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Al Harrington Signs In China

August 11th, 2014 at 8:42am CST by Cray Allred

MONDAY, 8:42am: The chairman of the Sturgeons confirmed the signing to reporters, as Sina Sports notes.

SATURDAY, 10:57pm: Al Harrington has signed with Chinese team Fujian Sturgeons, per Jared Zwerling of Bleacher Report (on Twitter). Zwerling reports that an announcement will make the one-year deal official on Monday.

The news is a surprise, as the forward was interested in playing another year in the NBA, and had an open door to do so with the Wizards. Assuming Washington’s welcoming stance hadn’t changed, I would guess that the Chinese team offered more than the veteran’s minimum, which is likely all the Wizards would or could have offered.

Zwerling adds that Harrington plans to coach for the Wizards when his playing career comes to a close. The 16-year veteran has averaged 13.5 PPG and 5.6 RPG for his career, with a slash line of .444/.352/.727. The last two seasons have been his least productive since his first few years in the league, as his health has limited him to just 44 appearances in stints with the Magic and Wizards.

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Eastern Rumors: Harrington, Wiggins, Love

July 24th, 2014 at 6:33pm CST by Cray Allred

The Wizards would like to have Al Harrington back, and the matter of whether he plays for the team next year is essentially up to him, according to J. Michael of CSNWashington.com. The 34-year-old has decided to play in the NBA next season after contemplating retirement. More from the Eastern Conference:

  • Andrew Wiggins‘ name has come up in trade talks with the Wolves, but the Cavs haven’t offered him as part of any proposal for a Kevin Love trade, tweets Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio. That nuanced accounting of the discussions might illuminate some of the conflicting reports about Cleveland’s true willingness to part with the No. 1 pick.
  • Terry Pluto of The Plain Dealer thinks the Cavs shouldn’t trade for Love unless they receive full assurance that he will commit for at least two years to the team, considering how difficult it would be to transition from a young, sub-.500 club to a championship contender in just one season. Love is reportedly agreeable to remaining with Cleveland alongside LeBron James, but hasn’t indicated a willingness to opt in for next season’s player option in order to delay his free agency for another year.
  • The Celtics haven’t completely given up hope of landing Love, but they’re prepared to move on, a source tells A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com. That’s why Boston is among the teams trying to function as the third team in a swap that sends Love elsewhere.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

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And-Ones: Rondo, Warriors, Drew

July 16th, 2014 at 12:25am CST by Ryan Raroque

Here are a few miscellaneous links to pass along from tonight:

  • The Celtics would rather risk keeping Rajon Rondo until he becomes a free agent next summer than take a deal without a “major player” that chiefly provides salary cap relief, as Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald hears. There’s been no talk between the Rockets and Celtics involving Rondo, as Bulpett also writes.
  • The Warriors could possibly carve out a maximum salary slot for Kevin Durant in 2016 without breaking up their current core, explains Tim Kawakami of Bay Area News Group.
  • Former Bucks head coach Larry Drew is in discussions to join David Blatt’s coaching staff on the Cavaliers, according to Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe (Twitter link).
  • There’s a strong sentiment within the Bucks organization to keep Ersan Ilyasova rather than trade him, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.
  • Even though Jason Terry wants a buyout, the Kings currently have no plans to acquiesce, writes Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee.
  • Garrett Temple is expected to receive a deal soon to stay with the Wizards; however, Al Harrington – who still plans to play in the NBA for the 2014/15 season – is yet to receive an offer from Washington (Twitter links from J. Michael of CSNWashington.com).
  • The Grizzlies didn’t consider waiving Nick Calathes before his contract became guaranteed today, a source tells Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal (Twitter link).

Chuck Myron contributed to this post. 

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Eastern Notes: Harrington, Siva, Jackson

April 9th, 2014 at 1:23pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Magic didn’t expect Al Harrington would be able to play for them last season after a staph infection in his knee, and they wouldn’t allow him to hang around his teammates, as Harrington alleges in a first-person account with Bleacher Report’s Jared Zwerling.

“Orlando was more about rebuilding, but they could’ve been more professional about my situation,” Harrington wrote. “In fact, the general manager, Rob Hennigan, told my agent that I was done, saying I ‘cannot play.’ Those were his exact words. And I was like, ‘He has some nerve.’ He’s a 32-year-old young executive, and I’ve been in the league longer than him, I probably know more than him and he’s going to tell my agent I’m done, and not think my agent is going to tell me that. So, to me, it was like he told me that pretty much to my face.” 

There’s more from the current Wizards forward among the latest from the Eastern Conference:

  • Harrington, a free agent at season’s end, isn’t sure he wants to continue playing, and writes in the same piece that he’d ideally re-sign with the Wizards next season after the All-Star break to save early-season wear and tear on his body. He’d like to remain with the Wizards either as a player, coach, or executive, and says he’s had conversations with the team about his future.
  • Rookie Peyton Siva is finally starting to see minutes for the Pistons, and though he doesn’t acknowledge the season’s final weeks as a de-facto audition, that’s exactly what it is, since his contract is non-guaranteed for 2014/15, writes MLive’s Brendan Savage.
  • Phil Jackson should up his workload and act more like the team president he is and less like a consultant, opines Frank Isola of the New York Daily News, who thinks the Zen Master should take heed to the recent comments of former Knicks coach Larry Brown.
  • Trevor Ariza of the Wizards and Shaun Livingston of the Nets, both set to hit unrestricted free agency this summer, are among the most vital-yet-overlooked players in the league, as Michael Pina of Sports On Earth examines.
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Eastern Notes: Magic, Cavs, Knicks

February 11th, 2014 at 6:55pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Magic GM Rob Hennigan tells Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel that he’s not actively looking to pursue deals right now: “We’re exploring all options that may improve our team…But in terms of aggressively, actively trying to do something? I would say no [we’re not].” 

In that same piece however, Robbins adds that Orlando could make at least one move before the deadline, and much of the trade speculation has revolved around Arron Afflalo, Jameer Nelson, and Glen Davis. Afflalo – whose 19.6 PPG and 5.0 FTA this season represent career bests – is likely drawing the most interest at this point.

Here’s more out of the Eastern Conference this evening:

  • Looking at what he calls a “mess” in Cleveland, Ric Bucher of the Bleacher Report revisits some of the Cavaliers’ roster decisions since Kyrie Irving‘s arrival in order to describe how they got to this point, including their decision to bypass Jonas Valanciunas in the 2011 draft, hiring Mike Brown, and failing to provide a veteran mentor for Irving. In spite of this, he believes there’s still time to right the ship, especially if the front office- led by interim GM David Griffin – can piece together a roster that compliments rather than saddles Irving.
  • Frank Isola of the New York Daily News doesn’t buy speculation about Knicks owner James Dolan considering a Carmelo Anthony trade to the Bulls, and thinks that the seven-time All-Star will ultimately stay in New York beyond this summer. Even if Anthony were to bolt, Isola doesn’t believe it’d be the end of the world; with Andrea Bargnani, Amar’e Stoudemire, and Tyson Chandler coming off the books in 2015, New York could target a star like Kevin Durant with their ample cap space (All Twitter links).
  • ESPN New York’s Ian Begley weighs in on the rumblings surrounding Iman Shumpert and Kenneth Faried from the Knicks’ persepctive, saying that acquiring Faried – though he’d be a plus – doesn’t address their backcourt needs and cuts into their 2015 cap flexibility.
  • As for the Wizards’ reported interest in Beno Udrih, Begley notes that a one-for-one swap for either Glen Rice Jr. or Al Harrington is feasible, but only from a salary-matching standpoint. Regardless, I think Begley would agree that Washington probably wouldn’t be open to giving up a 23-year-old prospect like Rice Jr. in order to solely acquire a 31-year-old backup point guard.
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Odds & Ends: Rondo, Carmelo, Tyler, Ayres

December 7th, 2013 at 10:33pm CST by Chuck Myron

Rajon Rondo doesn’t put much stock in the rumor that Carmelo Anthony is trying to recruit him to the Knicks, but Anthony has been privately yearning to see Rondo in orange and blue since July, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post. The Knicks attempted to trade Iman Shumpert for Rondo, and Newsday’s Al Iannazzone thinks it’s critical that New York continue to see if it can pry the All-Star point guard away from the Celtics or make some kind of splash, lest Anthony bolt in free agency. Here’s more on the Knicks and the rest of the NBA:

  • Berman, in the same piece, also suggests the Knicks may look to re-sign camp invitee Jeremy Tyler in another week as he continues to round into form after a preseason injury.
  • Unlike some free agents who were happy to leave their former teams behind, Spurs big man Jeff Ayres told Dan McCarney of the San Antonio Express-News that he feels “no animosity” toward the Pacers and is “still really cool with all the guys on the team.”
  • Kendall Marshall is off to a fast start with the D-League affiliate of the Sixers, and Michael Kaskey-Blomain of the Philadelphia Inquirer thinks the big club should consider signing last year’s 13th overall pick to an NBA contract.
  • Doubts about the ability of Goran Dragic and Eric Bledsoe to play together left some executives around the league believing the Suns would trade Dragic, but early returns show the pairing has been successful, observes Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic.
  • Joel Embiid is developing into a potential No. 1 overall pick, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com, joining ESPN colleague Chad Ford on the Kansas center’s bandwagon.
  • Knee troubles have sidelined Al Harrington for a good chunk of this season, but he remains involved with the Wizards. As he tells Michael Lee of the Washington Post, Harrington can imagine himself coaching after he retires and has been acting as a de facto assistant in Washington while he recovers.

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

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Southeast Notes: Oden, Nelson, Heat, Harrington

December 3rd, 2013 at 2:35pm CST by Luke Adams

In an incredibly weak Eastern Conference, the Southeast Division practically qualifies as a powerhouse. Led by the 14-3 Heat, the Southeast is the only Eastern division above .500 as a whole — its five teams have combined for a 46-43 record so far. Three Southeast clubs will look to improve on that mark tonight, as the Heat host the Pistons, while the Magic play in Philadelphia and the Bobcats visit Dallas.

Here’s more from around the division:

  • The Heat‘s signing of Greg Oden this summer received plenty of attention, but the former first overall pick is coming along slowly, according to Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio. Amico hears from several sources that Miami doesn’t plan to integrate Oden into the rotation until around the All-Star break, and even then, he’ll likely only play about 8-10 minutes per game.
  • Within the same piece, Amico asked an NBA executive for five players he thinks will be traded this season, and the Magic‘s Jameer Nelson was among the players mentioned by the exec.
  • Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld wonders if the Heat‘s Big Three could become a Big Four next summer, when LeBron James, Chris Bosh, and Dwyane Wade are all eligible for free agency. Kyler’s scenario would involve all three players opting out and taking significant pay cuts, and would mean purging the rest of the roster to create room for a fourth impact player, so it sounds like a real long shot.
  • While Al Harrington has been sidelined recently by a sore knee, he tells Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel that he likes being a Wizard, and is trying to forget his stint with the Magic. Harrington came to Orlando as part of the four-team Dwight Howard blockbuster, but missed most of last season and was waived in the summer, before signing with Washington.
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Wizards Sign Al Harrington

August 14th, 2013 at 10:11am CST by Luke Adams

The Wizards have officially signed Al Harrington to a contract, the team announced today (Twitter link). ESPN.com's Marc Stein was the first to report earlier this week that the two sides were nearing an agreement, not long after Harrington was released by Orlando.

Harrington, 33, missed nearly all of the 2012/13 season due to a staph infection, but has worked hard to get back into playing shape for the coming year, as he told Sam Amick of USA Today last month. Harrington is just one year removed from a productive season in Denver, in which he averaged 14.2 PPG and 6.1 RPG in 64 contests.

After having used their full mid-level exception on Martell Webster and their full bi-annual exception on Eric Maynor, the Wizards could only offer Harrington a minimum-salary contract, which is what he'll receive. Michael Lee of the Washington Post noted yesterday that it would be a one-year deal, so Harrington will earn about $1.4MM, though Washington will only be on the hook for about $884K of that amount. The 15-year veteran is also still owed $7MM+ from the Magic for the next two seasons.

The Wizards had 14 players on guaranteed contracts prior to adding Harrington, so it looks like the team's 15-man roster is set, though a few players could receive non-guaranteed camp invites.

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Al Harrington Nearing Deal With Wizards

August 13th, 2013 at 4:10pm CST by Luke Adams

TUESDAY, 4:10pm: Harrington will likely finalize his agreement with the Wizards on Wednesday, tweets J. Michael of CSN Washington.

MONDAY, 8:41am: Having been waived by the Magic earlier this month, Al Harrington appears poised to join another Southeast club. Sources tell ESPN.com's Marc Stein that Harrington is leaning toward signing a deal with the Wizards. Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld backs up Stein's report, tweeting that an agreement between the two sides looks likely, as long as the veteran forward passes a physical.

Harrington, 33, missed nearly all of the 2012/13 season due to a staph infection, but has worked hard to get back into playing shape for the coming year, as he told Sam Amick of USA Today last month. Harrington is just one year removed from a productive season in Denver, in which he averaged 14.2 PPG and 6.1 RPG in 64 contests.

The Wizards used their full mid-level exception on Martell Webster and their full bi-annual exception on Eric Maynor, so the team could only offer Harrington a minimum-salary contract. However, the 15-year veteran is still owed about $7.4MM by the Magic for the next two seasons, so he's likely prioritizing a good fit over the highest offer. Washington has one guaranteed roster spot still available and is looking to add some "frontcourt scoring punch," according to Stein.

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Eastern Notes: Harrington, Knicks, Sixers, Brown

August 13th, 2013 at 3:32pm CST by Luke Adams

Earlier today, we rounded up several Bobcats rumors and notes from Zach Lowe, and passed along word that Eric Griffin will participate in training camp with the Heat. Now let's check out a few more of the day's items from around the Eastern Conference….

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