2013 October | Hoops Rumors

Eastern Rumors: Bynum, Irving, LeBron

October 30th, 2013 at 5:58pm CST by Chuck Myron

Andrew Bynum didn’t play in the preseason, but it looks like he might get in the Cavaliers‘ season opener tonight. It would be his first action since the spring of 2012 and his initial step toward convincing the team to fully guarantee his $12.25MM salary. Only $6MM of Bynum’s two-year, $24.79MM contract is guaranteed, so he has much riding on his ability to return to health and productive play this season. Here’s more on the Cavs and a few of their Eastern Conference rivals:

Owner Dan Gilbert is confident the Cavs have built an environment conducive to enticing Kyrie Irving to stay with Cleveland for the long term, and Gilbert is encouraged by the youth of the team’s core, observes Marla Ridenour of the Akron Beacon Journal.
LeBron James has become close with Erik Spoelstra, who dared to drive the superstar hard, and Spoelstra’s presence in Miami means James is best advised to remain with the Heat, too, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports argues. Spoelstra’s new extension runs four years, Wojnarowski reveals.
Bulls camp cut Patrick Christopher is headed to the team’s D-League affiliate after turning down offers to play overseas, sources tell Shams Charania of RealGM.com (Twitter link).
Knicks GM Steve Mills is OK with the expectations that stem from owner James Dolan’s belief that the team has enough talent to win a title this year, tweets Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com. “You always feel pressure in an environment like this but it’s a good pressure,” Mills said.
Mills also responded to a question about Chris Smith‘s place on the Knicks roster by passing along that Dolan wants the team to carry young players it can develop this year, Begley adds (Twitter link).

Bulls Pick Up Options On Butler, Teague

October 30th, 2013 at 5:13pm CST by Luke Adams

5:13pm: The Bulls have officially announced the moves, via press release.

4:14pm: After some “lingering doubt,” the Bulls have also picked up their 2014/15 option on Teague, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter).

10:11am: The Bulls have officially exercised Jimmy Butler‘s fourth-year option, according to RealGM.com’s transactions log. The move ensures that Butler’s salary will be guaranteed through the 2014/15 season.

Butler, 24, appeared in all 82 games for the Bulls last season, averaging 8.6 PPG and a 15.2 PER as he emerged as a key part of the team’s core. He’ll be in line for a salary of about $2MM in ’14/15, and will also be eligible for a contract extension as of next July.

The Bulls also have to make a decision today or tomorrow on Marquis Teague‘s 2014/15 option, and the fact that it has yet to be picked up could signal that Chicago will pass. Although the Bulls would only be on the hook for an extra $1.12MM in ’14/15 if they exercised Teague’s option, a report earlier this month suggested that the club was prepared to move on from the second-year point guard.

Rockets Pick Up Options On Jones, Motiejunas

October 30th, 2013 at 4:36pm CST by Chuck Myron

4:36pm: The Rockets have officially announced that the team exercised its 2014/15 options on Jones and Motiejunas, tweets Feigen.

OCTOBER 30TH, 10:54am: Houston will officially exercise its options on Jones and Motiejunas today, tweets Feigen.

OCTOBER 20TH, 10:16am: The Rockets plan to exercise their team options on the rookie scale contracts of Terrence Jones and Donatas Motiejunas, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. Both are coming off their rookie seasons, so the deadline to officially lock in the third years of their respective deals is October 31st. Jones’ 2014/15 option is worth $1,618,680, while Motiejunas is in line for $1,483,920.

The team is hesitant to turn the power forward position over to either just yet, even though the front office is ready to commit to both through 2015, Feigen writes. Motiejunas started 14 regular season games last season and appeared in 30 others, averaging 5.7 points and 2.1 rebounds in 12.2 minutes per contest. Still, he wasn’t a factor in Houston’s playoff series against the Thunder, notching just five total minutes. Jones saw slightly more time in the playoffs, scoring eight points in 35 total minutes, but he appeared in more D-League games than he did NBA contests last year. Jones put up 19.0 PPG and 9.0 RPG in 24 games for the D-League champion Rio Grande Valley Vipers.

The options, once officially exercised, will add about $3MM to the Rockets payroll for 2014/15, which already includes more than $53.8MM in guaranteed money. Houston will likely operate as an over-the-cap team next summer, unlike this past offseason, when the team used ample cap space to sign Dwight Howard. Keep up with each team’s rookie contract option decisions between now and the end of the month with our updated tracker.

Nuggets Exercise Options On Faried, Fournier

October 30th, 2013 at 4:08pm CST by Luke Adams

4:08pm: The Nuggets have officially announced in a press release that they’ve picked up their 2014/15 options on Faried and Fournier. The release doesn’t include word on Hamilton, so it looks like his option will be declined, though that’s not official yet.

10:16am: The Nuggets have picked up their fourth-year option on Kenneth Faried and their third-year option on Evan Fournier, according to the transactions log at RealGM.com. The club has now locked up Faried for the remainder of his rookie contract, while Fournier will have one more team option for 2015/16.

With Andre Iguodala now playing in Golden State and Danilo Gallinari starting the season on the shelf, the Nuggets will be leaning on Faried and Fournier more than ever this year. Faried will earn a salary of about $1.37MM in 2013/14 before getting a bump to $2.25MM for ’14/15. Fournier, meanwhile, is in line for a guaranteed $1.48MM in ’14/15.

As for the Nuggets’ third rookie scale player, there’s no word yet on Jordan Hamilton‘s fourth-year option, which would be worth about $2.11MM. When Chuck Myron of Hoops Rumors examined this year’s rookie contract option decisions, he suggested that Hamilton would be on the bubble, particularly since Denver’s new GM and coach don’t have as strong a stake in the young swingman. The Nuggets have until tomorrow to exercise or decline Hamilton’s option.

To catch up on all of this month’s rookie contract option decisions, check out our tracker.

Atlantic Notes: Raptors, Diogu, Knicks, Nets

October 30th, 2013 at 3:54pm CST by Luke Adams

No Atlantic teams were in action on the NBA’s opening night, but all five are ready to go tonight, including three preparing to host their home openers. While the Nets play in Cleveland, the Celtics will visit the Raptors, the Sixers will host the Heat, and the Knicks will be in action at MSG against the Bucks.

As we look forward to all five Atlantic teams getting their seasons underway, let’s check out a few notes from out of the division:

According to Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun, new Raptors GM Masai Ujiri and CEO Tim Leiweke don’t share Bryan Colangelo‘s belief that Toronto is just a piece or two away from being a legit contender, and would prefer to blow things up to move forward. However, as the season gets underway, Ujiri has “a whole lot of houses for sale, not that many viewings, and almost no buyers,” writes Simmons.
Knicks camp invitee Josh Powell will head to China to play with the Guangdong Southern Tigers, but according to Al Iannazzone of Newsday, that opportunity arose after fellow Knick invitee Ike Diogu turned down an offer from the team. Diogu, who played for Guangdong last season, didn’t want to return due to poor management, but is considering other options in China, says Iannazzone (Twitter links).
While many of their Eastern Conference rivals made bigger offseason splashes, the Knicks‘ notable moves included acquiring Andrea Bargnani and signing Metta World Peace. Nonetheless, James Dolan’s expectations are high — he believes the team has enough talent to win an NBA title this year, says Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com.
Despite being one of the highest-paid players in the NBA, Joe Johnson is happy to fly under the radar on the new-look Nets, as Fred Kerber of the New York Post details.

Following Specific Players On Hoops Rumors

October 30th, 2013 at 2:49pm CST by Luke Adams

As we’ve outlined before, there are a number of different ways to follow Hoops Rumors via Facebook, Twitter, and RSS. If you don’t want to follow all the site’s updates, you can subscribe to team-specific or transaction-only Facebook, Twitter, and RSS feeds. Although we don’t have Facebook pages or Twitter feeds for specific players, you can also easily follow all our updates on your favorite player.

If, for instance, you want to keep track of all the latest news and rumors on LeBron James as he plays a potential contract year, you can visit this page. If you’re interested in keeping tabs on the latest trade rumors involving Evan Turner, you can find Turner’s page right here.

Every player we’ve written about has his own rumors page. You can find your player of choice by using our search box (located in the right sidebar); by clicking his tag at the bottom of a post where he’s discussed; or, by simply typing his name in your address bar after hoopsrumors.com, substituting dashes for spaces. For example, LeBron’s page is located at hoopsrumors.com/lebron-james.

In addition to players and teams, there are a number of other subjects you can track by clicking on the tags we use at the bottom of posts. Items related to the NBA D-League, for instance, can be found on this rumors page. If you want to follow early updates on the 2014 NBA draft, those are all available here.

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Allen Iverson Officially Announces Retirement

October 30th, 2013 at 1:22pm CST by Luke Adams

OCTOBER 30TH: Iverson officially announced his retirement this afternoon from Philadelphia, on NBA TV.

OCTOBER 17TH: Iverson will officially announce his retirement at the Sixers’ home opener against the Heat on October 30th, reports Chris Broussard of ESPN.com (via Twitter).

AUGUST 21ST: Allen Iverson hasn’t appeared in an NBA game since the 2009/10 season, but in the years since then, he has played overseas and continued to try to make an NBA comeback. It appears the 38-year-old is finally ready to call it a career though. According to Tzvi Twersky of SLAM, Iverson is prepared to officially announce his retirement in the coming days.

As recently as this March, Iverson indicated that he’d love the opportunity to play in the NBA again, but it has now been three and a half years since his last game for the 76ers. No NBA club has elected to roll the dice on him since then, and Iverson was unwilling to play in the D-League this past year as an audition of sorts.

Assuming Iverson makes it official in the near future, he’ll retire as the NBA’s 19th-leading scorer of all time, though Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and Tim Duncan are right on his heels and could pass him next season. Iverson averaged 26.7 PPG and 6.2 APG in 914 career regular-season contests, and increased his scoring average to 29.7 PPG in 71 playoff games. The longtime Sixer, who also spent time with the Nuggets, Pistons, and Grizzlies, was an 11-time All-Star, a four-time scoring champion, a three-time member of the All-NBA First Team, and won the MVP award in 2001.

In addition to his on-court achievements, the former first overall pick played a significant role in the evolution of the NBA’s off-court culture over the last two decades. According to Basketball-Reference, Iverson also earned more than $154MM during his 14-year NBA career.

Allen Iverson

Western Links: Camby, Lakers, Suns, Jazz

October 30th, 2013 at 1:20pm CST by Luke Adams

Much of today’s NBA discussion has centered on the surprising opening night result at the Staples Center, where the Kobe Bryant-less Lakers upset Doc Rivers and the Clippers. When the Hoops Rumors team revealed its predictions for the season yesterday, all of us had the Clippers finishing into the top three in the West, while none of us expect the Lakers to make the playoffs.

As we look forward to whatever surprises tonight’s slate of games will bring, let’s check in on a few items out of the Western Conference….

Although Marcus Camby was waived by the Rockets earlier this week, he hasn’t gone anywhere. Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle reports that Camby was back at Rockets practice yesterday, taking the team up on its invitation for him to work with players as he recovers from a foot injury.
The Lakers‘ Plan B this offseason after they missed out on Dwight Howard was dicey, but it looked awfully good on opening night, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
Paul Coro’s latest column for the Arizona Republic focuses on Channing Frye‘s comeback, the rise of offseason acquisition Miles Plumlee, and the team’s plans for newest Sun Emeka Okafor.
Timberwolves camp invitee Lorenzo Brown requested and received a trade from the D-League’s Iowa Energy, who sent him to the Springfield Armor, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities. Minnesota will no longer hold any form of rights, D-League or otherwise, on the 2013 second-rounder.
Brad Rock of The Deseret News examines Tyrone Corbin‘s job security and argues the Jazz must make the playoffs this season to be considered a success. If that’s the benchmark the team uses, Corbin might not be around much longer.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

International Notes: Powell, Blue, Green

October 30th, 2013 at 11:54am CST by Luke Adams

A few more NBA camp invitees have landed jobs overseas, so let’s round up the latest news in today’s collection of international notes….

Josh Powell was one of the Knicks‘ camp casualties last week, but he’s found a new gig in China, where he’ll join the Guangdong Southern Tigers, tweets Evan Wang of Hupu.com (hat tip to Sportando). Powell is no stranger to international ball, having played for Olympiacos in Greece in 2012/13, following stints in Puerto Rico and China.
After leaving Marquette a year early and spending camp with the Sixers, Vander Blue has signed in Israel with Maccabi Rishon Lezion, according to the Israeli Basketball League (via Twitter). The 6’5″ shooting guard helped lead Marquette to the Elite Eight in last season’s NCAA tournament, averaging 18.3 PPG in the team’s four March Madness games.
JaMychal Green, who joined the Clippers for a brief camp stint this month, will head to France to play for Chorale Roanne, says Alexandre Lacoste of Catch-and-Shoot (hat tip to Sportando). Green, a former Alabama forward, played for the D-League’s Austin Toros last season.

Central Notes: Pistons, Pacers, Bucks

October 30th, 2013 at 8:50am CST by Luke Adams

The Pistons‘ 2013/14 season begins against the Wizards tonight in Detroit, and owner Tom Gores tells Bob Wojnowski of the Detroit News that he’ll be hugely disappointed if the team doesn’t make the playoffs after its offseason upgrades.

“We took a philosophy, Joe [Dumars] and I, to win now without sacrificing the future,” Gores said of the Pistons’ aggressive summer. “I really think we accomplished that. Obviously the business is very tricky, but we had to create an urgency. The fans need it, the Pistons need it.”

Here’s more from Gores and from the rest of the Central Division:

Asked about Dumars’ contract situation, Gores suggested that even though the Pistons GM is in the final year of his contract, Dumars isn’t on the hot seat. “Joe and I collaborated on these moves, we talk every other day,” Gores said. “He’s done everything we’ve asked, and his basketball organization is really solid…. I don’t think I could’ve asked for more this summer.”
David West never seemed likely to head elsewhere in free agency before he re-upped with the Pacers this summer, and West is confident the team’s new additions will help the team toward the championship, HoopsWorld’s Yannis Koutroupis writes.
Luis Scola doesn’t feel like he’s close to retirement, and intends to play at least the remaining two years on his contract, but acknowledged to Lang Greene of HoopsWorld that he’s not sure how quickly his view could change. For now, he agrees with West that the Pacers could be on the cusp of something special, and hopes that he can be the team’s missing piece.
Noting that plenty is on the line in Milwaukee over the next few years, as owner Herb Kohl attempts to generate support for a new downtown arena, Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel focuses on the Bucks‘ long-term basketball plan of surrounding promising young players with solid veterans.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

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