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Heat Sign Andre Dawkins For Camp

September 23rd, 2014 at 3:05pm CST by Chuck Myron

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

SEPTEMBER 2ND, 2:32pm: The pact is non-guaranteed, agent John Spencer confirms to Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel. There were about a dozen teams in pursuit of Dawkins, who turned down guaranteed salary from overseas clubs, Spencer adds.

12:35pm: The Heat and undrafted shooting guard Andre Dawkins have reached agreement on a deal for training camp, reports Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). That suggests it’s a non-guaranteed arrangement for the former Duke Blue Devil, though it’s conceivable that he’ll have some sort of partial guarantee. It’ll almost certainly be a minimum-salary contract, since the Heat are limited to giving out no more than that.

The 6’4″ Dawkins played a reserve role at Duke, averaging 7.9 points in 13.7 minutes per contest this season, but his 42.1% three-point accuracy on 4.6 attempts from behind the arc each game surely helped him earn a few predraft workouts with NBA teams. He joined the Heat and the Rockets in summer league, showing efficient scoring pop with 12.3 PPG in just 19.3 MPG in four appearances with Miami’s squad.

The Heat had been carrying 17 players, though only 11 have full guarantees, as our roster counts show. That would appear to give the 22-year-old Dawkins a decent chance to make the opening-night roster if he impresses during camp and preseason action next month.

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Eastern Notes: Magic, Heat, Knicks

September 21st, 2014 at 8:51pm CST by Zachary Links

After suffering a torn Achilles tendon almost nine months ago, Bobcats forward Jeff Taylor is working his way back towards full health, writes Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer.  “It’s been a long road,” Taylor said. “With an Achilles injury, you have to be really patient – slowly getting back all your strength, back to what you were.”  Here’s more from the East..

  • Magic newcomer Luke Ridnour perfectly fits what the team needs, writes Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel.  The 33-year-old has a mature locker room presence, experience as a reserve guard, and still shows glimpses of solid play.  Perhaps more importantly, he can show No. 10 overall pick Elfrid Payton Jr. the ropes.
  • The staff at Basketball Insiders previewed the Heat for the upcoming season.  Without LeBron James, none of the five writers have Miami winning the division.  The consensus seems to be that they’ll be a playoff team, and maybe one with homecourt advantage, but the ceiling doesn’t go much higher than that.
  • The Knicks haven’t named their D-League coach yet, but when they do, the final candidate will be familiar with the way Derek Fisher wants to play, writes Ian Begley of ESPN.com.  “We’ve talked to a few candidates, very good candidates. We’re not there yet, we’re very close. But this is a very unique position because you want to have someone who is familiar with the way Derek wants to play and the system. But also [someone who is] familiar with the future and the landscape of the D-League and its process,” Westchester Knicks GM Allan Houston said.
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And-Ones: Chandler, Taylor, Heat, Ayon

September 21st, 2014 at 4:29pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Knicks’ Phil Jackson had upset Tyson Chandler with comments he made regarding changing the culture of the franchise and removing any parts that have had a negative influence. But Jesse Blancarte of Basketball Insiders doesn’t believe Jackson’s comments were directed at Chandler, but instead at J.R. Smith and the departed Raymond Felton. Blancarte also notes that Chandler’s issues were with former head coach Mike Woodson, not the franchise, and that Jackson traded Chandler so they wouldn’t lose him for nothing when he left as a free agent next Summer.

Here’s the latest from around the league:

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Eastern Notes: Heat, Thornton, Plumlee

September 21st, 2014 at 9:00am CST by Eddie Scarito

Despite the loss of LeBron James and the failure to bring in a superstar to replace him, the Heat did extremely well in free agency, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel writes. Winderman believes that the signing of Luol Deng was the best possible consolation prize, and the veteran small forward will be especially motivated to perform this season after the Danny Ferry controversy in Atlanta.

Here’s more from the east:

  • With the Celtics in rebuilding mode and the franchise focusing on developing their younger backcourt players including first round pick Marcus Smart, some have called for Boston to trade the recently acquired Marcus Thornton. But despite the presence of Smart, Avery Bradley, and Evan Turner, after his deal is finalized, Kevin O’Connor of SB Nation thinks the team should consider holding onto the 27 year-old, and provides five reasons why.
  • Mason Plumlee is poised for a breakout season according to SB Nation, who believe the departure of Andray Blatche and the advancing age of Kevin Garnett will open the door for the second year player to shine this season for the Nets.
  • Former Bucks second-rounder Darington Hobson has signed with Brasilia of the Brazilian League, David Pick of Eurobasket reports (Twitter link). The contract includes outs for both the NBA and the Euroleague, according to Pick. Hobson played one season for Milwaukee, appearing in five games and averaging 0.8 PPG.
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Andray Blatche Signs With Chinese Team

September 20th, 2014 at 7:00pm CST by Eddie Scarito

7:00pm: Pick has informed Hoops Rumors that the $2MM figure first reported for Blatche’s deal is correct.

12:25pm: Andy Miller, Blatche’s agent, has confirmed the signing, Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv tweets.

12:08pm: The deal is for approximately $2.5MM, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports notes (Twitter link).

11:55am: According to his sources, David Pick of Eurobasket (Twitter link) reports that Blatche has signed the deal, and it is for one-year, $2MM.

9:52am: Free agent big man Andray Blatche is close to signing a deal to play in the Chinese Basketball Association, Sohu.com reports (translation by Enea Trapani of Sportando). The interested team is the Xinjiang Flying Tigers, who have already inked Jordan Crawford, and were in negotiations with Lester Hudson, before things fell apart.

There were rumors that the Flying Tigers were interested in signing Aron Baynes, who has also been linked to Yao Ming’s Shanghai Sharks. According to Hupu.com, Xinjiang’s management confirmed the addition of a big man who participated in the FIBA World Cup, but officials denied the deal was with Baynes, so it looks like Blatche is their target.

Blatche is an unrestricted free agent after averaging 11.2 PPG and 5.3 RPG in 22.2 minutes per contest with an 18.8 PER for the Nets last season. The Heat, Raptors, and Clippers had all been rumored to be interested in the 6’11”, 27 year-old. If Blatche does indeed sign with the CBA, he would still have an opportunity to sign with an NBA team late in the season, since the Chinese League ends play in February, with the playoffs generally concluding in mid-to-late March. For more on Blatche, check out Chuck Myron’s Free Agent Stock Watch profile on the player.

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Ryan Hollins Signs With Kings

September 18th, 2014 at 3:28pm CST by Eddie Scarito

THURSDAY, 3:28pm: The deal is official, the team announced.

WEDNESDAY, 7:13pm: Ryan Hollins has agreed to a deal to sign with the Kings, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link). Exact contract details aren’t yet known, but it is a one-year, fully-guaranteed deal according to Spears. The Lakers, Bulls, Heat, and Spurs had also expressed interest in the twenty nine year-old seven-footer out of UCLA. This will bring Sacramento’s preseason roster count to 19.

As for what he brings to Sacramento, Hollins will compete with Reggie Evans and Sim Bhullar for minutes as DeMarcus Cousins‘ backup. He offers the Kings high-percentage shooting, defense, and rim protection, as Chuck Myron of Hoops Rumors points out in his Free Agent Stock Watch article on the veteran center.

Hollins spent last season with the Clippers, where he appeared in 61 contests, averaging 2.3 PPG and 1.5 RPG. His slash line was .736/.000/.625. In eight seasons in the NBA, Hollins’ career numbers are 3.8 PPG and 2.2 RPG.

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Southeast Notes: Heat, Beasley, Hawks

September 18th, 2014 at 2:47pm CST by Zachary Links

Earlier this week, we learned that the Magic are bringing Seth Curry, younger brother of Stephen Curry, in for training camp.  Curry had reportedly been weighing overseas opportunities earlier this summer, but he’ll try to stick in Orlando instead.  More out of the Southeast Division.. 

  • In today’s mailbag, a reader suggests to Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel that former Heat forward Michael Beasley could become a superstar under Spurs coach Gregg Popovich if he signs in San Antonio.  The Spurs have found a way to make things work with guys like Boris Diaw and Stephen Jackson that didn’t fit elsewhere, so Winderman could see Beasley enjoying a career renaissance in San Antonio.
  • The Hawks have dominated NBA headlines in recent weeks but in-fighting amongst their ownership has been going on for years, as Mike Tierney of the New York Times writes.  Tierney noes that a year after the current ownership group took over, managing partner Steve Belkin blocked a trade for Joe Johnson that had been negotiated by GM Billy Knight and was favored by Belkin’s colleagues. The dispute wound up in court and Belkin finally sold his share of the team after five long years of bickering.
  • Even though the Heat‘s D-League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, is still without a head coach, recent hires Chris Quinn and Octavio De La Grana figure to have a hand in the club’s operations, writes Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside.
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And-Ones: Hawks, Douby, Heat

September 17th, 2014 at 10:28pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The league’s players have mixed opinions on whether or not they would consider signing with the Hawks, Ric Bucher of Bleacher Report writes. The majority of players polled agreed with Carmelo Anthony‘s assessment that players would avoid signing with Atlanta in the wake of GM Danny Ferry and majority owner Bruce Levenson’s racist remarks, notes Bucher. But there were a few that said they wouldn’t let the incident get in the way of their potential earnings, but also added that they “wouldn’t shake Ferry’s hand” when the deal was completed.

Here’s more from around the league:

  • Former Rutgers star and NBA player Quincy Douby has signed with the Tianjin Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association, according to his agent Bill Neff, Zach Links of Hoops Rumors reports (Twitter link). Douby last appeared in the NBA during the 2008/09 season with the Raptors.
  • The partial guarantee on Khem Birch‘s two-year deal with the Heat is worth $50K, tweets Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders.
  • Keith Smart and Chris Quinn have been added as assistant coaches to Eric Spoelstra‘s staff with the Heat, the team announced.
  • The Bulls are hoping for a healthy season out of Derrick Rose, and that their new additions of Pau Gasol and Doug McDermott will help them contend in the Eastern Conference. The crew over at Basketball Insiders previews the upcoming season, and the majority opinion is that Chicago will finish second in the Central Division.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

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And-Ones: McGuire, Heat, Garnett

September 16th, 2014 at 9:26pm CST by Alex Lee

Here is what’s going on around the league on Tuesday night:

Eddie Scarito contributed to this post.

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And-Ones: Thompson, Moore, Oden

September 16th, 2014 at 6:32pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Klay Thompson was one of many Warriors players who expressed support for Mark Jackson in the days leading up to Golden State’s firing of its former coach, but the extension-eligible Thompson tells USA Today’s Sam Amick that he’s optimistic about working with Steve Kerr. “It was tough seeing Coach [Jackson] go, but at the end of the day the front office did what they felt would be best for us to win,” Thompson said. “They’ve made great moves in the past, so no reason not to trust them on this move. I’ve talked to Steve and he seems really good, like a guy who is really going to open it up for us. I’m excited to work with him.”

Here’s more from around the league:

  • The salary in the second season of E’Twaun Moore‘s deal with the Bulls will become guaranteed if he remains on the roster beyond a certain date in July 2015, writes Shams Charania of RealGM.
  • Executives with two NBA teams were optimistic that Greg Oden could still prove a useful NBA player after seeing him with the Heat last year, as they told Michael Wallace of ESPN.com. Still, his chances of finding work in the NBA anytime soon are in serious doubt as he faces a felony domestic violence charge stemming from an incident last month, as another exec tells Wallace.
  • The Celtics have hired Scott Morrison, the longtime coach at Lakeland University in Canada, to coach their D-League affiliate, the team announced.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

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