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Contract Details: Brand, Rockets, Thunder, Pacers

September 30th, 2016 at 8:48am CST by Luke Adams

With training camps underway, teams have now officially finalized the contract agreements with various camp invitees that had been reported over the past several weeks, meaning we have plenty of contract details to round up. As usual, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders has been busy reporting those details, updating his salary pages for teams around the NBA.

Because we have so many updates to pass along from Pincus, we’ll divide them up by players who received some guaranteed money from their teams, and those who didn’t. All of the links below point to the Basketball Insiders team salary pages, so be sure to click through for additional information.

Here are the latest salary updates from across the league, via Pincus:

Players receiving guaranteed money:

These players aren’t necessarily assured of regular-season roster spots. In fact, many of them likely received guarantees as an incentive to accept a D-League assignment. Still, for some players, larger guarantees should increase their odds of making 15-man rosters.

Thomas Walkup (Bulls): One year, minimum salary. $69.5K guaranteed.
Keith Benson (Heat): Two years, minimum salary. $75K guaranteed.
Henry Sims (Jazz): One year, minimum salary. $75K guaranteed.
Alex Poythress (Pacers): One year, minimum salary. $35,381 guaranteed.
Kevin Seraphin (Pacers): Two years, $3.681MM. First year ($1.8MM) guaranteed.
Julyan Stone (Pacers): One year, minimum salary. $50K guaranteed.
Gary Payton II (Rockets): Two years, minimum salary. First year ($543,471) guaranteed.
Isaiah Taylor (Rockets): Two years, minimum salary. $50K guaranteed.
Kyle Wiltjer (Rockets): Two years, minimum salary. $275K guaranteed.
Cat Barber (Sixers): One year, minimum salary. $50K guaranteed.
Elton Brand (Sixers): One year, minimum salary. $1MM guaranteed.
Derrick Jones (Suns): Three years, minimum salary. $42.5K guaranteed.
Alex Caruso (Thunder): One year, minimum salary. $50K guaranteed.
Kaleb Tarczewski (Thunder): One year, minimum salary. $75K guaranteed.
Chris Wright (Thunder): One year, minimum salary. $100K guaranteed.

Players receiving no guaranteed money:

The following players all signed one-year, minimum salary contracts with no guaranteed money. Many of these deals are “summer contracts,” which won’t count against a team’s cap unless the player earns a spot on the 15-man roster.

Jabari Brown and Jaleel Roberts (Bucks)
Markel Brown, Dahntay Jones, Cory Jefferson, Eric Moreland, John Holland, and Jonathan Holmes (Cavaliers)
Dorell Wright (Clippers)
Chris Crawford (Grizzlies)
Ryan Kelly, Will Bynum, and Richard Solomon (Hawks)
Perry Ellis (Hornets)
Eric Dawson (Jazz)
Julian Jacobs and Travis Wear (Lakers)
Quinn Cook (Pelicans)
Joel Anthony and Nicolas Laprovittola (Spurs)
Gracin Bakumanya, Derek Cooke, and Shaquille Harrison (Suns)
Rasual Butler (Timberwolves)

Clifford: Getting MKG Back Is Like Signing A Free Agent

September 28th, 2016 at 11:52am CST by Luke Adams

The Hornets made a handful of free agent signings this summer, but one of their most important additions is being called a “de facto” free agent signing by head coach Steve Clifford. As Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer writes, Clifford feels that getting a healthy Michael Kidd-Gilchrist back for the 2016/17 campaign will be like adding a new player for the Hornets. The former No. 2 overall pick played just seven games last year due to shoulder problems.
In a separate piece for The Observer, Bonnell examines Christian Wood‘s role in Charlotte, noting that the young power forward will likely spend a good chunk of the year with the Greensboro Swarm, the Hornets’ D-League affiliate.

Hibbert Trying To Rebuild Career

September 27th, 2016 at 10:21pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Center Roy Hibbert is trying to salvage his career after signing a one-year, $5MM with the Hornets this offseason. Assistant coach Patrick Ewing has taken the big man under his wing, believing that much of Hibbert’s decline stems from him buying into the talk that the changes to the game have made him obsolete, Scott Fowler of The Charlotte Observer writes. “I think it’s probably mostly mental,” Ewing said of Hibbert. “I know everybody is talking about how the game has changed. I think he’s kind of bought into that.”

Hornets, Perry Ellis Agree To Camp Deal

September 23rd, 2016 at 3:58pm CST by Luke Adams

SEPTEMBER 23rd: The signing is official, the team announced.

AUGUST 31st: Former Kansas forward Perry Ellis has received a training camp invite from the Hornets and will join the team for the preseason hoping to earn a spot on the regular-season roster, agent Mark Bartelstein tells Gary Bedore of The Kansas City Star. Ellis will receive a non-guaranteed contract, writes Bedore.

“It’s a really good fit. [The Hornets] like him a lot. They’ve talked about him all summer,” Bartelstein said. “We think it’s got a chance to be a really good opportunity for him. Coaches there are excited to have him. He has to get himself healthy here the next couple weeks. Then he’ll go into camp and compete.”

As Bartelstein alludes to, Ellis is on the mend after undergoing successful sports hernia surgery on Tuesday. Per Bedore, the young forward is expected to miss three or four weeks of individual workouts, but should be ready to go for training camp and the preseason.

Ellis averaged 16.9 PPG and 5.8 RPG to go along with a shooting line of .531/.438/.785 during his final year at Kansas. After going undrafted, the 22-year-old joined the Mavericks for Summer League action in Las Vegas. It’s not clear whether Dallas had interest in bringing him in for training camp, but Bartelstein suggests there were “a number of teams” interested in his client, including a few clubs overseas.

“Obviously you can only pick one,” Bartelstein said. “You’ve got to weigh everything. We looked at the coaching staff and the way they want to play and what they are looking for. We think he’s a really good fit for them.”

Defense Should Be Even Stronger

September 22nd, 2016 at 9:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The return of Michael Kidd-Gilchrist from injury and the addition of free agent center Roy Hibbert raises the defensive ceiling for a team that already ranked in the league’s top 10 last season, according to Basketball Insiders’ season preview of the Hornets. Basketball Insiders takes an optimistic view of the Hornets, with its reporters predicting anywhere from a first to third-place finish for the club this season.

Offseason Moves Improved Defense

September 14th, 2016 at 10:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Hornets coach Steve Clifford believes the team’s offseason moves have improved the defense more than the offense, according to Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. Charlottte lost three key free agents in Jeremy Lin, Al Jefferson and Courtney Lee, but brought in Roy Hibbert, Ramon Sessions and Marco Belinelli. Also, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist is expected back after missing nearly all of last season with injuries.

Clifford Praises Acquisition Of Belinelli

September 14th, 2016 at 11:46am CST by Eddie Scarito

Hornets coach Steve Clifford praised the team’s draft day deal to acquire Marco Belinelli from the Kings in exchange for the rights to No. 22 overall pick, Malachi Richardson, Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer tweets. The coach noted that a player selected at that draft spot would not have been able to contribute this season, unlike the veteran shooting guard they obtained in the swap, Bonnell relays.

Nets Notes: Stephenson, Ferrell, Mockevicius, Beech

September 4th, 2016 at 10:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Former Nets GM Billy King turned down a trade proposal last season that would have brought Lance Stephenson to Brooklyn, according to NetsDaily.com. King, who lost the GM title in January in a shakeup that cost coach Lionel Hollins his job, nixed the deal, which would have sent Joe Johnson to Charlotte in exchange for Stephenson and other unidentified players. The trade had the approval of Dmitry Razumov, chairman of the Nets’ board of directors, and NetsDaily shares the story as a way of showing that King had final say on all personnel moves, including the disastrous deal with the Celtics that put Brooklyn in its current position. King, the columnist added, also rejected Razumov’s suggestion to pursue JaVale McGee.

There’s more news tonight out of Brooklyn:

Yogi Ferrell, Egidijus Mockevicius and Beau Beech will come into camp knowing that they’re likely headed to the Nets’ new D-League affiliate on Long Island, NetsDaily writes in the same piece. All three received “training camp invites,” which don’t become fully guaranteed unless the players remain on the roster until all contracts are guaranteed in early January. The author notes that roster spots could be hard to earn with Brooklyn having 15 players with fully guaranteed contracts, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. Seven of those players have deals that either will expire or can expire after the upcoming season, so the Nets have flexibility if they decide to keep Ferrell, Mockevicius or Beech.
The Nets may pick up another player before camp with the intention of sending him to the D-League, NetsDaily adds. The rights of the last four players cut would automatically go to the Long Island affiliate if they aren’t claimed off waivers. Brooklyn currently has 18 players headed to camp, two shy of the NBA limit.

Steve Clifford Is An Undervalued Asset

August 30th, 2016 at 8:43pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Hornets head coach Steve Clifford is one of the most undervalued assets in the league, Jonny Auping of RealGM posits. The scribe notes that Clifford’s squads have been some of the hardest to score on in the league despite giving heavy minutes to unheralded defensive players like Al Jefferson and Kemba Walker. The strength of Clifford’s system, as well as the positive team chemistry he fosters, could potentially be seen as a draw should Stephen Curry decide to leave the Warriors and return to his home state, Auping adds.

Hornets Are Real Contenders

August 27th, 2016 at 9:44pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Hornets made several under-the-radar moves to improve this offseason, such as signing Ramon Sessions to a team-friendly deal, and they should be considered the biggest challengers to Cleveland for the Eastern Conference crown, Ben Dowsett of Basketball Insiders argues. Dowsett also praises the decision to bring Roy Hibbert aboard on a one-year, $5MM deal.