2016 September | Hoops Rumors

Nuggets Sign Jarnell Stokes

September 15th, 2016 at 5:51pm CST by Arthur Hill

SEPTEMBER 15: Stokes’ deal with the Nuggets is now official, the team announced today in a press release. Terms of the deal still aren’t known, but it’s likely a minimum-salary pact that includes little to no guaranteed money.

SEPTEMBER 4: The Nuggets are close to a deal with reigning D-League MVP Jarnell Stokes, tweets Chris Dempsey of The Denver Post. Stokes played briefly for the Grizzlies and Heat last season.

The 6’9″ center/power forward helped Sioux Falls win a D-League record 40 games in 2015/16, posting averages of 20.6 points and 9.3 rebounds per night in 28 games. At the NBA level, Stokes appeared in two games with Memphis before being traded to Miami in November. The Heat shipped him to New Orleans in February, but the Pelicans released him the next day.

Stokes, 22, was a second-round pick in 2014 by the Jazz, who traded him to Memphis on draft night. He has spent most of his career in the D-League. Dempsey expects him to have a legitimate shot at earning a roster spot in Denver Twitter link).

Nate Wolters Agrees To Deal With Nuggets

September 15th, 2016 at 5:51pm CST by Dana Gauruder

SEPTEMBER 15: The signing is official, per team release.

AUGUST 19: Free agent guard Nate Wolters has agreed to a deal with the Nuggets, league sources told Shams Charania of The Vertical (Twitter link).

Wolters, the 38th pick in 2013 draft, played in Turkey last season. He appeared in 58 games with the Bucks, including 31 starts, in 2013/14. He averaged 7.2 points and 3.2 assists that season. He then played another 11 games with Milwaukee the following season and 10 more with the Pelicans off the bench.

The 6’4” Wolters has a chance to make the final roster as the No. 3 point guard behind Emmanuel Mudiay and Jameer Nelson.

P.J. Tucker Out 6-8 Weeks With Back Injury

September 15th, 2016 at 3:53pm CST by Luke Adams

Suns forward P.J. Tucker may not be ready for opening night, after having undergone a successful microdiscectomy procedure on his lower back, the Suns announced today in a press release. The team expects Tucker to be sidelined for the next six to eight weeks.

Tucker, the longest-tenured Sun, appeared in all 82 games for Phoenix last year, starting 80 of them and averaging a career-high 31.0 minutes per contest. For the season, he averaged 8.0 PPG and 6.2 RPG, chipping in 2.2 APG and 1.3 SPG as well.

With Tucker sidelined, players like Devin Booker, Jared Dudley, and T.J. Warren could see a few extra minutes early in the season. However, unless the Suns expect the issue to linger well into the season, Tucker’s recovery shouldn’t have a real impact on the team’s 15-man roster decisions.

Earlier today, we heard that the Suns will add Mike Moser, Shaquille Harrison, and Derrick Jones Jr. to their training camp roster. Those three players will vie with John Jenkins and perhaps one or two other players for the 15th and final roster spot in Phoenix, though they’ll likely end up heading to the D-League’s Northern Arizona Suns.

Lance Stephenson Gets $100K Guarantee From Pelicans

September 15th, 2016 at 1:00pm CST by Luke Adams

After earning a $9MM salary in each of his last two NBA seasons, Lance Stephenson will be taking a significant pay cut for the 2016/17 season. Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical, confirming that Stephenson received a minimum-salary contract from the Pelicans, reports (via Twitter) that only $100K of that total is guaranteed.

[RELATED: Pelicans Sign Lance Stephenson]

The Pelicans had gone over the salary cap earlier in the offseason, and had used most of their $2.898MM room exception on Tim Frazier, leaving only the minimum salary exception for Stephenson. A player with Stephenson’s NBA experience (six years) is entitled to a minimum salary of $1,227,286 this season, but the deal will only count for $980,431 against New Orleans’ cap, and the team will only be on the hook for $100,000 if Stephenson doesn’t make the regular-season roster.

With Tyreke Evans and Jrue Holiday not expected to be available to start the regular season, there’s a decent chance Stephenson will land a spot on the team to help provide depth in the Pelicans’ backcourt. Still, the team already has 15 players on fully guaranteed contracts, and Stephenson’s modest guarantee suggests he’ll have a bit of an uphill battle to overtake one of those players — especially since there’s no obvious candidate to be waived.

As I noted last week, Terrence Jones and Alonzo Gee are the only players on New Orleans’ roster who are owed modest salaries for 2016/17 and have no guaranteed money on their deals beyond this season, so perhaps one of those players will be cut to make room for Stephenson. Both Jones and Gee signed new contracts with the Pelicans in July, meaning they can’t be traded until after December 15.

Southwest Notes: Nowitzki, Duncan, Rockets

September 15th, 2016 at 12:08pm CST by Luke Adams

Responding to a Twitter follower who recently encouraged him to retire, Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki jokingly tweeted, “I will, my man (in a few years).” The exact number of years Nowitzki has left remains unknown, but that reply suggests he’s not entering his age-38 season expecting it to be his last. During an appearance on KRLD-FM 105.3 The Fan in Dallas (link via Dallas Morning News), the 18-year NBA veteran admitted he’s getting a little “nervous and anxious” to get training camp started, adding that he’ll probably know it’s time to call it a career when he doesn’t experience those feelings as a new season approaches.

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

For the first time in nearly two decades, Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich is preparing for a season without Tim Duncan on his roster, and he tells Buck Harvey of The San Antonio Express-News that he has a “hole in his gut” as a result of the future Hall-of-Famer’s absence. According to Harvey, many people within the Spurs organization believe Duncan will eventually join the team in a full-time role, perhaps focusing on personnel rather than coaching.
In his review of the Rockets‘ offseason, Shaun Powell of NBA.com notes that the team emphasized offense by extending James Harden and hiring Mike D’Antoni, which was probably the right choice but could “backfire spectacularly.”
After having outperformed his previous contract, Mavericks big man Dwight Powell will be under more pressure this season, as he attempts to make good on his new four-year, $37MM+ deal, writes Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News.

Warriors Sign JaVale McGee To Camp Deal

September 15th, 2016 at 11:44am CST by Eddie Scarito

SEPTEMBER 15: The Warriors continue to finalize their deals for training-camp invitees, having formally signed McGee this week, per RealGM’s transactions log.

JULY 29: The Warriors have agreed to a “make-good” training camp deal with JaVale McGee, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (Twitter links). The arrangement, based on Stein’s wording, is more than likely a one-year, minimum salary pact that includes no guaranteed money.

Golden State is in search of a rim protector and will give McGee the opportunity during the preseason to fill that role, Stein adds. McGee will compete with 2016 first-rounder Damian Jones and Anderson Varejao for a shot to back up projected starter Zaza Pachulia.

Dallas waived the center earlier this month after they were reportedly unable to find a trade partner for McGee, whose salary of $1,403,611 for 2016/17 was scheduled to become fully guaranteed on July 12th. McGee, 28, appeared in 34 games for the Mavs this past season and averaged 5.1 points and 3.9 rebounds in 10.9 minutes per outing. The center shot .575/.000/.500 on the year.

Warriors Ink Phil Pressey To Camp Deal

September 15th, 2016 at 11:43am CST by Eddie Scarito

SEPTEMBER 15: Nearly a month after agreeing to sign Pressey, the Warriors made it official this week, according to RealGM’s transactions log. It appears to be a one-year, non-guaranteed summer contract.

AUGUST 16: The Warriors intend to sign unrestricted free agent Phil Pressey, international journalist David Pick reports (on Twitter). The scribe refers to it as a training camp invite, which likely means it’s a make-good deal for the league minimum that includes little or no guaranteed money.

The 25-year-old point guard will have his work cut out for him to make the regular season roster in Golden State, with the team already having 16 players under contract, as Roster Resource shows. Of the 16 players already on the roster, 14 possess fully guaranteed pacts, which leaves one spot up for grabs.

Pressey most recently suited up for the Pistons’ summer league squad in Orlando, appearing in five contests and averaging 2.2 points and 3.0 rebounds in 13.5 minutes per outing. He appeared in a combined 23 games last season for the Sixers and Suns, averaging 3.4 points, 1.4 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 12.3 minutes. His shooting line for 2015/16 was .385/.222/.520.

Warriors Add Cameron Jones To Camp Roster

September 15th, 2016 at 11:41am CST by Arthur Hill

SEPTEMBER 15: The Warriors have officially signed Jones, per RealGM’s transactions log. It will likely be a one-year, non-guaranteed summer contract for Jones.

AUGUST 19: Cameron Jones will be with the Warriors in training camp, tweets Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor. Citing a league source, Reichert reports that Golden State will add the 6’4″ guard, who has spent time in the D-League and overseas since going undrafted out of Northern Arizona in 2011.

Jones, 27, played for Ironi Nes Ziona in Israel last season and later with Arkadikos in Greece. He played for the Magic in the 2014 summer league and spent the 2014/15 season in Russia.

Jones has prior connections with the Warriors. He played for their summer league team in 2013 and appeared in three preseason games that fall before being waived. He also spent two seasons with the Warriors’ D-League affiliate in Santa Cruz.

Suns To Add Three Players To Camp Roster

September 15th, 2016 at 10:32am CST by Luke Adams

The Suns are adding three players to their training camp roster, according to Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic, who reports that Mike Moser, Shaquille Harrison, and Derrick Jones Jr. will join the team. It’s not clear whether or not any of the three players will receive any guaranteed money, but their deals won’t be fully guaranteed.

Moser, who played his college ball at UCLA, UNLV, and Oregon, went undrafted in 2014 and has been playing overseas since then, spending time with teams in Lithuania and Israel. In 2015/16, the 25-year-old power forward appeared in 19 games for Hapoel Holon, averaging 11.5 PPG and 7.9 RPG for the club.

Harrison, who turns 23 next month, went undrafted out of Tulsa earlier this year. A point guard, Harrison averaged 15.1 PPG, 5.5 RPG, and 4.1 APG during his senior year, but failed to improve his outside shooting, making less than 20% of his three-point attempts.

Jones, a small forward out of UNLV, played just one college season before entering the NBA draft. He wasn’t selected in June, after a freshman year in which he averaged 10.9 PPG and 4.3 RPG in 28 games. Jones was ruled academically ineligible for the final four games of his first and only college season because his ACT results were called into question by the NCAA, which is believed to have contributed to his decision to go pro.

All three players will have a chance to earn a spot on the Suns’ roster, but Phoenix currently has 14 players on guaranteed contract, and incumbent guard John Jenkins likely has a leg up for the 15th spot. It’s possible that Moser, Harrison, and Jones will all ultimately land with the Northern Arizona Suns, Phoenix’s D-League affiliate.

Will Bynum Works Out For Hawks

September 15th, 2016 at 8:52am CST by Luke Adams

Veteran NBA guard Will Bynum, who has spent the majority of the last two seasons playing in China, was brought in to work out for the Hawks on Wednesday, and will have another workout with the club today, tweets Michael Scotto of The Associated Press.

Bynum, 33, is the latest in a string of players to work out for the Hawks in the hopes of receiving an invitation to training camp. Atlanta has three open spots on its 20-man offseason roster, and has recently taken a closer look at Ryan Kelly, Xavier Munford, and guard Dionte Christmas. The team also reportedly had workouts lined up with Richard Solomon for Wednesday and Thursday.

As we heard earlier this week from Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Hawks are looking to add a point guard and a frontcourt player to their roster before training camp gets underway. The club will likely add a third player to maximize its roster space, though it’s not clear what position that 20th man would play.

A longtime Piston, Bynum has appeared in 360 career NBA games over the course of eight seasons since 2005/06. In that time, the veteran guard has averaged 8.1 PPG and 3.3 APG while playing primarily as a backup. Over the last two seasons, Bynum has played for the Guangdong Southern Tigers in China — he averaged 17.8 PPG and 6.5 APG while shooting 58.0% from the field this past season, playing alongside former NBA vets like Yi Jianlian and Ike Diogu.

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