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Latest On Donatas Motiejunas, Rockets

November 4th, 2016 at 1:09pm CST by Luke Adams

One final 2016 restricted free agent remains unsigned, and the Rockets continue to make efforts to lock up Donatas Motiejunas to a new deal. According to ESPN’s Marc Stein (via Twitter), Houston’s latest offer to Motiejunas is a multiyear proposal that starts at a fully guaranteed $7MM in year one. Stein adds (via Twitter) that it can increase to the $8MM range via incentives.

Of course, the full details of the offer remain somewhat vague based on Stein’s report. A three- or four-year fully guaranteed contract that starts at $7MM would likely appeal to Motiejunas and agent B.J. Armstrong. However, it’s also possible that the deal more closely resembles Tyler Zeller‘s — earlier this year, the Celtics RFA signed a two-year, $16MM contract that is only guaranteed for one season.

In any case, it doesn’t appear as if the Rockets’ latest offer has the two sides on the verge of an agreement. A source tells Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com (Twitter link) that Motiejunas is looking into the possibility of playing overseas. Even if that’s a leverage play from the forward’s camp, it suggests he’s still seeking a stronger offer from Houston or another NBA team.

The Rockets tendered Motiejunas a qualifying offer worth about $4.4MM back in June. The 26-year-old didn’t reach an agreement with Houston or sign an offer sheet with a rival suitor during the offseason, and that qualifying offer expired last month. Motiejunas can no longer sign his one-year QO, but remains a restricted free agent, meaning Houston still has the right of first refusal should he strike a deal with another team.

Although Motiejunas struggled to stay healthy in 2015/16 and his production took a significant hit, he looked like a player on the rise in 2014/15, when he averaged 12.0 PPG and 5.9 RPG to go along with a .504 FG% and a .368 3PT%. He has been plagued by back trouble in recent years, creating some long-term uncertainty about his health and limiting his market.

NBA D-League Affiliate Players For 2016/17

November 3rd, 2016 at 12:35pm CST by Luke Adams

Throughout the offseason, and in the weeks leading up to the start of the regular season, NBA teams are permitted to carry 20 players, but that total must be cut down to 15 in advance of opening night. However, up to four players waived by teams before the season can be designated as affiliate players and assigned to their D-League squads.

The players have some say in the decision — if they’d prefer to sign with a team overseas, or if they get an opportunity with another NBA club, they’re free to turn down their team’s request to have them play in the D-League. Most NBA and international teams have fairly set rosters by late October though, so having the opportunity to continue playing in the same system is appealing to many of those preseason cuts. Especially since they’ll maintain NBA free agency while they play in the D-League.

There are a few other rules related to D-League affiliate players. A player whose returning rights are held by a D-League team can’t be an affiliate player for another club, which is why undrafted free agents from the current year are commonly signed and assigned. Additionally, an affiliate player must have signed with his team during the current league year, which explains why we often see players signed and quickly waived in the days leading up to the regular season. And, of course, not every NBA team has a D-League affiliate, so clubs like the Hawks, Nuggets, or Clippers have no place to send affiliate players.

With all that in mind, here are the NBA D-League affiliate players to start the 2016/17 season:

Austin Spurs (San Antonio Spurs)

Canton Charge (Cleveland Cavaliers)

Jonathan Holmes
Eric Moreland

Delaware 87ers (Philadelphia 76ers)

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 10/31/16

October 31st, 2016 at 10:03pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Here are the D-League assignments and recalls for the day:

The Rockets are the first team to send a player to their D-League affiliate this season, with the team announcing (via Twitter) that Chinanu Onuaku will be joining the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. The power forward has yet to see the court during the regular season for Houston.

Rockets To Decline Tyler Ennis’ 2017/18 Option

October 31st, 2016 at 10:35am CST by Luke Adams

A week ago, the Rockets appeared to be on the verge of parting ways with Tyler Ennis, despite having just acquired him in a trade last month. Houston ultimately decided to waive Pablo Prigioni instead, keeping Ennis, but the team isn’t ready to make a multiyear commitment to the former Buck. According to Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (via Twitter), the Rockets won’t exercise Ennis’ 2017/18 team option in advance of today’s deadline.

Ennis, who will earn a guaranteed $1.734MM salary in 2016/17, would have been in line for a pay increase to $2.667MM next year if Houston had exercised his option. Instead, he’ll head into the summer of 2017 as an unrestricted free agent. That doesn’t necessarily mean the 22-year-old will leave the Rockets, who could still re-sign him, but he’ll get a chance to explore the open market in July.

The 18th overall pick in the 2014 draft, Ennis started his career with the Suns before being sent to the Bucks at the 2015 trade deadline. He was moved again in September in exchange for veteran forward Michael Beasley. In 82 total career NBA games so far, Ennis has averaged just 4.0 PPG and 2.2 APG in 13.4 minutes per game, while posting a shooting line of .405/.294/.732. He scored just a single basket in three games for the Rockets during the first week of this season, though he also picked up nine assists and a pair of steals in that stretch.

As we noted earlier this morning, Ennis was one of six players still on an NBA roster whose rookie-scale option for 2017/18 had yet to be exercised. The full recap of this year’s decisions can be found right here.

Rockets Pick Up 2017/18 Option On Sam Dekker

October 31st, 2016 at 8:28am CST by Will Joseph

OCTOBER 31: Houston has officially exercised its option on Dekker for 2017/18, according to RealGM’s transactions log.

OCTOBER 30: The Rockets are expected to pick up their team option on Sam Dekker for the 2017/18 season, Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com relays (ESPN NOW link). Watkins notes that the Rockets will also pick up the team option on center Clint Capela, which we relayed earlier in the week.

The option would be for Dekker’s third year and is valued at $1,794,600. Dekker played in only three games last season because of back issues and surgery. He was the 18th overall pick in the 2015 draft.

The 22-year-old small forward enjoyed a productive summer league for the Rockets. Dekker, a Wisconsin product, has appeared in both of the Rockets’ games this season. He played 13 minutes against the Mavs and 14 minutes against the Lakers. The only other rookie-scale team option decision for 2017/18 salaries for the Rockets is whether or not to pick up the fourth-year team option on Tyler Ennis.

Beverley Plans Early Return From Knee Surgery

October 30th, 2016 at 8:28pm CST by Arthur Hill

Rockets guard Patrick Beverley has set a goal of November 15th-21st to return from knee surgery, tweets Mark Berman of Fox 26.

Beverley underwent the arthroscopic procedure on his left knee on Tuesday and was projected to be out of action for four to six weeks. However, Calvin Watkins posts on ESPN Now that Beverley started lifting weights with the knee today and plans to begin running this week.

Beverley told Berman it was “very difficult” to be sidelined by the injury, but he understands he has to be “professional” and focus on being ready for the rest of the season (Twitter link).

And-Ones: Prigioni, Teague, Evans, Hummel

October 29th, 2016 at 10:52pm CST by Arthur Hill

Pablo Prigioni, who was waived by Houston on Monday, is drawing interest from a team in Spain, according to Orazio Cauchi of Sportando. The 39-year-old point guard has an offer from Barcelona that he is reportedly considering. Prigioni played for the Knicks, Clippers and Rockets in four NBA seasons.

There’s more NBA-related news tonight:

Former NBA guard Marquis Teague has been released by his Israeli team, tweets international basketball writer David Pick. The younger brother of Pacers guard Jeff Teague, Marquis Teague played 88 games for the Bulls and Nets but has been out of the league for the past two seasons.
Ex-NBA players Jeremy Evans and Robbie Hummel have signed with Khimki Moscow, Pick reports (Twitter link). Evans, who was waived by the Pacers last week, had a guaranteed $1,227,286 contract. Hummel had a $150K guarantee from the Nuggets, who released him last week.
Three recently waived players were part of a D-League trade today, reports Chris Reichert of The Step Back (Twitter link). The Northern Arizona Suns dealt Xavier Munford, Cory Jefferson and Alec Brown to the Greensboro Swarm in exchange for three draft picks. Munford, a 24-year-old shooting guard, was released by the Clippers, Jefferson was cut by the Cavaliers and Brown was waived by the Suns.

Bogut Explains Decision To Join Mavs Over Rockets

October 28th, 2016 at 2:41pm CST by Luke Adams

Andrew Bogut wasn’t a free agent this summer, but he did have some agency when it came to deciding his new team. Multiple reports throughout the offseason indicated that the Warriors could have sent Bogut to a number of different teams in a salary-shedding trade to clear cap room for Kevin Durant. Golden State reportedly allowed the former first overall pick to pick his destination from a list of clubs that included the Mavericks, Rockets, and the Sixers, and Bogut chose Dallas.

According to Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com, Bogut viewed the Mavericks as the best fit for him, and wanted to land with a team he could potentially re-sign with in 2017. The veteran center cited culture, coaching, and his agent’s familiarity with the Mavs as reasons why Dallas made more sense than Houston, per MacMahon.

“I’m not saying Houston has a bad culture by any means, but my agent (David Bauman) has a familiarity here,” Bogut said. “I’ve known a lot of players that have been pretty happy here when they were here. Richard Jefferson was one of them. And then the city — I like the city, so it all made sense.

“Rick Carlisle is also one of the best coaches in the league,” Bogut continued. “He knows how to get the best out of his players. He’s very, very smart and makes great adjustments. He’s a guy you want to play for. Obviously, [Mike] D’Antoni is a pretty good coach, too, but probably not suited for my style of play. I would have probably had to drop about 20 pounds to play in his system. They play a tough system, get up and down the court.”

Bogut, who is in a contract year, said back in September that he would have asked for a buyout if he ended up with a team besides the Mavs. However, he clarified those comments today, walking them back slightly by saying a buyout would have been “an option” and not necessarily something he would have forced. As MacMahon details, Bogut also said he was referring to “a different team, not Houston,” when he talked about that option. The Sixers were likely the club in question.

Cavaliers Rumors: Shumpert, Point Guards, Jack

October 28th, 2016 at 1:49pm CST by Luke Adams

A report last Friday suggested that the Timberwolves and some other teams have inquired about the availability of Iman Shumpert, and weren’t exactly rebuffed by the Cavaliers. Although it’s true that Cleveland is answering the phone, the team isn’t actively looking to move Shumpert, a team source tells Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com. Vardon adds that Shumpert would only be dealt for a player who improves the Cavs.

While it may simply be a matter of semantics, at least one NBA general manager was surprised to read that the Cavs aren’t “actively” shopping Shumpert, according to Sam Amico of AmicoHoops.net, who says a GM texted him about the report. “Guess I’m not sure what actively means,” the GM said. “That’s news to me and probably about six other (team executives).”

While the Cavs mull their options with Shumpert, let’s check out a few more items out of Cleveland…

Cleveland is believed to be in the market for a backup point guard, and veteran free agent Jarrett Jack looks like a decent fit, but the club only has a “passing interest” in Jack, a league source tells Amico.
Within his previously-linked mailbag, Vardon is asked about free agent point guards Jameer Nelson and Andre Miller as possible targets for the Cavaliers. Per Vardon, there are no indications that either Nelson or Miller is receiving interest from the team. The Cleveland.com scribe suggests Rockets guard Patrick Beverley is a possible trade target worth keeping an eye on, but adds that the Cavs will play Shumpert and DeAndre Liggins behind Kyrie Irving for now.
Having played for Canada this summer in a bid to earn a spot in the Olympics, Cavs big man Tristan Thompson was disappointed that several of his fellow countrymen weren’t on the roster, and hopes they’ll join the team for future competitions. Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal has the quotes from Thompson, along with the details on how the experience helped him.

Rockets, Knicks, Nets Had Interest In Austin Rivers

October 26th, 2016 at 4:48pm CST by Luke Adams

The three-year free agent contract agreed upon by the Clippers and Austin Rivers this July looked like one of the least surprising moves of the summer, as Rivers opted to continue playing for his father, Doc Rivers, in Los Angeles. As Dan Woike of The Orange County Register details, however, Rivers drew interest from several teams, including the Rockets, Knicks, and Nets, and the 24-year-old suggests he was offered more money by at least one other suitor.

“I took less to come back here,” Rivers said of the Clippers. “I’m not taking this for granted. I was on a team where it was very bad. There are only four or five teams in the league with a realistic chance to win this year, and I think we’re one of them. I’m not taking this for granted. I know if I go somewhere else, I might not ever be on a team like this again. A lot of people go their whole career and never play on a team like this.”

After averaging a career-high 8.9 PPG in 67 regular-season games with the Clippers last season, Rivers increased his value further in the playoffs, assuming a greater role after Chris Paul went down with a hand injury. In L.A.’s last game of the season, as the team attempted to stave off elimination, Rivers put up 21 points and eight assists.

Rivers’ new deal with the Clippers is worth nearly $34.5MM over three years, so it’s unlikely that the Duke alum took a significant hometown discount. But he may have passed up the opportunity for more minutes and a bigger role with another team, as his head coach points out.

“He could’ve had that opportunity,” Doc Rivers said of his son. “For him to come back, it shows that winning is far more important and he enjoys the group.”

Ultimately, the Rockets and Knicks addressed their shooting guard needs in free agency by signing Eric Gordon and Courtney Lee, respectively. The Nets added Jeremy Lin, and signed Tyler Johnson and Allen Crabbe to offer sheets, which were matched.