Memphis Grizzlies Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Grizzlies Sign Sampson Carter

October 6th, 2015 at 2:13pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Grizzlies have signed former UMass combo forward Sampson Carter, the team announced via press release. Carter, 25, went undrafted in 2014 and split last season between teams in Slovakia, Portugal and the Dominican Republic. He replaces shooting guard Dan Nwaelele, whom Memphis waived Monday. Today’s move gives the Grizzlies a full 20-man preseason roster again.

Carter put up 10.3 points and 4.8 rebounds in 27.9 minutes per game with 35.0% three-point shooting for the Minutemen as a senior in 2013/14. He initially signed with BC Prievidza in Slovakia before moving on to CAB Madeira in Portugal and finally to Club Virgilio Castillo, also known as Chola, of the Dominican Republic.

He’s a long shot to make the Grizzlies, who have 14 fully guaranteed contracts plus a partial guarantee for JaMychal Green, as our roster count shows. Still, he seems like a candidate to end up on the D-League affiliate of the Grizzlies. Memphis can retain the D-League rights to as many as four of the players it waives, and fellow Grizzlies camp invitees Ryan Hollins and Yakhouba Diawara are veterans unlikely to end up in the D-League.

Southwest Notes: Terry, Grizzlies, Leonard, Gentry

October 6th, 2015 at 12:30pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Pelicans offered Jason Terry more than the guaranteed one-year deal for the minimum salary that the Rockets gave him, but he preferred a better chance to make the Finals with Houston, even though his role on the Rockets will likely shrink, reports Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com.

“I don’t have to play a lot of minutes to be effective,” Terry said. “With the minutes, I know my role and what’s expected out of me, and that goes a long way.”

Terry saw 21.3 minutes per game for Houston in the regular season last year but 28.6 in the playoffs as he filled in for the injured Patrick Beverley, a duty that would now fall to trade acquisition Ty Lawson. See more from the Southwest Division:

The Grizzlies‘ addition of Brandan Wright and subtraction of Kosta Koufos sacrifices defense, and especially rebounding, for the sake of offense, as Chris Herrington of The Commercial Appeal examines. That leads Herrington to wonder if Marc Gasol should undo some of his changes from last season, when he tilted his game more toward the offensive end.
Kawhi Leonard had made a total of less than $8.5MM in his first four years in the NBA before re-signing with the Spurs on five-year max deal worth more than $94MM this summer, but he’s more enthusiastic about the length of the contract than the money involved, notes Dan McCarney of the San Antonio Express-News.
Alvin Gentry is adopting a looser, more relaxed approach with the Pelicans than former coach Monty Williams did, incorporating some techniques from the year he spent as an assistant under Steve Kerr with the Warriors, as John Reid of The Times Picayune details.

Grizzlies Waive Daniel Nwaelele

October 5th, 2015 at 7:29pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Grizzlies waived shooting guard Daniel Nwaelele on Monday, bringing their roster down to 19 players, the team announced via press release. The 6’5” Nwaelele was signed as a free agent late last month but had little chance to stick, since Memphis has 14 players with guaranteed contracts.

Nwaelele is headed to the Warriors’ D-League affiliate in Santa Cruz, international journalist David Pick reports.

Nwaelele has yet to appear on an NBA regular season roster, but he was with the Spurs for camp in 2013. He made the Warriors’ D-League team at an open tryout in 2012. He returned to the Warriors D-League team after his preseason stint with the Spurs, and in 2013/14, he averaged 12.4 points and 4.4 rebounds in 31.1 minutes per game. Prior to his D-League stints, Nwaelele played professionally in Israel.

The 31-year-old went undrafted out of the Air Force Academy in 2007 and then spent several years fulfilling his military commitment.

Southwest Notes: Butler, Ajinca, Green

October 5th, 2015 at 4:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Spurs weren’t the only NBA team interested in Rasual Butler when he signed with San Antonio last month, as a Western Conference suitor lurked, but the 36-year-old finds there’s “no place better to be than here,” reports Jabari Young of the San Antonio Express-News. Butler’s contract is non-guaranteed, but he has a line on a regular season roster spot, according to coach/executive Gregg Popovich, as Young notes.

“He’s a seasoned pro in a sense that he knows himself, he knows what role he can play,” Popovich said. “He’s at a stage in his career where he just wants to be a part of something that’s just positive and good. He obviously can shoot the basketball. If he couldn’t shoot, we wouldn’t be talking to him. You got to have a skill to play. For all those reasons, he’s somebody that’s got a great shot to make our team.”

The Spurs have 13 fully guaranteed contracts, seemingly leaving two available spots on the opening night roster. See more on the Spurs amid the latest from the Southwest Division:

Pelicans backup center Alexis Ajinca will miss the next four to six weeks because of a right hamstring strain, the team announced. New Orleans committed a four-year, $19.5MM deal to Ajinca this past summer, and the team is without any other natural center to play behind Omer Asik, with the possible exception of Anthony Davis. The injury could bode well for power forward Jeff Adrien, the only big man without a fully guaranteed salary on the Pelicans.
Jeff Green says he was frustrated with the lack of a consistent role with the Grizzlies following the midseason trade that took him to Memphis, but he’s optimistic about this year, and coach Dave Joerger is expecting a breakout season, as Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal details. Green is set for free agency this coming summer after picking up his $9.2MM player option this past June. “It was tough to not be in one role. One day I’d start, one day I’d come off the bench. I was playing the 3 and the 4. It was tough,” Green said. “It’s hard to do. There’s only a few players that can really do that. I’m thankful to be in that position to be able to do that. But when you come onto a team halfway through the year, having to do that is tough because you never get a grasp of what you really need to do for the team. This year, I have an open mind. It doesn’t matter what position I play, I’m going to give it my all.”
Cory Joseph started for the Spurs most of December last year and wound up seeing only 22 total minutes during the postseason. A similarly occasional place in Sacramento’s rotation has trade acquisition Ray McCallum willing to embrace the same stop-and-start playing time with the Spurs, as Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News chronicles. Joseph snagged a four-year, $30MM deal with the Raptors this past summer, and McCallum is due for restricted free agency at season’s end.

And-Ones: Bender, Wall, Durant, Brown, Lawson

October 1st, 2015 at 1:46pm CST by Chuck Myron

European phenom Dragan Bender will make his U.S. debut in Chicago tonight for Israel Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv for the first of a pair of exhibitions against EA7 Emporio Armani Milan, as Zach Links of Hoops Rumors first reported he was likely to do. The 17-year-old has stirred no shortage of excitement, as international journalist David Pick writes for Bleacher Report. Almost all 30 NBA teams are set to scout the contests, with the Celtics, Nets, Mavericks, Grizzlies and Bucks among them, sources tell Pick. Hornets GM Rich Cho will be there, too, tweets Jake Fischer of SI Now. The Nuggets, Sixers and Magic have had talks with Maccabi officials about the 7’1″ power forward, Pick also hears. Bender is well ahead of where 2015 No. 4 overall pick Kristaps Porzingis was at the same age, Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress told Pick. Givony has Bender as the fifth-best prospect in next year’s draft, while Chad Ford of ESPN.com ranks him seventh.

“The only thing ’17 years old’ about him is his mustache,” Maccabi coach Guy Goodes said to Pick.

See more on Bender and other NBA news here:

Bender turns 18 next month, so he’ll turn 19 in 2016 and thus be eligible for early entry for the upcoming draft, but it’s not a given that he’ll declare, as Maccabi GM Nikola Vujcic, who also serves as Bender’s guardian, explained to Pick for the same piece. Vujcic suggested to Pick that Bender won’t enter the draft unless he receives a commitment from a team picking in the top three to five selections and suggested that he might decide to stay overseas for a while even if he is drafted.
John Wall says he and Kevin Durant are “really close” and reiterated that he’ll make a recruiting pitch to the former MVP who hits free agency next summer, though he adds that he’ll be cautious not to take an overbearing approach, as the Wizards point guard explains to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders.
The Nets declined to waive Markel Brown by Tuesday’s guarantee date, so his $200K partial guarantee jumped to a full guarantee on his $845,059 minimum salary, notes Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). That gives the Nets 13 fully guaranteed contracts among the 20 players they have in camp.
The Rockets are trying to minimize their risks with Ty Lawson, having told him that they’ll provide a ride for him to any destination at any time, according to TNT’s David Aldridge, who writes in his Morning Tip column for NBA.com. Lawson, for whom Houston traded this summer despite two DUI arrests in six months, has been on his best behavior so far, Aldridge notes.

Marc Gasol To Try To Recruit Pau Gasol To Grizzlies

October 1st, 2015 at 8:55am CST by Chuck Myron

Marc Gasol will be part of an effort to convince Pau Gasol to sign with the Grizzlies, as Marc tells the Spanish outlet Europa Press (translation via HoopsHype). Marc signed a new five-year max deal with Memphis in July, but Pau can opt out of his contract with the Bulls next summer. Marc suggests it would be difficult to convince his brother to leave the Bulls, the team he joined just last year, but Marc says that he and the Grizzlies will try.

Pau’s contract with Chicago is team-friendly, particularly in light of his 18.5 points and 11.8 rebounds per game this past season, a bounceback year for him and one in which he and his brother started at center for their respective conferences in the All-Star Game. The 2016/17 player option in Pau’s deal is worth slightly less than $7.77MM, and though he turns 36 next July, the free agent market will be flooded with cash as the salary cap jumps to a projected $89MM. The Grizzlies have about $46MM in commitments for 2016/17, though that doesn’t include money for Mike Conley, who’s No. 3 on our 2016 Free Agent Power Rankings and whose max salary is a projected $24.9MM.

Power forward Zach Randolph is under contract with the Grizzlies through 2016/17, so the addition of Pau this coming summer would give Memphis a crowded frontcourt. However, Randolph is only one year younger than Pau, and Marc will be 31 by then, so it’s a distinct possibility that age will limit the ability of all three to play heavy minutes anyway. Pau is already in the midst of a frontcourt logjam in Chicago, where he, Joakim Noah, Taj Gibson, Nikola Mirotic and recent first-round picks Doug McDermott and Bobby Portis are all candidates for playing time at the power forward and center positions.

Cavs Sign Michael Dunigan, Quinn Cook, Five Others

September 28th, 2015 at 2:45pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Cavaliers have signed center Michael Dunigan, the team revealed on its training camp roster, one that also officially confirmed earlier reports of deals with Jared Cunningham, Austin Daye, Chris Johnson, Nick Minnerath and D.J. Stephens. Quinn Cook also appears on the roster, so it looks like he and the team have worked out a deal, as expected. Cleveland has 20 players, 13 of whom have fully guaranteed contracts, though those totals don’t include Tristan Thompson, who remains in restricted free agency with Thursday looming as the final day for him to sign his qualifying offer before it expires. The Cavs would have to waive a player before signing Thompson, since they’re at the preseason roster limit.

Dunigan, 26, was in camp with the Grizzlies in 2012, but he’s chiefly played overseas since going undrafted in 2011. The Mike Naiditch client came stateside to spend part of last season with Cleveland’s D-League affiliate, putting up 11.6 points and 7.1 rebounds in 30.4 minutes per game across 24 regular season appearances, so the Cavs are familiar with him. It’s unclear exactly what sort of terms he’s getting, though Cleveland is limited to paying the minimum salary, just as with all the rest of the deals the team confirmed today.

Cook, 22, went undrafted out of Duke this year. Conflicting reports had clouded the matter of whether he and the team had agreed to a deal, but Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group and the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported the point guard would be on a non-guaranteed pact.

Cunningham and Daye are former first-round picks. Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports reported Cunningham’s deal with the team, with Haynes noting that the 24-year-old shooting guard would be on a non-guaranteed contract. Charania also first reported Daye’s deal, and international journalist David Pick added that the pact for the 27-year-old small forward would be non-guaranteed.

Johnson, a 30-year-old center from LSU, is not to be confused with the swingman by the same name. Haynes reported his deal, which is for one year at the minimum salary and non-guaranteed. Haynes also had the story of Minnerath’s one-year deal. The 26-year-old combo forward is on a non-guaranteed pact.

Zach Links of Hoops Rumors first reported the Stephens deal. The terms of the contract for the 24-year-old high-flying swingman are unclear, beyond the fact that he’ll be making the minimum.

Andrew Harrison To Sign In D-League

September 28th, 2015 at 10:40am CST by Chuck Myron

Second-round pick Andrew Harrison will sign with the D-League affiliate of the Grizzlies, the team that holds his NBA rights, according to Chris Herrington of The Commercial Appeal (Twitter link). Memphis announced its 20-man camp roster earlier today, and it doesn’t include Harrison, this year’s 44th overall selection. The Grizzlies can still sign him at any point to the NBA roster, though they’d have to make a corresponding move, since they don’t have an open roster spot.

The Suns made Harrison the 44th overall selection this June and traded his rights shortly thereafter to Memphis for Jon Leuer. The Kevin Bradbury client can’t negotiate with any other NBA teams, though he did have the option of signing a one-year, $525,093 minimum salary tender without a guarantee that the Grizzlies had to make this month to retain his draft rights. The point guard who turns 21 next month has evidently decided against that, and he’ll instead start the year on a D-League contract making no more than $25,500.

Harrison was the fifth-ranked prospect in the Recruiting Services Consensus Index coming out of high school in 2013, but his stock fell precipitously in college. He joins No. 48 pick Dakari Johnson, No. 51 pick Tyler Harvey, No. 52 pick Satnam Singh and No. 53 pick Sir’Dominic Pointer among this year’s second-rounders expected to sign in the D-League, as our draft picks signings page indicates. Harrison’s twin brother, Aaron, went undrafted but is with the Hornets on a deal that’s partially guaranteed for $75K.

Do you see Andrew Harrison panning out once he gets to the NBA? Leave a comment to tell us.

Grizzlies Sign Five For Camp

September 28th, 2015 at 9:33am CST by Chuck Myron

The Grizzlies have formally signed Yakhouba Diawara, Ryan Hollins, Michael Holyfield, Lazeric Jones and Daniel Nwaelele, the team announced via press release. All five moves were expected, based on previous reports. The moves give Memphis a full 20-man roster for the preseason, as our roster count shows. All are making the minimum salary, since the Grizzlies don’t have the capacity to give more after signing Brandan Wright for the mid-level exception earlier in the offseason, and all are reportedly non-guaranteed

Diawara, 33, returns to the NBA after an absence of more than five years. The native of France played last season in Italy. Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports first reported the deal between Memphis and the swingman.

Hollins, who turns 31 next month, gives the Grizzlies depth on the interior. Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports first reported the deal, and he and Chris Herrington of The Commercial Appeal had details about the arrangement, which covers one season.

Holyfield went undrafted this year out of Sam Houston State but joined the Grizzlies for summer league this year before formally signing with the team. Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders first reported the deal for the center who turns 23 in November, revealing that it’s a one-year pact.

Jones is a 25-year-old point guard who went undrafted out of UCLA in 2012 and has spent time overseas since then, playing in Israel, Greece and Hungary. Charania first reported the deal, and Pincus reports that it’s a one-year contract.

Nwaelele is a 31-year-old Air Force veteran who’s spent much of his time since going undrafted in 2007 serving out his military commitment. Marc Stein of ESPN.com first reported the deal, which is a one-year arrangement, according to Pincus.

Grizzlies Sign Dan Nwaelele, Waive Christopher

September 25th, 2015 at 5:58pm CST by Chuck Myron

FRIDAY, 5:58pm: The Nwaelele signing has taken place, and the Grizzlies have indeed waived Christopher, according to the RealGM transactions log. The team has yet to make any official announcement regarding either move.

THURSDAY, 8:47am: The Grizzlies will bring shooting guard Dan Nwaelele to training camp, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Agent Dave Gasman confirms the deal via Twitter. The 31-year-old Nwaelele, who went undrafted out of the Air Force Academy in 2007, will replace Patrick Christopher, who won’t be with the team, according to Stein, despite having signed earlier this month. Memphis also reportedly struck a non-guaranteed deal Wednesday with Ryan Hollins, so the Grizzlies have signed contracts or verbal agreements with 19 players, not including Christopher. Fourteen of them have fully guaranteed deals.

Nwaelele has yet to appear on an NBA regular season roster, but he was with the Spurs for camp in 2013. He spent his first five post-college years serving an Air Force commitment, and he made the D-League affiliate of the Warriors at an open tryout in 2012. He returned to the Warriors D-League team after his preseason stint with the Spurs, and in 2013/14, he averaged 12.4 points and 4.4 rebounds in 31.1 minutes per game, with strong 41.6% three-point shooting.

Christopher was on a non-guaranteed minimum-salary contract, so Memphis isn’t eating any money as it lets him go. The swingman made his official NBA debut with the Jazz last season, but he has a history with the Grizzlies, who had him for the preseason last year but waived him prior to opening night.