2012 October | Hoops Rumors

Maurice Evans Waiting On Guaranteed Deal

October 16th, 2012 at 7:01pm CST by Zachary Links

Free agent guard Maurice Evans is still looking to hook on with a team as we close in on the start of the 2011/12 season and has received several offers for make-good contracts from around the league. However, the 33-year-old says that he won't consider taking any of them as he believes that he deserves a guaranteed contract, writes Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld.

“I did not entertain any non-guaranteed contracts,” Evans said. “At this point in my career, every team and GM is familiar with my skill-set and what impact I would have on their team. A non-guarantee was not appealing at all, especially coming off the heels of helping negotiate the current CBA just last year. I believe there will be opportunities that will manifest after training camp. There are many players still at home that can bring tremendous value to teams.”

Evans believes that he has plenty left in the tank at this stage of his career, but the Wizards didn't do him any favors last season as his minutes shrank in the midst of the club's youth movement. In 14.3 minutes per contest, Evans averaged 4.9 PPG and 1.0 RPG. It was reported that General Manager Ernie Grunfeld offered Evans a position in the front office, but the guard says that he was never formally presented with that opportunity. Regardless, Evans says that he's willing to call it a career if he can't find a club willing to give him a guaranteed contract.

Knicks Exercise Option On Iman Shumpert

October 16th, 2012 at 5:31pm CST by Zachary Links

The Knicks announced that they have exercised the third-year option on Iman Shumpert. The guard, entering his sophomore season, was widely expected to be retained through the 2013/14 season. The Georgia Tech product will make $1.68MM this season and 1.797MM in the third year of his deal.

Shumpert averaged 9.5 PPG, 3.2 RPG, and 2.8 APG for the Knicks last season in his rookie campaign. However, the 17th overall pick in the draft went on to suffer a torn ACL in the Game 1 of first round of the playoffs against the Heat. We heard recently that Shumpert has been able to get around without the help of a brace or a limp, which would indicate that his rehab is going well. Doctors have projected that Shumpert could be back in action as soon as December or January.

Bulls Notes: Hinrich, Gibson, Belinelli, Radmanovic

October 16th, 2012 at 4:50pm CST by Luke Adams

The Bulls have made a pair of camp cuts so far, waiving both Andre Emmett and Vance Cooksey, but a few more moves are still to come. Even with two roster spots available, Kyrylo Fesenko, Marko Jaric, and Ryan Allen are long shots to make the club, considering the Bulls are only about $758K from their hard cap for the season. Here are the latest links out of Chicago:

Before Kirk Hinrich signed with the Bulls, former Chicago coach Scott Skiles tried to lure him to the Bucks, according to Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "He and I talked at length about it a couple times," Skiles said. "But you know, we weren't dangling a starting job. With Derrick [Rose] out, it's kind of Kirk's show right now. And obviously he lives here (in the Chicago area). There were some things that were against us a little bit. But I do know he struggled over it. When he called and told me what he had decided, I totally understood."
As Taj Gibson attempts to grow as a player, he's not letting himself be distracted by contract issues, writes Sam Smith of Bulls.com.
New Bulls additions Marco Belinelli and Vladimir Radmanovic are still adjusting to coach Tom Thibodeau's system, says Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times.

Celtics Waive Dionte Christmas, Jamar Smith

October 16th, 2012 at 4:18pm CST by Luke Adams

4:18pm: The Celtics have officially waived Christmas and Smith, according to a press release from the team.

3:43pm: The Celtics have decided to release camp invitees Dionte Christmas and Jamar Smith, reports Peter Yannopoulos of TSN Radio 690 Montreal (via Twitter). While no official announcement has been made yet, Gary Tanguay of CSNNE.com confirms the report, citing an NBA source. With Christmas and Smith no longer on the roster, the Celtics will be keeping Kris Joseph, according to Yannopoulos.

The Celtics' moves are a little surprising, since half of Christmas' contract was guaranteed, and Smith had a $25K guarantee on his deal as well. With 13 players on fully guaranteed deals for Boston, it was expected that at least one of Christmas and Smith would earn one of the final two roster spots. Joseph will be the Celtics' 14th man, and it appears the club will keep an open 15th spot, since invitees Rob Kurz and Micah Downs are unlikely to survive cuts.

When the Celtics officially place Christmas and Smith on waivers, they'll have committed money to three players that won't be on their regular-season roster. Boston is expected to still be on the hook for Keyon Dooling's minimum-salary deal after the veteran retired last month.

Jrue Holiday’s Agent Meets With Sixers

October 16th, 2012 at 2:49pm CST by Luke Adams

Tony Dutt, the agent for Jrue Holiday, was in Philadelphia on Monday night to touch base with the 76ers about a possible contract extension for his client, according to John Mitchell of the Philadelphia Inquirer. TNT's David Aldridge had reported yesterday that Dutt was expected to meet with the Sixers about Holiday this week.

While cautioning that he doesn't have a firm idea of how the negotiations between the two sides will progress, Mitchell says he isn't expecting Holiday and the Sixers to reach an agreement by Halloween. According to Mitchell, most of the people he's talked to around the league believe that the point guard will play out the season and become a restricted free agent next summer.

Holiday, who has said he wants to be a "max contract" kind of player, is eligible for a contract of up to five years with Philadelphia, whereas he could earn no more than four years from another team in free agency. As such, it's likely the Sixers eventually retain Holiday, whether that means working out an extension this month, working out a new deal next July, or matching a rival team's offer sheet.

When I examined Holiday as an extension candidate earlier in the offseason, I suggested that a four-year deal worth in the neighborhood of $10MM annually could interest both sides.

Pacific Notes: Suns, D12, Paul, Lakers, Fredette

October 16th, 2012 at 1:40pm CST by Luke Adams

Let's head to the west coast and round up a few of Tuesday's items out of the Pacific Division….

After waiving Othyus Jeffers, the Suns have more difficult roster decisions ahead of them, according to Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. Among those is deciding which big man to keep from a group that includes Ike Diogu, Solomon Jones, and Luke Zeller.
Although it appears that the Lakers and Clippers are the overwhelming favorites to re-sign Dwight Howard and Chris Paul respectively next summer, the two stars could conceivably decide to team up on a team like the Hawks, says ESPN.com's Chris Broussard (Insider link).
The Lakers likely wouldn't have Steve Nash, Jordan Hill, and others on this year's roster if it weren't for a handful of small trades in the past, as Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times explains.
Jimmer Fredette's stock has fallen since he was selected 10th overall in the 2011 draft, but he's showing promise this preseason for the Kings, writes Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com. Sacramento has two more weeks to exercise its $2.44MM option on Fredette for 2013/14.

International Rumors: Jordan, Ubiles, Horner

October 16th, 2012 at 12:09pm CST by Luke Adams

Tracy McGrady's recent signing with China's Qingdao Double Star Eagles is the most notable international transaction of late, but there are still plenty of players with NBA experience coming from and going to teams overseas. Here's the latest on a few of them:

In addition to drawing interest from Qingdao, Jerome Jordan has also received interest from the Zhejiang Chouzhou Golden Bulls of the CBA, according to a 361 Sport report (translation via HoopsHype).
French team Cholet has announced that Edwin Ubiles is no longer a part of the team and is now a free agent (hat tip to Sportando). Ubiles, a Siena product, appeared in four games last season for the Wizards.
Germany's Artland Dragons have signed Dennis Horner, according to the team's official website (hat tip to Sportando). Horner appeared in eight games for the Nets and 25 games for the D-League's Springfield Armor in the 2011/12 season.

Jeremy Lin Talks Knicks, D-League, Free Agency

October 16th, 2012 at 10:32am CST by Luke Adams

The latest issue of GQ features a familiar face on its cover: Rockets guard Jeremy Lin. In the cover story for the November issue, GQ's Will Leitch profiles Lin, who spoke about playing in the D-League, his desire to finish his career with the Knicks, and a confusing summer in free agency. Here are a few of the highlights:

On wanting to remain in New York:

"You can't ask for a city or a fan base to embrace somebody more than they embraced me. I know it's kind of silly to talk about it with only two years under my belt in the league, but going in before free agency, I was like, 'I want to play in front of these fans for the rest of my career.' I really did. I really wanted to play in front of the Madison Square Garden fans for the rest of my career, because they're just unbelievable."

On his ascension from benchwarmer to star:

"I mean, to literally go from 'If I score two, three, or four points today, it's a good day' to setting the record for the most points scored in your first five starts of any NBA player, I'd be a huge liar if I told myself, 'I knew I could do that.' You know what I mean? That's not realistic. Let's just be honest. I had no idea I could play like that. It was as amazing to me as it was to everybody else."

On playing in the D-League prior to his breakout season:

"I'm going to be honest, playing in D-League games is tough. We got way more fans at Harvard games. It feels like a demotion, and it feels like if you have one bad game then the thought gets in your brain: I might get cut."

On whether he would have played overseas if he hadn't received a shot from an NBA team:

"I absolutely would not have liked playing in Spain or somewhere like that, so I was just gonna do it a year. Then I was gonna be done."

On the difficulty he had securing offers this offseason in free agency:

"[Rival teams] figured the Knicks were just going to match anyway, so there's no point. We couldn't get anybody. At one point in time I thought, 'Are we going to have zero contract offers?'…. The Rockets thought I was going to be a Knick. They told me when I signed there, 'We think it's an 80% to 95% chance of that happening.' That was consistent with what everyone was saying to me."

On whether he'd do anything differently in free agency:

"I might have been a lot more reserved about [seeking out offers] in free agency. But the thing about it is, there was no other way to handle the situation. I didn't get an offer from the Knicks, so I had to go test my market."

Mavericks Notes: Nowitzki, West, Mayo

October 16th, 2012 at 9:17am CST by Luke Adams

Dirk Nowitzki is doing everything he can to avoid undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his troublesome right knee, but with the knee swelling up again yesterday, his options are looking increasingly limited, as he told the media.

"I’m doing everything I can, conservatively, not to have surgery," Nowitzki said, according to Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News. "I guess that’s obvious, that I really don’t want it done now. If I want to do it, I would love to do it after the season, get through the season somehow. But the swelling came back three or four times now. That’s obviously not good news. If it’s going to keep swelling up on me, then that’s obviously not the way to go through an 82-game season and hopefully a long playoff run."

If Nowitzki and the team's doctors decide that surgery is the way to go, the procedure will likely take place next week, with healing expected to take between three and six weeks. Here are a few more Tuesday morning Mavericks links:

Adi Joseph of USA Today wonders how the Mavericks lineup would hold up with Nowitzki out, opining that the team should be okay if he just misses a few weeks.
Coach Rick Carlisle was impressed with the team's depth off the bench in its win over Houston on Monday night, writes Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
The Mavs have suspended Delonte West for conduct detrimental to the team, Carlisle told the media, including Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com. The suspension "stems at least in part" from an outburst in the Mavs' locker room following last night's game, according to MacMahon.
While Carlisle didn't specify a timetable for West's suspension, it's not expected to last long, says Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News.
Offseason signee O.J. Mayo made a solid impression last night after an uneasy start in the team's games in Europe, MacMahon writes at ESPN Dallas.

Derek Fisher Eligible To Re-Sign With Lakers

October 16th, 2012 at 8:06am CST by Luke Adams

Last week, in a story about players who are ineligible to return to their old teams after being traded and waived, I looked extensively at Derek Fisher's eligibility to return to the Lakers. Because waived players can rejoin their old teams either a year after being traded or at the end of their contract (whichever comes first), Fisher's 2012/13 player option created some confusion. He was believed to have exercised the option before being bought out by the Rockets, meaning his contract wouldn't officially end until June 30th, 2013 and he wouldn't be able to re-sign with the Lakers until March 15th, 2013, the one-year anniversary of last March's trade.

However, according to ESPN.com's Marc Stein, the league office has verified that Fisher can, in fact, return to the Lakers now. Sources tell Stein that Fisher was bought out by Houston before he exercised his option for 2012/13. As such, his contract is considered to have ended on June 30th of this year, making him eligible to re-sign with the Lakers from July 1st on.

We've heard so many conflicting stories about Fisher's eligibility at this point that it's hard to be 100% sure that Stein's account is accurate until we see the veteran point guard actually wearing a Lakers uniform. And of course, even if Fisher can re-sign with the team, there's no guarantee he will. At the moment, the Lakers still have an excess of point guards, which is why the club is reportedly shopping Chris Duhon and Steve Blake.

According to Stein, Fisher could very well jump at the next palatable offer he receives from one of the league's other 29 teams, but there's still some level of interest from both Fisher and the Lakers in a reunion.

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