wolves, Spurs, Speights

October 17th, 2012 at 11:04am CST by Luke Adams

Only three of the 12 NBA teams in action last night were Western Conference clubs, with the only intra-conference matchup coming between the Jazz and Lakers. After a 34-point Jazz victory dropped L.A.'s preseason record to 0-4, it was no surprise that new point guard Steve Nash told Kevin Ding of the Orange County Register that the new-look Lakers are still a "work in progress." Here are a few more Wednesday updates from out west:

The Timberwolves aren't currently active "at all" on the trade market, tweets Darren Wolfson of ESPN 1500.
Manu Ginobili doesn't envy the Spurs' decision-makers when it comes to deciding which camp invitee will earn the team's 15th roster spot, as he tells Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News. In a separate piece, McDonald agrees that there's plenty of depth in camp for the Spurs, noting that the team probably wishes it could keep 17 players this year instead of 15.
Given Andrew Bynum's health issues so far this preseason, the Lakers may appear savvy for moving the big man when they did. But as GM Mitch Kupchak points out to Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com, the guy they acquired for Bynum had his own health questions. "Whatever concern we had (with Bynum's knees)," Kupchak said. "Was offset by Dwight [Howard] coming off offseason back surgery."
After earning a two-year deal from the Grizzlies in free agency this summer, Marreese Speights is aiming to repeat last year's breakout performance, writes Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal.
Ryan Anderson spoke to Jim Eichenhofer of Hornets.com about transforming from a trade throw-in to the core piece of a franchise in the last three years.

Thunder Hire Darko Rajakovic To Coach 66ers

October 17th, 2012 at 9:40am CST by Luke Adams

The Thunder have reached an agreement with Serbian coach Darko Rajakovic, hiring him to coach their D-League affiliate, the Tulsa 66ers, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Rajakovic still has to go through the immigration process, so his hiring has yet to become official, but when it does, he'll be the first European to coach an NBA or D-League franchise.

According to Wojnarowski, Thunder GM Sam Presti has a long relationship with Rajakovic, dating back to Presti's time with the Spurs. The GM targeted the 33-year-old Serbian out of a belief that he could develop the players that Oklahoma City sends to Tulsa for extra playing time.

Rajoakovic has coached Torrelodones in Spain for the last three seasons. He'll follow in the footsteps of two 66ers head coaches, Dale Osbourne and Nate Tibbetts, who have earned assistant coaching jobs for NBA teams since working in Tulsa.

Kupchak: Lakers Not Actively Seeking Trades

October 17th, 2012 at 8:41am CST by Luke Adams

A recent Marc Stein report for ESPN.com suggested that the Lakers had let it be known around the NBA that Chris Duhon and Steve Blake are available. However, according to GM Mitch Kupchak, the Lakers aren't actively seeking trades at this point. Of course, as Kupchak suggests to Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times, that's due in part to the calendar rather than the Lakers' roster.

"This time of year, teams are not looking to make deals," Kupchak said. "They're evaluating their team and if anything they're going to cut players as they go into the season."

Could that change when regular-season rosters are set and injuries or playing-time concerns begin to accumulate?

"Some guys may not be happy if they're not playing as much as they thought they'd play or their contract's running out and they're concerned about their next contract," Kupchak said. "It's too early right now. There's a lot of energy and excitement right here. Everybody's pretty happy. So we'll just see how it plays out the next month or two."

The Lakers' backcourt is pretty crowded for now, with nine guards in camp, including four at the point: Steve Nash, Duhon, Blake, and Darius Morris. It's a near-certainty that at least one or two of those nine guards will be cut within the next couple weeks, but the four point guards all have a reasonable claim to a roster spot. Duhon and Blake also both have guaranteed money due beyond this season, making them better candidates to be traded than released.

Odds & Ends: Virginia Beach, West, Mavs, Maynor

October 16th, 2012 at 10:09pm CST by Zachary Links

Links as Tuesday turns into Wednesday..

Voters in Virginia Beach, Virginia are largely against the idea of building an NBA arena in their city, according to a poll released earlier today, writes Dale Kasler of the Sacramento Bee. The poll showed that voters oppose the proposed arena by a 45-38 margin and oppose public funding for it by a margin of 58-32. It already seemed unlikely that an NBA team would move to the area, but the lack of public support further hurts the odds.
Delonte West's suspension for conduct detrimental to the Mavericks didn't last long as he was reinstated this evening, writes Tim McMahon of ESPNDallas.com. Sources said that West's suspension stemmed from an outburst in the locker room after the Mavs' 123-104 preseason win Monday over the Rockets.
Eddie Sefko of the The Dallas Morning News writes that Mark Cuban should have been in attendance for Deron Williams' meeting with the Mavericks this summer, but the owner shouldn't be blamed for the point guard's decision to stay with the Nets. Recently, Williams indicated that his decision to pass on Dallas was influenced by Cuban's decision to attend a taping of his television show rather than meet with him.
Point guard Eric Maynor's return from injury is as good as any free agent pickup the Thunder could have hoped for this summer, writes Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman. The former VCU star is entering his walk year after missing the bulk of the 2011/12 season.
Kevin Garnett gave a strong endorsement of the new look Nets following their preseason game against the Celtics. “They’re going to be a force to be reckoned with. They’re nothing like last year. They’re gonna be strong," said Garnett, according to Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News (via Twitter).

Atlantic Notes: Celtics, Nash, Raptors, Knicks

October 16th, 2012 at 8:32pm CST by Zachary Links

In case you were worried that Jeremy Lin's move from New York to Houston would cut down on the point guard's face time in the media, you can now rest easy. The former Knicks guard was profiled in the cover story of GQ's November issue and ran down his hectic summer and eventual signing with the Rockets. Mostly everyone was taken by surprise when the Knicks opted against matching General Manager Daryl Morey's offer and Lin disclosed that even the Houston front office wasn't expecting to come away with him. After signing the Rockets' offer sheet, the club told Lin that they believed there was an "80% to 95% chance" that he would wind up back at MSG. Here's more out of the Atlantic..

The Celtics are now looking at adding another veteran player by the end of the week after releasing Dionte Christmas and Jamar Smith, a source tells Paul Flannery of WEEI.com. Coach Doc Rivers says that the club won't limit its search to backcourt help either as Courtney Lee, Jason Terry, and Avery Bradley can also pitch in at one-guard. Meanwhile, it now seems likely that rookie Kris Joseph will make the final roster of 15.
In an interview with QMI Agency, Steve Nash admitted that he was extremely close to signing with the Raptors this offseason, writes Steve Buffery of the Toronto Sun. "I was very close, you know," Nash said. "Because it appeared that they were going to be an option long before free agency started. So I got my head around that and I was comfortable with that and happy with the opportunity to play in Toronto. But when this opportunity (with the Lakers) became a reality, I couldn't pass it up."
If the Knicks can't break through this season with their core of Carmelo Anthony, Tyson Chandler, and Amare Stoudemire, Sam Amico of FOXSports.com believes that they should look into going in another direction.

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