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Month: November 2024

Andrew Harrison To Sign In D-League

September 28th, 2015 at 10:40am CST by Chuck Myron

Second-round pick Andrew Harrison will sign with the D-League affiliate of the Grizzlies, the team that holds his NBA rights, according to Chris Herrington of The Commercial Appeal (Twitter link). Memphis announced its 20-man camp roster earlier today, and it doesn’t include Harrison, this year’s 44th overall selection. The Grizzlies can still sign him at any point to the NBA roster, though they’d have to make a corresponding move, since they don’t have an open roster spot.

The Suns made Harrison the 44th overall selection this June and traded his rights shortly thereafter to Memphis for Jon Leuer. The Kevin Bradbury client can’t negotiate with any other NBA teams, though he did have the option of signing a one-year, $525,093 minimum salary tender without a guarantee that the Grizzlies had to make this month to retain his draft rights. The point guard who turns 21 next month has evidently decided against that, and he’ll instead start the year on a D-League contract making no more than $25,500.

Harrison was the fifth-ranked prospect in the Recruiting Services Consensus Index coming out of high school in 2013, but his stock fell precipitously in college. He joins No. 48 pick Dakari Johnson, No. 51 pick Tyler Harvey, No. 52 pick Satnam Singh and No. 53 pick Sir’Dominic Pointer among this year’s second-rounders expected to sign in the D-League, as our draft picks signings page indicates. Harrison’s twin brother, Aaron, went undrafted but is with the Hornets on a deal that’s partially guaranteed for $75K.

Do you see Andrew Harrison panning out once he gets to the NBA? Leave a comment to tell us.

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Grizzlies Sign Five For Camp

September 28th, 2015 at 9:33am CST by Chuck Myron

The Grizzlies have formally signed Yakhouba Diawara, Ryan Hollins, Michael Holyfield, Lazeric Jones and Daniel Nwaelele, the team announced via press release. All five moves were expected, based on previous reports. The moves give Memphis a full 20-man roster for the preseason, as our roster count shows. All are making the minimum salary, since the Grizzlies don’t have the capacity to give more after signing Brandan Wright for the mid-level exception earlier in the offseason, and all are reportedly non-guaranteed

Diawara, 33, returns to the NBA after an absence of more than five years. The native of France played last season in Italy. Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports first reported the deal between Memphis and the swingman.

Hollins, who turns 31 next month, gives the Grizzlies depth on the interior. Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports first reported the deal, and he and Chris Herrington of The Commercial Appeal had details about the arrangement, which covers one season.

Holyfield went undrafted this year out of Sam Houston State but joined the Grizzlies for summer league this year before formally signing with the team. Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders first reported the deal for the center who turns 23 in November, revealing that it’s a one-year pact.

Jones is a 25-year-old point guard who went undrafted out of UCLA in 2012 and has spent time overseas since then, playing in Israel, Greece and Hungary. Charania first reported the deal, and Pincus reports that it’s a one-year contract.

Nwaelele is a 31-year-old Air Force veteran who’s spent much of his time since going undrafted in 2007 serving out his military commitment. Marc Stein of ESPN.com first reported the deal, which is a one-year arrangement, according to Pincus.

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Hawks Waive Jason Richardson

September 28th, 2015 at 8:59am CST by Chuck Myron

The Hawks have waived the retiring Jason Richardson, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). The move took place Friday, according to Pincus, though the team made no formal announcement. Atlanta signed the 34-year-old swingman last month, so even though he walked away before the start of training camp, the release still had to take place. He was on a one-year contract for the minimum salary without any guaranteed money, so the Hawks aren’t on the hook for any money.

Richardson said in December that “retirement is three or four years away from now,” but knee trouble and an aversion to making simply a token appearance on a roster evidently led to a change of heart. The fifth overall pick in the 2001 draft was much more than roster filler for much of his career, but that wasn’t the case for the majority of his tenure with the Sixers, who acquired him in 2012 as part of the Dwight Howard trade. He made his return to the court last season after missing more than two years because of injuries and appeared in 19 games, averaging career lows in points and minutes per game as well as field goal percentage.

It was in stark contrast to the high-flying scoring force he was for much of his career. Richardson topped 20 points per game three times, including his best scoring average of 23.2 PPG in 2005/06 with the Warriors, his original team. He went on to play with the Bobcats, Suns and Magic before finishing up in Philadelphia. Thanks to the more than $6.6MM he made this past season, the Jim Tanner client topped $100MM in career earnings across his 14 seasons in the league, totaling about $105.356MM, according to Basketball-Reference. His Hawks salary would have been the lowest of his career.

What stands out to you about Richardson’s career? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.

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Nuggets Eye Mike Miller

September 28th, 2015 at 8:40am CST by Will Joseph

MONDAY, 8:40am: Denver has made a one-year offer to Miller that he can sign once he clears waivers, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com.

SUNDAY, 4:50pm: The Nuggets are interested in signing Mike Miller, who is reportedly set to be a free agent after negotiating a buyout with the Blazers, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports reports.

Denver pursued Miller aggressively in free agency a year ago, before Miller signed a deal with the Cavs, as Charania points out. Denver has 14 guaranteed contracts as it begins training camp this week. Also of note, the Nuggets have two open spots beneath the preseason roster limit of 20.

The Grizzlies, Thunder and Mavs were thought to be interested in Miller when he was acquired by the Blazers and was reportedly seeking the buyout. Miller is coming off his worst season and only played 13.5 minutes per game in 52 appearances.

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Raptors Sign Anthony Bennett

September 28th, 2015 at 8:16am CST by Chuck Myron

MONDAY, 8:16am: The signing is official, the team announced (Twitter link).

SUNDAY, 1:03pm: Bennett has taken a physical and put pen to paper with the Raptors, tweets Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports. Toronto has yet to make an official announcement.

4:29pm: Barring a snag, Toronto is expected to sign him to a one-year deal, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com.

FRIDAYm 4:05pm: The Raptors will sign Anthony Bennett, reports Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The former No. 1 overall pick just cleared waivers, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). The Blazers, Sixers, Cavaliers and Jazz, the four teams with the flexibility to claim Bennett off waivers, all passed on doing so, though only Portland and Philadelphia reportedly joined Toronto with interest in the combo forward. Minnesota is on the hook for $3.65MM to Bennett this season via the terms of his buyout deal with the team, and the Raptors will pay him the minimum salary of $947,276, since that’s all they can give outside free agents after using up their cap space and other exceptions.

Bennett’s deal represents a homecoming for the Toronto native, though the Blazers had appeared to have the edge. Portland assistant coaches Jay Triano and David Vanterpool double as coaches for the Canadian national team, and Bennett looked strong playing for that squad this summer. Bennett put up 15.6 points in about 26 minutes per contest in the Pan-American Games, though his numbers went down to 7.6 PPG in nearly 17 MPG during the FIBA Americas Championship.

Toronto has been carrying 14 fully guaranteed contracts plus four partially guaranteed deals, as our roster count shows. The level of guarantee on Bennett’s pact isn’t immediately clear, though his addition would seemingly make it that much more difficult for Michale Kyser, Ronald Roberts Jr., Shannon Scott and Axel Toupane, the quartet with partially guaranteed deals, to stick for opening night.

The Raptors are seemingly poised to start DeMarre Carroll as a small-ball power forward, with Patrick Patterson and Luis Scola behind him. James Johnson, another combo forward, also figures to pose a challenge to Bennett as he seeks playing time.

Do you think the Raptors are the right team for Bennett? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.

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Nuggets Waive Kostas Papanikolaou

September 28th, 2015 at 7:52am CST by Dana Gauruder

SEPTEMBER 28TH, 7:52am: The move indeed took place Friday, according to the RealGM transactions log, though the team still hasn’t made an official announcement.

SEPTEMBER 25TH, 4:12pm: The Nuggets have waived Papanikolaou, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link).

AUGUST 3RD, 8:01am: Papanikolaou’s camp is unaware of any pending waiver, according to Nikos Varlas of Eurohoops.net. Denver’s plan is to keep him until the Eurobasket tournament begins in December, and evaluate him then, sources tell Varlas. Nuggets GM Tim Connelly and assistant GM Arturas Karnisovas are set to head to Europe to scout Papanikolaou and others.

AUGUST 2ND, 3:03pm: Papanikolaou is not being waived by the Nuggets at this time, Chris Dempsey of The Denver Post tweets.

AUGUST 1ST, 2:30pm: The Nuggets will waive Kostas Papanikolaou, a source told David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter link). His $4,797,664 deal was non-guaranteed.

Papanikolaou played for the Rockets last season and was traded to Denver as part of the Ty Lawson swap last month. Pablo Prigioni, Joey Dorsey, Nick Johnson and a protected 2016 first-round pick were also forwarded to the Nuggets in the deal. Houston exercised its option on Papanikolaou in June and his salary would have been guaranteed if he remained on Denver’s roster past October 4th.

With plenty of other forward options, the Nuggets had no intention of keeping Papanikolaou and wanted his non-guaranteed contract in order to shed salary.

The 6’9” forward was a regular part of the Rockets’ rotation during the first half of the 2014/15 season, but the acquisition of Josh Smith cut into the 24-year-old’s minutes and he also battled an ankle injury. He averaged 6.1 points and 3.9 rebounds in 24.6 minutes per game before Smith joined the team and 2.3 PPG, 1.5 RPG and just 12.1 MPG in 21 appearances afterward.

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Hoops Links: Jackson, Knicks, Ibaka

September 27th, 2015 at 10:30pm CST by Will Joseph

Every Sunday, we link to some of the very best work from around the basketball blogosphere. Do you have a link to a great basketball blog post – either your own or someone else’s – that you want to see featured on Hoops Rumors? Then you should send it to Zach at HoopsLinks@gmail.com. Here’s this week’s rundown…

Please send submissions to Zach at HoopsLinks@gmail.com.

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Eastern Notes: Harris, Celtics, Napier

September 27th, 2015 at 9:30pm CST by Will Joseph

Tobias Harris, who re-signed with the Magic for a four-year deal worth $64MM, does not fear he will press and try too hard to justify his new contract, Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel writes. Harris also wants to be the team’s leader, Schmitz adds.

“It doesn’t change me or my game. I don’t play the game just for the paycheck. I play for the love and the love of winning,” Harris told Schmitz. “When I signed my deal, the next day I was back in the gym, working just as hard. It’s no time to go out and celebrate crazy. I’m blessed enough to be in this position. It drives me. It just shows me if you want another one, you have to work twice as hard.”

Here’s more on the Magic and the Eastern Conference:

  • Shabazz Napier, whom the Magic acquired in a trade with the Heat, believes that contrary to what he initially heard, his new teammates have a “winning mentality,” Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel relays.
  • Amir Johnson, whom the Celtics signed to a two-year deal worth $24MM, has already impressed Boston coach Brad Stevens because of his versatility, Chris Forsberg of ESPN.com writes. That’s a good sign for Johnson, in terms of minutes, because the Celtics have a logjam at the power forward position, Forsberg adds.
  • Speaking of the Celtics, the team needs to find another reliable, high-impact scorer besides Isaiah Thomas, opines A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com. The Celtics were the only team in the playoffs last year whose No. 2 scorer (Avery Bradley) averaged less than 14 points per game, Blakely points out.
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L.A. Notes: Hibbert, Hayes, Bass

September 27th, 2015 at 8:45pm CST by Will Joseph

The last spot on the Clippers‘ 15-man roster will be a training camp battle between Chuck Hayes, Luc Mbah a Moute and Nikoloz Tskitishvili, Arash Markazi of ESPN.com relays (on Twitter). Markazi believes Hayes is the favorite because the Clippers are looking for someone with the versatility to play both power forward and center.

Here’s more from around Los Angeles:

  • Roy Hibbert will resurrect his career after the center agreed to waive part of his 15% trade kicker to join the Lakers, opines Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times in a list of questions and answers about the team. Hibbert’s scoring average of 10.6 points per game last year was the lowest since his rookie season. He will be a free agent next summer.
  • Brandon Bass should help the Lakers improve their defensive efficiency that ranked 29th out of 30 teams this season, Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News writes. It is unclear if Bass or Julius Randle will be the team’s starting power forward, Medina adds.
  • The Lakers attempted to hire Steve Nash to a similar position in which he joined the Warriors following his acceptance of Golden State’s offer, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports tweets.
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And-Ones: Kings, Pelicans, Hornets

September 27th, 2015 at 7:45pm CST by Will Joseph

Kings president of basketball and franchise operations Vlade Divac told Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee in a wide-ranging Q&A that he pulled the trigger on the trade that sent that sent Jason Thompson, Carl Landry and Nik Stauskas to the Sixers because it allowed the team flexibility to acquire Kosta Koufos, Marco Belinelli and Rajon Rondo in free agency. Divac added that he also made the deal because he believes the Kings should be able to contend for a playoff spot and play above .500.

Speaking of Rondo, Divac added that he views the veteran as a leader and coach on the court and that is a big reason for the signing. Divac sees Darren Collison being able to share the floor with Rondo because of Collison’s versatility.

Here’s more on Jones’ interview with Divac and other notes from around the basketball world:

  • When asked about how he learned about free agency, the salary cap and trades, Divac told Jones that he leaned on assistant GM Mike Bratz. Bratz drew mention as someone who is now on the same page with coach George Karl and DeMarcus Cousins. On the Karl-Cousins saga, Divac said the problems between the two were the result of frustration from the previous season and that trust was built in a meeting over the summer.
  • Jeff Adrien‘s $1.1MM deal with the Pelicans is non-guaranteed, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets.
  • Hornets coach Steve Clifford believes this year’s group is the most talented and most versatile batch of players he has had in his three years with the team, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer tweets.
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