Mobile Menu
HEADLINES

Month: October 2024

Bucks Sign Steve Novak

February 22nd, 2016 at 10:51am CST by Will Joseph

MONDAY, 10:51am: The signing is official, the team announced, also confirming Copeland’s release.

SUNDAY, 4:22pm: The Bucks have signed Steve Novak, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The team has yet to make an official announcement, but Stein indicates the deal is done.

Stein first reported on Saturday that the Bucks planned to sign Novak. The veteran small forward just cleared waivers from the Nuggets, who released him Friday as part of a buyout deal. Denver acquired him from the Thunder in the Randy Foye trade.

The Thunder rarely used Novak this season. He made only seven appearances, averaging just 3.4 minutes per game. The move presents a bit of a homecoming for Novak, who played his college ball at Marquette University. The Bucks will be Novak’s ninth different team in 10 seasons in the league. By signing Novak, who carved out a name for himself over his career for his 3-point shooting prowess, the Bucks are also expected to waive small forward Chris Copeland.

Retweet 14 Share 4 Send via email0

Bucks Waive Chris Copeland

February 22nd, 2016 at 10:50am CST by Will Joseph

MONDAY, 10:50am: The move is official, the team announced.

SUNDAY, 8:11pm: The Bucks have waived Chris Copeland, according to Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group and the Cleveland Plain Dealer (on Twitter). The team has not issued an official announcement, but Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times indicates via Twitter that the move has been made to make room for Steve Novak.

Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com first reported Saturday that the Bucks would likely release Copeland. The Bucks are responsible for the remainder of Copeland’s $1.1MM salary, as Bobby Marks of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports tweets. The Bucks reportedly signed Novak today once he cleared waivers.

The Bucks signed Copeland this past offseason, but the veteran never made an impact with the team. The 31-year-old is averaging 2.1 points and 0.5 assists in 6.5 minutes per game this season. As a journeyman and late-bloomer, Copeland likely won’t draw much interest around the league.

Retweet 2 Share 4 Send via email0

Warriors Release Jason Thompson

February 22nd, 2016 at 10:09am CST by Will Joseph

MONDAY, 10:09am: The move is official, the team announced via press release.

SUNDAY, 9:00pm: The Warriors waived Jason Thompson to make room for Anderson Varejao, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). The Warriors will use the stretch provision, Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group tweets. Thompson had $2.65MM guaranteed for 2016/17, but the Warriors can stretch $883,333 over the next three seasons, Bobby Marks of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports points out via Twitter.

The Warriors acquired Thompson this past offseason in a trade from the Sixers. Thompson, whom the Kings had traded to the Sixers earlier in July, has had the worst season of his career, statistically speaking, so it is no surprise the Warriors are parting ways. A starter for most of his carer, Thompson has appeared in only 28 games and has made only one start.

It will be interesting to see if any team adds Thompson, 29, who has been in decline since the 2013/14 season. The Warriors reportedly reached an agreement with Varejao on Sunday. The Warriors had a need in the frontcourt with Festus Ezeli still out because of arthroscopic knee surgery and Andrew Bogut nursing an Achilles injury, but seemingly had no desire to play Thompson.

Retweet 8 Share 9 Send via email0

Knicks Sign Jimmer Fredette To 10-Day Deal

February 22nd, 2016 at 9:59am CST by Chuck Myron

MONDAY, 9:59am: The signing is official, the Knicks announced (on Twitter). The contract will cover five games, against the Raptors, Pacers, Magic, Heat and Trail Blazers.

SUNDAY 9:04am: Fredette confirmed that he will likely be signing a 10-day contract with Knicks as soon as Monday, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports relays (Twitter link).

FRIDAY, 1:48pm: The Knicks plan to sign Jimmer Fredette, reports Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com (Twitter link). It’ll be a 10-day contract, according to USA Today’s Sam Amick (on Twitter). The former 10th overall pick has spent much of the season with New York’s D-League affiliate, and this past weekend he won the MVP award in the D-League All-Star Game. The Knicks have an open roster spot, so they don’t have to make a corresponding move.

Fredette is averaging 22.3 points in 36.2 minutes per game across 28 regular season D-League appearances this season. He’s regained his vaunted outside shooting touch, nailing 40.4% of his 3-pointers. That’s much better than the 9 for 49 clip he’s produced at the NBA level in his limited playing time over the past two seasons. Still, his most profound struggles have come on defense, and his shortcomings on that end reportedly played a key role in New York’s decision to sign Thanasis Antetokounmpo instead of Fredette earlier this season.

The Pelicans had Fredette on their roster for a brief time in November, when he reprised the role of little-used reserve that he played last year with New Orleans. He was with the Spurs in the preseason this past fall on a partially guaranteed deal, but he didn’t make the opening night roster, a signal of how mightily the former BYU star has struggled to translate his college success to the pro level.

Fredette, who turns 27 this coming Thursday, will make close to $60K on the 10-day deal, an amount that exceeds his D-League salary for the entire season. New York will pay close to $56K, the equivalent of the cost of a prorated minimum-salary 10-day contract for a two-year veteran. The NBA picks up the rest.

Retweet 26 Share 133 Send via email0

Mavs Sign David Lee

February 22nd, 2016 at 9:51am CST by Chuck Myron

MONDAY, 9:51am: The signing is official, the team announced via press release.

8:52pm: Mavs coach Rick Carlisle confirmed the team will officially sign Lee Monday morning, Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com tweets.

SUNDAY, 4:13pm: The Mavericks have signed David Lee, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Dallas has yet to make an official announcement, but Stein indicates the deal is done.

The 11th-year veteran had just cleared waivers from the Celtics, who released him Friday as part of a buyout deal. Shams Charania of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports reported Saturday that Dallas was expected to sign Lee using the prorated room exception, which is a form of the mid-level.

The room exception is worth $2,102,224 as of today. Its original value was $2.814MM, but according to collective bargaining agreement rule, it began to prorate by 1/170th each day on January 10th. Lee cleared waivers because no team had the free cap space to absorb his $15.5MM salary. Boston attempted to find a taker for Lee prior to Thursday’s trade deadline, but the power forward reportedly had “no value” around the league.

Lee, who has not played since January 10th, has appeared in 30 games for Boston this season and is averaging 7.1 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 15.7 minutes of action per contest.

Retweet 6 Share 5 Send via email0

Mavs Waive John Jenkins

February 22nd, 2016 at 9:50am CST by Will Joseph

MONDAY, 9:50am: The move is official, the team announced via press release.

8:51pm: Mavs coach Rick Carlisle confirmed the team has made the move, Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com tweets.

SUNDAY, 8:29pm: The Mavs will waive John Jenkins on Monday to make room for the signing of David Lee, Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News reports.

Jenkins, a shooting guard, will be released because the Mavs have a surplus of guards, according to Sefko. Jenkins has made 21 appearances, but was on the inactive list in three of the last five games, as Sefko points out. He is averaging 3.3 points and 9.2 minutes per game.

Jenkins performed well in the preseason for the Mavs, but he couldn’t make much of a dent in their rotation once the season started. The Mavs signed Jenkins to a three-year deal this past offseason with only the first season guaranteed. Jenkins’ salary for this season is $981,349. Jenkins, 24, a former first round pick, struggled for playing time in each of his three years in Atlanta, never averaging more than the 14.8 minutes per game he saw as a rookie in 2012/13.

Retweet 6 Share 2 Send via email0

L.A. Notes: Buss, Scott, Stephenson

February 22nd, 2016 at 8:59am CST by Chuck Myron

Lakers owner Jeanie Buss further clarified her interpretation of the timeline for a return to contention that her brother, Lakers executive VP of basketball operations Jim Buss, imposed on himself in 2014. Jim Buss said he would step down if the team wasn’t back in contention within three years, and since then, it’s become clear that this has implications for GM Mitch Kupchak too, writes Sam Amick of USA Today, who spoke with Jeanie Buss in a podcast.

“I think that [Jim] was very sure of himself when he promised that timeline, and I think that he has everything he needs to fulfill that promise of getting the team back competitive,” Jeanie Buss said. “And when I say competitive, it’s competing for the Western Conference Finals, which would mean at least second round [of the playoffs] – if not more. … They have earned the right to take the time that they’ve needed to put together what they want to have out on the court, and if they can’t do that then we have to reexamine how things are going.”

Kupchak makes most of the Lakers player personnel decisions with plenty of latitude from Jim Buss, who has the final say over basketball operations, notes Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link). See more on both teams from L.A.:

  • Jeanie Buss told Amick she thinks she’s spoken with Byron Scott “maybe three times” since the Lakers hired him as coach in 2014 but said that she’s nonetheless supportive of him. Scott’s employment beyond the end of the season appears to be in jeopardy.
  • The Lakers are fond of Lou Williams, Brandon Bass and their contracts, Pincus tweets. They were reportedly available on the trade market before the deadline.
  • Lance Stephenson was an awkward fit on the court for the Clippers, but he had a strong desire to fix that and was starting to make progress on that front before the trade that sent him to Memphis, notes Dan Woike of the Orange County Register. The Clippers would seek to re-sign him this summer if the Grizzlies turn down his team option for next season, one Clippers staffer told Woike.
  • Clippers coach/executive Doc Rivers didn’t hesitate to give up the lottery-protected 2019 first-rounder that’s going to Memphis as part of the Jeff Green/Stephenson swap, notes Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times. “That one wasn’t a tough one because the way we looked at it was it’s protected,” Rivers said, “so if we’re bad enough to be a lottery team we get the pick. That wasn’t that awful for us.”
Retweet 9 Share 3 Send via email0

Western Notes: Jazz, Varejao, Lakers

February 21st, 2016 at 10:44pm CST by Will Joseph

The Jazz acquired Shelvin Mack because he can defend bigger guards and can handle the ball, Jody Genessy of the Deseret News relays (on Twitter). Mack is in line for playing time with Utah, Genessy tweets. “We traded for him to help us — and he is different than the other guys, so he’s going to play,” Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. Mack averaged only 7.5 minutes in 24 games with the Hawks, but he doesn’t believe conditioning will be an issue, per Genessy (Twitter link).

Here’s more from around the Western Conference:

  • The most significant reason why Anderson Varejao agreed to sign with the Warriors was Golden State assistant Luke Walton, a former teammate of Varejao’s, Shams Charania of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports tweets.
  • Lakers star Kobe Bryant gave coach Byron Scott a vote of confidence days after Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak declined to comment on Scott’s future, Baxter Holmes of ESPN.com relays. “I think he’s been channeling his inner Zen,” Bryant said. “It’s been very tough for him. It’s been very tough. I think he’s managing it very well. He’s remaining consistent and continuing to try to bring the best out of these young guys and demanding the best from them. He’s doing the best that he can in the situation.”
  • Scott said today that D’Angelo Russell will start for the rest of the season, Mike Trudell of Lakers.com tweets.
  • The Wolves‘ needs for this summer after not striking a deal at the deadline consist of a veteran athletic wing who can defend and shoot, another athletic big man and a scoring point guard, Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune writes.
  • The Thunder recalled Mitch McGary from the D-League, the team announced via press release.
  • The Mavs recalled Jeremy Evans and Justin Anderson from their D-League affiliate, Dallas announced in an emailed press release.
Retweet 6 Share 1 Send via email0

Hoops Links: Celtics, Spurs, Okafor

February 21st, 2016 at 9:39pm 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 us at HoopsLinks@gmail.com. Here’s this week’s rundown…

Please send submissions for Hoops Links to Zach at HoopsLinks@gmail.com.

Retweet 0 Share 1 Send via email0

Eastern Notes: Morris, Magic, Pistons

February 21st, 2016 at 7:45pm CST by Will Joseph

The Magic could create $45MM in cap space for this summer if Orlando makes a series of moves that include waiving Ersan Ilyasova by July 1st and renouncing the free-agent cap holds on Dewayne Dedmon, Brandon Jennings, Andrew Nicholson and Jason Smith, Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel details. The Magic like Ilyasova and Jennings, however, according to Robbins, so it is not a certainty that the team won’t retain them beyond this season.

Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:

  • The Pistons have until 6pm Eastern on Monday to further evaluate Donatas Motiejunas’ back condition after the league granted their request for a 24-hour extension of the typical 72-hour post-trade window, Detroit coach/executive Stan Van Gundy confirmed to reporters, including Keith Langlois of NBA.com (Twitter link).
  • The Wizards acquired Markeiff Morris on Thursday because of his versatility and toughness, Washington president Ernie Grunfeld told J. Michael of CSN Mid-Atlantic. Grunfeld also confirmed an earlier report from Michael that by acquiring Morris, the amount the Wizards can offer under the Disabled Player Exception they still have from waiving Martell Webster has dropped, lest the Wizards pass the luxury tax threshold. After this deal with Morris, the most the Wizards can offer through the DPE to a free agent without going over the tax is just slightly more than $1MM, according to Michael. “We feel like we needed a jolt at this time,” Grunfeld told Michael in reference to the addition of Morris.
  • Jeff Teague and Al Horford are the only remaining Hawks from Kirk Hinrich’s first tenure with the team, and both players are glad to see Hinrich return, Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution relays.
Retweet 4 Share 3 Send via email0
Load More Posts