2017 September | Hoops Rumors

Hawks Acquire, Waive DeAndre Liggins

September 25th, 2017 at 11:19am CST by Austin Kent

SEPTEMBER 25: In a pair of press releases, the Hawks confirmed today that they’ve acquired Liggins and cash from the Clippers in exchange for draft considerations, and subsequently waived Liggins.

Per Michael Cunningham of The Atlanta Journal-Constutition (Twitter link), the Clippers actually received a 2018 second-round pick in the swap, but it’s protected from 31-55, meaning it almost certainly won’t change hands.

SEPTEMBER 24: The Clippers have traded DeAndre Liggins and cash to the Hawks, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN writes. The deal will create a $1,577,230 trade exception.

Going back to the Clippers will be the draft rights to an as yet undetermined player.

The Hawks will turn around and waive the veteran Liggins, who they initially acquired from the Rockets ahead of the Chris Paul deal this summer.

By unloading Liggins today, the Clippers have managed to sneak to $122K below the luxury tax line. Had they waived and not traded Liggins, they would have been on the hook for an additional $26K.

Latest On Dwyane Wade

September 25th, 2017 at 10:52am CST by Luke Adams

The Bulls reached a buyout agreement with Dwyane Wade on Sunday, and while that transaction hasn’t yet been made official, the future Hall-of-Famer is expected to be waived and reached the free agent market very soon.

We heard on Sunday night that the Cavaliers are the early frontrunners for Wade’s services, and that hasn’t changed today — Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype notes (via Twitter) that LeBron James and other Cavs are recruiting the veteran guard, and TNT’s David Aldridge tweets that there’s a “strong belief” Wade will end up in Cleveland.

Still, the Cavs will hardly be the only team in the running for Wade. Let’s dive in and round up all the latest on the situation…

Carmelo Anthony and Paul George have started recruiting Wade on behalf of the Thunder, sources tell Kennedy (Twitter link). The Lakers are also among the teams that have reached out to Wade, Kennedy adds (via Twitter).
The Heat would welcome back Wade with open arms, with one player suggesting that the locker room is “100% hoping it happens,” tweets Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. However, Miami hadn’t formally reached out as of Sunday night, per Kennedy (Twitter link).
Speaking to Reynolds, Wade indicated on Sunday night that he’s looking to find a new NBA home quickly. “I’m going to take tonight and some of tomorrow and speak to the teams or players that are on my list and go from there,” Wade said on Sunday night. “My decision is a pure basketball decision and I’ll make the one that fits me best at this point in my career, and with what I feel I have to offer a team that needs what I have to offer.”
In a conversation with K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune, Wade praised the Bulls and said he had no complaints about the way the franchise dealt with him, though he questioned the club’s decision to trade Jimmy Butler and embark on a full-fledged rebuild. “You’ve got one of the top five or six players in the game [in Butler],” Wade said. “That’s what you want and you were able to build that in-house. I was a little disappointed because being up 2-0 versus Boston on the road, Rondo goes down. If that doesn’t happen, we’re having a different conversation.”

Cavaliers Sign Kendrick Perkins To Camp Roster

September 25th, 2017 at 10:27am CST by Luke Adams

SEPTEMBER 25: The Cavaliers have formally signed Perkins, according to the official camp roster released today by the club.

SEPTEMBER 21: Veteran center Kendrick Perkins was in attendance at LeBron James‘ Cavaliers mini-camp in Santa Barbara this week, and received an invitation to come to training camp with the club, a source tells Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com. According to Vardon, Perkins will join the Cavs in camp, though he’s unlikely to make the regular season roster.

Perkins, who will turn 33 in November, last played in the NBA during the 2015/16 season for the Pelicans, averaging 2.5 PPG and 3.5 RPG in 37 regular season contests (14.6 MPG). Although he was unable to find an NBA home in 2016/17, Perkins isn’t ready to call it a career yet, and is looking to make a comeback.

A longtime starter for the Celtics and Thunder, Perkins posted very modest numbers during his last couple years in the league, and his skill-set doesn’t make him a great fit in the modern NBA. Still, it’s possible his locker room presence and leadership would make him worth a spot on some team’s 15-man roster.

That team likely won’t be the Cavaliers, however. After their Kyrie Irving trade with the Celtics, Cleveland has 15 players with fully guaranteed salaries on its roster, and that number doesn’t include youngsters Kay Felder or Edy Tavares.

Spurs Sign Amida Brimah

September 25th, 2017 at 10:14am CST by Luke Adams

The Spurs have officially announced their roster for training camp, and the 19-man squad includes one new name. According to the team, free agent center Amida Brimah is now a member of the Spurs.

Brimah, who played his college ball at the University of Connecticut, averaged 7.6 PPG, 6.1 RPG, and 2.6 BPG in 33 contests (24.7 MPG) during his senior year. The seven-foot prospect went undrafted in June, but caught on with the Bulls for Summer League action, appearing in four games for the team in Las Vegas.

Terms of Brimah’s deal aren’t known, but it figures to be a non-guaranteed summer contract. He’s a long shot to make the Spurs’ regular season roster, but should be a good bet to end up with the Austin Spurs, San Antonio’s G League squad, as an affiliate player.

Knicks Trade Carmelo Anthony To Thunder

September 25th, 2017 at 9:51am CST by Arthur Hill

SEPTEMBER 25: The Knicks have officially traded Anthony to the Thunder for the package detailed below, the team announced today in a press release. In a separate announcement, the Knicks also confirmed they’ve waived Chasson Randle – as expected – in order to create room on their roster to accommodate the incoming players from Oklahoma City.

SEPTEMBER 23: The Knicks have reached an agreement with the Thunder that will send Carmelo Anthony to Oklahoma City, reports Adrian Wojanrowski of ESPN (Twitter links). According to Wojnarowski, New York will receive Doug McDermott and Enes Kanter in the deal, along with a draft pick. Shams Charania of The Vertical (Twitter link) indicates that pick will be the Bulls’ 2018 second-rounder.

The trade call will officially take place Monday, Wojnarowski adds, as Russell Westbrook and Paul George were successful in their lobbying efforts to get Anthony to waive his no-trade clause for the Thunder (Twitter link). Carmelo also has a relationship with top Thunder executive Troy Weaver, who recruited him to Syracuse a decade and a half ago.

Anthony has agreed to waive his $8.1MM trade kicker, since the deal wouldn’t have worked otherwise, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link). Anthony will retain his no-trade clause with the Thunder (Twitter link). Taking on his $26,243,760 salary will increase OKC’s projected luxury tax payment by $12.4MM, up to a total of $27.8MM (Twitter link).

The Knicks were at the maximum of 20 players before the trade, so a roster move will have to be made by Monday in order to make room for the extra incoming player. New York has five non-guaranteed players coming to camp, so one of them will likely be waived.

The Knicks will incur Kanter’s 15% trade bonus of $2.68MM, which pushes his cap hit for this season to $20.56MM (Twitter link). Kanter also has an $18.6MM player option for 2018/19 — his kicker doesn’t apply to that salary since trade bonuses don’t affect team or player option years. As for McDermott, he’s making $3.3MM in the final year of his rookie contract and is eligible to receive an extension until October 16. He’ll be on track to become a restricted free agent next summer if no agreement can be reached this year.

The Thunder obviously made the move with an eye toward winning this season, but it creates a fascinating scenario for the future of the franchise. Anthony, Westbrook and George are all currently eligible to become unrestricted free agents next summer, so this could be a one-year experiment.

Of course, the Thunder currently have an extension offer on the table for Westbrook, and Anthony has a lucrative player option for 2018/19, so there’s no guarantee there will be a mass exodus out of OKC after this season. Still, it would be difficult financially to retain all three players — Marks estimates the cost of keeping all three would bring the Oklahoma City payroll to $157MM with an additional $143MM in taxes (Twitter link).

For the Knicks, it closes a long chapter in their troubled relationship with Anthony, who was hailed as a franchise savior when he was acquired from the Nuggets in 2011. He never delivered the playoff success that was expected and became the target of public criticism from former team president Phil Jackson. Having expressed a desire to go to the Rockets for most of the 2017 offseason, Anthony expanded his list of preferred teams this week, adding Cleveland and Oklahoma City, which allowed the Knicks to get something done.

New York has now fully committed to the rebuilding project that the new management team outlined when it took over. The Knicks were reluctant to trade Anthony to the Cavaliers because they wanted him out of the Eastern Conference, according to TNT’s David Aldridge (Twitter link), although it’s hard to understand why, giving the team’s remote playoff chances. Even though Jackson was dismissed this summer, hard feelings with Carmelo remained and the organization wanted a fresh start (Twitter link).

The trade of Anthony represents the culmination of an eventful offseason that saw many of the East’s best players join new clubs. Anthony is the sixth player from 2017’s Eastern Conference All-Star squad to change teams, following in the footsteps of George, Jimmy Butler, Paul Millsap, Isaiah Thomas, and Kyrie Irving. Anthony, George, Butler, and Millsap all moved over to the Western Conference.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Luke Adams contributed to this post.

Grizzlies Expected To Part Ways With Jarell Martin

September 25th, 2017 at 9:18am CST by Luke Adams

The Grizzlies are expected to part ways soon with big man Jarell Martin, according to Ronald Tillery of The Memphis Commerical Appeal, who reports (via Twitter) that Martin has been told he’ll be waived. However, Martin has the option to remain in camp with Memphis as a showcase opportunity for potential suitors, Tillery adds.

Martin, 23, was the 25th overall pick in the 2015 draft, but has failed to develop into a reliable rotation player for the Grizzlies in his first two NBA seasons. In total, the LSU product has appeared in 69 regular season contests, averaging 4.6 PPG and 3.6 RPG with a .419 FG% in 13.6 minutes per game.

Martin has a minimum salary cap hit of $1,471,382 for 2017/18, so the Grizzlies won’t be on the hook for a ton of dead money if and when they waive him. Martin’s contract also includes a $2,416,222 team option for 2018/19, but that money is non-guaranteed, and will disappear unless the 6’10” power forward is claimed on waivers.

Even after trading Troy Daniels to the Suns last week, the Grizzlies were expected to make another move to clear a guaranteed salary from their books. Counting Martin, the club is currently carrying 15 guaranteed contracts, and would add a 16th by re-signing JaMychal Green, the final restricted free agent on the market.

Pelicans Sign Martell Webster

September 25th, 2017 at 8:35am CST by Arthur Hill

SEPTEMBER 25: Webster is now officially under contract with the Pelicans, according to a press release from the team.

SEPTEMBER 17: Martell Webster has agreed to a non-guaranteed training camp contract with the Pelicans, tweets Brett Martel of The Associated Press.

The 30-year-old small forward hasn’t played in the NBA since being waived by the Wizards in November of 2015 following surgery on his right hip to fix the labrum and damaged cartilage. The injury was feared to be career ending, but the Pelicans believe he has recovered enough to earn another shot.

The sixth player taken in the 2005 draft, Webster played for Portland, Minnesota and Washington in a 10-year career. His best season came in 2012/13 when he started 62 games for the Wizards and averaged 11.4 points per night.

The agreement with Webster was part of a busy weekend for the Pelicans, who reached a similar deal with Perry Jones and signed veteran free agent Tony Allen.

Cliff Alexander Signs With Pelicans

September 25th, 2017 at 8:34am CST by Austin Kent

SEPTEMBER 25: Alexander’s deal is now official, the Pelicans announced.

SEPTEMBER 24: The Pelicans have agreed to a one-year, non-guaranteed deal with Cliff Alexander, Michael Scott of Basketball Insiders tweets.

The free agent forward signed a pair of deals with the Magic and Nets last season but hasn’t seen time on the court since the 2015/16 campaign in which he played eight games for the Trail Blazers.

Alexander hasn’t found much traction at the NBA level but the 21-year-old isn’t far removed from a highly touted high school career.

The addition of Alexander brings the Pels roster up to 20 players.

Pelicans Re-Sign Dante Cunningham

September 25th, 2017 at 8:21am CST by Luke Adams

SEPTEMBER 25: The Pelicans have officially re-signed Cunningham, the team announced today in a press release.

SEPTEMBER 19: Free agent forward Dante Cunningham has made a decision on where he’ll play in 2017/18, according to Shams Charania of The Vertical, who reports that Cunningham has agreed to re-sign with the Pelicans.

According to Charania, Cunningham will get a one-year, $2.3MM deal from New Orleans. The minimum salary for a player with Cunningham’s NBA experience is $2,106,470, so if his salary exceeds that, the Pelicans would have to use a different exception — they also wouldn’t get any help from the NBA to cover the full amount, like they would for a one-year, minimum salary deal.

Either way, Cunningham is set to return to the franchise with which he spent the last three seasons. In 2016/17, the 30-year-old forward averaged 6.6 PPG and 4.2 RPG in a rotation role for New Orleans, and also added a reliable three-point shot to his arsenal — Cunningham’s 1.1 3PG and .392 3PT% were both career highs by a wide margin.

While it looked initially like Cunningham’s improved outside shot might make him a more coveted target on the free agent market, he didn’t draw as much interest as expected. A handful of teams – including the Timberwolves, Bucks, and Raptors, per Charania – were said to be in the running for him, but his new 2017/18 salary will be worth less than the $3.1MM player option he turned down in June.

Still, the Pelicans are likely happy to get Cunningham back at a reduced rate, particularly with Solomon Hill expected to miss a significant portion of the 2017/18 season with a torn hamstring. While New Orleans has an All-NBA caliber duo up front in Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins, the club doesn’t have a ton of depth at forward and could use more shooting help. Cunningham’s ability to play at both forward spots and his improved three-point shot should be valuable.

Once they finalize their reported agreements with Cunningham and Martell Webster, the Pelicans will have 19 players under contract. Cunningham’s deal would represent the club’s 14th fully guaranteed salary.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Sixers Sign Emeka Okafor

September 25th, 2017 at 8:06am CST by Luke Adams

The Sixers have finalized their 20-man roster for training camp, announcing today in a press release that they’ve signed veteran center Emeka Okafor to fill their final roster spot. The club also confirmed that Kris Humphries, whose deal with Philadelphia was previously reported, is now formally under contract as well.

Okafor, who will turn 35 later this week, last played in the NBA during the 2012/13 campaign, making 77 starts at center for the Wizards that season. However, injury issues – including a herniated disc in the big man’s neck – derailed Okafor’s career. The former second overall pick indicated earlier this summer that he had been medically cleared and hoped to make it back to the NBA.

While Okafor will attend training camp with the Sixers, it remains to be seen if the club will represent his path back to a spot on a regular season roster. Philadelphia only has 12 players on fully guaranteed contracts, but Robert Covington, Richaun Holmes, and T.J. McConnell all seem likely to make the 15-man squad on non-guaranteed deals. Even if the 76ers were to waive or trade one of their top 15 players, Okafor would still have to beat out other camp invitees, including Humphries.

Still, it’s good to see the former UConn standout get another shot. In 590 career regular season contests in Charlotte, New Orleans, and Washington, Okafor has nearly averaged a double-double, with 12.3 PPG, 9.9 RPG, and 1.7 BPG.

Okafor is a distant cousin of current Sixers big man Jahlil Okafor.

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