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Southeast Notes: Morris, Humphries, Fournier

March 3rd, 2016 at 9:31am CST by Chuck Myron

The Wizards are giving Marcin Gortat more minutes down the stretch of late, and he prefers playing with Jared Dudley and Wizards trade acquisition Markieff Morris at power forward instead of Kris Humphries, who went out in the trade for Morris, notes J. Michael of CSN Mid-Atlantic.

“It’s opportunities, being the guy who’s pretty much played the whole fourth quarter. I didn’t have that opportunity in the first 50 games,” Gortat said. “I’m definitely excited about playing more minutes. I think just having Markieff or Jared next to me in the starting lineup it’s a much better fit for me than Kris Humphries. Not picking on him but he just didn’t fit with me well. He’s a totally different player than Keef or Jared. I feel more comfortable playing with them.”

Gortat called Morris “a great teammate” and said the controversy surrounding him in Phoenix was overhyped, quipping that “we’re not giving him towels to throw at people,” a reference to the towel Morris tossed in former Suns coach Jeff Hornacek‘s direction in the midst of a December game, as Michael also relays. See more on the Wizards, and on Humphries, amid news from the Southeast Division:

  • The Wizards are likely to allow their $2,806,750 disabled player exception expire, Michael hears, writing in a separate story. Washington couldn’t use the majority of it anyway without going over the tax line. The deadline to use it is a week from today.
  • Soon-to-be restricted free agent Evan Fournier would like to re-sign with the Magic, observes Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. GM Rob Hennigan has refuted the idea that the team isn’t entirely sold on the swingman, and reports indicated the Magic were hesitant to trade him at the deadline. “I really like to play for this team. I’m having my best year so far. There’s no reason for me to leave,” Fournier said.
  • The Hawks dipped into their room exception to sign Humphries to his deal for the rest of the season, giving him an even $1MM and not the prorated minimum salary as previously reported, reveals Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). That gave Humphries an even exchange on the buyout market, since he gave up $1MM to secure his release from the Suns, Pincus notes (on Twitter). Atlanta has about $900K left on its room exception in the wake of the Humphries signing.
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Texas Notes: Miller, Ginobili, Parsons, Lawson

March 2nd, 2016 at 12:39pm CST by Chuck Myron

Spurs coach/president Gregg Popovich had no shortage of praise for new addition Andre Miller, who signed Monday with San Antonio following his buyout from the Timberwolves, as Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News relays. Miller is just as glad to be with the Spurs as Popovich is to have him, McDonald notes.

“He’s one of those players you look at and say, ‘Boy, I could figure out how to fit him in,’” Popovich said. “He has been such a great player for several teams, and he does the same thing (everywhere). He’s just a pro, the consummate pro.”

See more on the Spurs amid news from the Texas triangle:

  • Manu Ginobili is progressing much more quickly in his recovery from a testicular injury than the Spurs thought he would, Popovich said Tuesday, as Express-News scribe Melissa Rohlin chronicles. The Spurs expected Ginobili would miss at least a month when they announced that he underwent surgery February 4th, but Tony Parker hinted Tuesday that Ginobili could return next week. It’s unclear what that means for the team’s reported pursuit of fellow wing player Kevin Martin.
  • Chandler Parsons thinks he’s playing the best basketball of his career, and it’s clear that he’s moved past the early-season struggles he went through as he recovered from a knee injury that prematurely ended his playoff run last spring, as Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News examines. Parsons is set to turn down his player option this summer and entertain an aggressive pitch from the Magic, as well as interest from the Rockets, Heat, Lakers, Nets, Knicks, Trail Blazers, Nuggets and possibly Thunder, but the Mavs remain the favorites for him, as Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com reported Tuesday.
  • Ty Lawson‘s failure to produce for the Rockets was a product of lost confidence, people around the team told Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Houston waived Lawson in a buyout deal Tuesday.
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Magic To Aggressively Target Chandler Parsons

March 1st, 2016 at 8:30am CST by Chuck Myron

The Magic loom as the most significant threat to the Mavericks to sign Chandler Parsons to a new contract this summer, reports Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com. Parsons is a virtual lock to turn down his $16.023MM player option for next season with the salary cap moving sharply upward, and he’s expected to receive a maximum-salary contract, MacMahon writes. Sources who spoke with MacMahon anticipate an aggressive pursuit from Orlando and expect the Heat, Lakers, Nets, Knicks, Trail Blazers, Rockets and Nuggets to come after the 27-year-old, too. The Thunder, would also have interest if Kevin Durant bolts, MacMahon adds, pointing to the presence of Billy Donovan, Parsons’ college coach, in Oklahoma City.

The Mavs realize they’ll need to once more put on a recruiting effort for the versatile small forward they signed to a loaded offer sheet in 2014, but they nonetheless appear to be the favorites for him again this summer, according to MacMahon. That’s because of the loyalty he feels toward owner Mark Cuban and teammate Dirk Nowitzki, as well as the fondness Parsons has for Rick Carlisle, having advocated for the five-year extension the team gave the coach earlier this season, the ESPN scribe writes. The relationship between Parsons and Carlisle is nuanced, MacMahon explains, with Parsons wary of whether Carlisle fully trusts him on the court, but Carlisle this week referred to Parsons as “a franchise-caliber player in the making” in a message to MacMahon.

The Magic opened enough cap flexibility in trades last month to sign two players to max contracts this summer, with only about $36MM in guaranteed salary on next season’s books against a projected $90MM cap. Orlando and soon-to-be free agent Al Horford reportedly have mutual interest, and Horford went to the University of Florida, just as Parsons did.

Parsons is in his fifth season, so he’ll be eligible for the lowest of the three maximum salary tiers, likely with a starting salary approaching $21MM. The Mavs will have only his Early Bird rights this summer, though they’ll function essentially as full Bird rights would for Parsons because his projected max is within 175% of his nearly $15.362MM salary for this season. The only difference will be that the Mavs can only offer four years instead of the five that they could with full Bird rights. Dallas will still have the opportunity to give him 7.5% raises instead of the 4.5% that the Magic and others will be limited to. That would mean a difference of some $4MM over the life of a four-year deal. Still, Parsons will value comfort and on-court opportunity over money as he decides where to sign, sources familiar with his thinking tell MacMahon.

In any case, the Mavericks appear committed to doing what they can to keep Parsons. Cuban indicated as much about a month ago to MacMahon, referring to Parsons and Wesley Matthews as a “crushing tandem on the wing.”

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Southeast Rumors: Hardaway Jr., Johnson, Harris

February 29th, 2016 at 7:58pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Hawks’ draft-night acquisition of shooting guard Tim Hardaway Jr. from the Knicks is finally paying off, Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes. The Knicks received the rights to point guard Jerian Grant and appeared to get the upper hand in the deal during the first half of the season, as Hardaway languished on Atlanta’s bench. Hardaway appeared in just four of the Hawks’ first 35 games but now has a rotation spot as the backup shooting guard, including a 25-minute stint on Sunday. “I feel like he is starting to understand what we expect from him, what we need,” Atlanta center Al Horford told Vivlamore. “More than anything, defensively he is bringing it.” While Hardaway’s playing time is increasing, Grant has seen decreased minutes under Knicks interim coach Kurt Rambis, including three DNP’s in the past eight contests, Vivlamore adds.

In other news around the Southeast Division:

  • Joe Johnson wants to finish his career with the Heat, observes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.com. The 34-year-old shooting guard signed with Miami after reaching a buyout agreement with the Nets and clearing waivers. Johnson, who scored 12 points in his Heat debut on Sunday, hopes it’s not a short-term arrangement, as he told Youngmisuk and other members of the media. “I think we’ve got a lot of veteran guys who know what it takes to win [and the possibility of remaining with the Heat] was another key thing for me,” he said. That’s certainly feasible from a salary-cap standpoint, as the Heat have only $48MM in guaranteed salary commitments next season.
  • The Tobias Harris trade could define the tenure of Magic GM Rob Hennigan, Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel opines. Harris was traded to the Pistons for the expiring contract of point guard Brandon Jennings and power forward Ersan Ilyasova. With a partial guarantee on the final year of Ilyasova’s contract, the Magic could have $45MM to spend on free agents this summer, Schmitz continues. Harris’ growth had leveled off, in Schmitz’s view, but the trade only works out if Hennigan can land a top-level free agent.
  • Josh Richardson has been a revelation as the Heat’s new backup point guard, according to Ethan J. Skolnick of the Miami Herald. Thrust into the role because of injuries, Richardson has called upon the leadership qualities he showed in college at Tennessee, Skolnick adds. “It was tough at first, but now that I’ve kind of been forced into the backup point guard role, it’s a leadership role again,” Richardson told Skolnick. “So I get to kind of be me again, and talk and direct traffic.” 
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Wolves, Rockets Interested In Chris Copeland

February 29th, 2016 at 3:18pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Timberwolves have had internal discussion about Chris Copeland, and the Rockets also have a level of interest in the stretch forward who’s twice hit waivers in the past week, reports Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link). Minnesota’s brass is also talking about other would-be additions, and no signing is close, Wolfson adds. That jibes with coach Sam Mitchell‘s comments from this weekend, when he said the team would likely wait awhile to make a move even as he called the Wolves “awfully thin” up front.

Minnesota has an open roster spot in the wake of Andre Miller‘s buyout and has reportedly engaged in advanced discussions with Kevin Martin about a buyout of his own that would give the Wolves a second opening. The Rockets are in a similar position, having opened one vacancy with Friday’s release of Marcus Thornton while reportedly exploring the idea of a buyout with Ty Lawson, but it appears as though Lawson will likely be sticking around.

Copeland failed to have much effect for the Bucks on the one-year, $1.15MM deal he signed this past offseason, appearing for only 6.5 minutes per game over 24 contests and sticking just 10 of 36 3-point attempts. That’s well beneath his 36.5% career rate of accuracy from behind the arc. Milwaukee waived him a week ago to make room for Steve Novak, and Orlando claimed him off waivers only to release him the next day in a move designed to help the Magic reach the salary floor.

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Heat Rumors: Copeland, Johnson, Green, Whiteside

February 28th, 2016 at 10:01am CST by Arthur Hill

After signing Joe Johnson on Saturday, the Heat still may need another move to challenge the top teams in the East, writes Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. Miami remains in need of shooters and has another roster spot open, although luxury tax concerns may prevent the Heat from signing anyone else. If they do decide to fill the opening, Winderman tabs Chris Copeland, who was waived this week by the Magic, as a possibility. Another is Kevin Martin if he gets bought out by the Wolves before Tuesday. The columnist also says Miami could use another point guard to protect against injury to Goran Dragic.

There’s more this morning from South Beach:

  • Saturday’s loss to the Celtics pointed out how much the Heat need a player like Johnson, Winderman writes in a separate story. Miami made just 1 of 13 shots from 3-point range while falling to a rival in the Eastern Conference playoff race. Dragic expects Johnson to make the Heat more dangerous from the perimeter. “He can shoot the ball,” Dragic said. “He can take it off the dribble, and he makes good passes. And of course, he’s a clutch guy. He can make shots at the end. To have that guy … it’s going to be awesome.”
  • Gerald Green is most likely to lose playing time because of the Johnson addition, writes Jason Lieser of The Palm Beach Post. Green has been shut out in his last three games and is shooting just 39% from the field for the season. “My strength is scoring,” he said. “That’s always been my strength. When I’m not able to go on my strengths, I’ve gotta figure out other ways to be effective.” Green is on a one-year, veteran’s minimum deal with the Heat and will be a free agent this summer.
  • Dwyane Wade is making a pitch for Miami to keep free agent Hassan Whiteside, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Wade had high praise for Whiteside after the center posted 13 points, 15 rebounds and eight blocks in Saturday’s game. “Hopefully one day I can look back at a Hall of Fame career and say I was there for the beginning of it,” Wade said. “He has an immense amount of talent. Since the break, he’s been playing a dominant big man game and we love it.”
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Magic Waive Chris Copeland

February 25th, 2016 at 11:59pm CST by Eddie Scarito

11:59pm: The team still has yet to announce the waiver, but the move has taken place, according to the RealGM transactions log.

4:35pm: The Magic have waived combo forward Chris Copeland, Shams Charania of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports reports (via Twitter). The Magic claimed Copeland off waivers after he was released by the Bucks on Monday in order to clear a roster slot for the team’s signing of Steve Novak. Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel was the first to report that Orlando intended to waive Copeland.

Orlando saved itself approximately $315K by claiming Copeland as it allowed the team to reach the $63MM salary floor, as Bobby Marks of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports explained. The Magic will be responsible for the remainder of Copeland’s $1.1MM salary for 2015/16 and his entire cap hit, provided he clears waivers. Orlando’s roster count now stands at 14 players, one below the league maximum.

The Bucks had signed Copeland this past offseason, but the veteran never made much of an impact with the team. The 31-year-old is averaging 2.1 points and 0.5 assists in 6.5 minutes per game this season. The 31-year-old’s career numbers are 5.8 points, 1.6 rebounds and 0.6 assists to accompany a slash line of .427/.365/.752.

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Magic Claim Copeland Off Waivers, Intend To Waive

February 24th, 2016 at 6:19pm CST by Eddie Scarito

6:19pm: Orlando saved itself approximately $315K by claiming Copeland as it allowed the team to reach the $63MM salary floor, Bobby Marks of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports explains (via Twitter).

5:30pm: The Magic intend to waive Copeland within the next 24 hours, Charania writes in a full-length story. The moves to claim and subsequently waive Copeland are being made to get Orlando above the minimum salary floor, Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel tweets.

4:17pm: The Magic have claimed combo forward Chris Copeland off of waivers, Shams Charania of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports reports (Twitter link). The addition of Copeland will give Orlando 15 players on its roster, which is the regular season maximum. No formal announcement has been made by the team, but the move had to have taken place prior to 4:00pm Central, which is when Copeland would have officially become a free agent.

Copeland was waived by the Bucks on Monday in order to clear a roster slot for the signing of Steve Novak. Orlando is utilizing a portion of the $8,193,029 trade exception that was created as part of the deal that shipped Channing Frye to the Cavaliers since Copeland earns more than the minimum salary. The Magic will now be responsible for the remainder of Copeland’s $1.1MM salary for 2015/16 and his entire cap hit.

The Bucks had signed Copeland this past offseason, but the veteran never made much of an impact with the team. The 31-year-old is averaging 2.1 points and 0.5 assists in 6.5 minutes per game this season.

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Eastern Rumors: Frye, Evans, Fredette

February 22nd, 2016 at 10:13pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Channing Frye realizes he may not get much playing time with the Cavaliers, Chris Fedor of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer reports. The power forward was acquired in a deadline deal and made his Cleveland debut Monday night, playing nine minutes. “I don’t think they need anything,” Frye told reporters prior to the game. “I think I’m just another option. I like to space the floor and I think I can give guys an opportunity not to get double-teamed. … I know there are All-Stars playing ahead of me so I’m going to have to earn my minutes whenever possible and just be ready.”

In other news around the Eastern Conference:

  • Veteran power forward Reggie Evans will not be joining the Celtics, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com opines (Video link here). The Celtics were reportedly one of the teams interested in signing Evans, who has not played in the league this season. Blakely said that Celtics won’t be filling their open roster spot, created by the release of power forward David Lee, with the 35-year-old Evans. “If you’re thinking you’re going to get that guy, not going to happen,” Blakely said during the team’s pregame broadcast on Monday.
  • Point guard Brandon Jennings admits he’s still not all the way back from the Achilles tendon tear that he suffered last January, according to Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. Jennings, who will be an unrestricted free agent after this season, was traded to the Magic last week along with power forward Ersan Ilyasova while forward Tobias Harris was shipped to the Pistons. “My goal was to get back to that level again — and it still is,” Jennings told Robbins. “So, it’s been a challenging year. Coming off the bench, of course, has been challenging for me. It’s the first time I’ve done it in my career. But I took on the challenge. I’ve accepted it.” The Magic brought in the duo to provide some veteran help to a young nucleus as part of a playoff push, Robbins adds.
  • Interim Knicks coach Kurt Rambis said shooting guard Jimmer Fredette will have to outplay someone over the next 10 days to stay on the roster, Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN New York tweets. Fredette signed a 10-day contract on Monday and played two minutes in the Knicks’ loss to the Raptors on Monday night.
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And-Ones: Morris Twins, Gerald Green, Hardaway

February 22nd, 2016 at 5:31pm CST by Chuck Myron

Markieff Morris and Marcus Morris thought their close relationship with Suns owner Robert Sarver, which included invitations to Sarver’s home to work out on his basketball court, would ensure advance warning of the trade that sent Marcus to the Pistons, the twins told Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher. It’s not simply a matter of the trade having separated them, Marcus insists, saying to Bucher that he also would have pulled off the deal that sent him to the Pistons if he thought, as the Suns did, that it would give them a better shot at LaMarcus Aldridge.

“Everybody thinking that we’re upset because we don’t get to play with each other,” Marcus said. “Kieff can’t deal with adversity? We’re from north Philadelphia. This isn’t adversity. This is betrayal.”

The Magic offered Channing Frye for Markieff shortly after the deal that sent Marcus to the Pistons this summer, a league source told Bucher, and the Cavaliers and Bulls were interested in Markieff, too, Bucher hears, also confirming an earlier report that the Pistons held interest in reuniting the brothers. Bucher indicates that the twins were closer with former Suns president of basketball operations Lon Babby than with Suns GM Ryan McDonough, suggesting that that the reduction in Babby’s role played a part in the end of the run for the Morrises in Phoenix. See more from around the NBA:

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