Bryce Cotton Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Jazz, Bryce Cotton Talk Rest-Of-Season Deal

March 16th, 2015 at 8:50am CST by Chuck Myron

The Jazz and point guard Bryce Cotton are making progress as they discuss a deal that would cover the rest of the season, reports Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). Cotton’s second 10-day contract with Utah expired overnight, so any new deal between the sides would have to cover at least the balance of 2014/15.

Cotton saw only 12 total minutes of playing time for an improved Jazz team during his pair of 10-day stints, and he didn’t go on D-League assignment for any additional burn. Still, the first-year pro saw no shortage of playing time for the better part of the season when he was on a D-League contract with the affiliate of the Spurs. The undrafted 22-year-old out of Providence averaged 22.4 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists against 2.5 turnovers in 40.3 minutes per game for the Austin Spurs. Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey came from the San Antonio organization, so it was no surprise to see him pick up a player who’d spent time not only with the Austin Spurs but with San Antonio’s NBA club during the preseason and the summer league.

The Jazz have the luxury of two open roster spots after their 10-day deals with Cotton and Jerrelle Benimon expired Sunday night, though the team is reportedly set to sign Jack Cooley, a one-time 10-day signee from earlier this season, to another 10-day contract. It would make sense if the primary subject that Utah and Cotton are haggling about is the existence of another year or two on his deal and whether the extra seasons would involve any guaranteed salary, though that’s just my speculation.

Jazz Sign Bryce Cotton To Second 10-Day

March 6th, 2015 at 10:59am CST by Zachary Links

The Jazz announced that they have signed guard Bryce Cotton to a second 10-day contract. Cotton signed his first 10-day with the Jazz on Feb. 24 and has appeared in one game.

Cotton, who had three points, two boards and one assist in seven minutes against the Nuggets on February 27th, was picked up after he impressed as a member of the D-League’s Austin Spurs. In Austin, Cotton averaged 22.4 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 4.6 APG, and 1.3 SPG in 40.5 minutes per contest. His scoring average placed him third in the D-League this season.

Cotton reportedly turned down several offers to play in Europe that came his way earlier this season in hopes of landing an NBA deal, and he eventually found that opportunity with Utah. The 6’1″ guard signed a partially guaranteed deal with the Spurs in July and although he was waived in October, he did walk away with $50K for his time. Cotton first displayed his skills for Utah when he worked out for the Jazz prior to the 2014 draft.

Jazz Sign Bryce Cotton To 10-Day Contract

February 24th, 2015 at 11:09am CST by Chuck Myron

TUESDAY, 11:08am: The signing is official, the Jazz announced.

MONDAY, 1:19pm: The Jazz are poised to sign point guard Bryce Cotton to a 10-day contract, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Cotton has been playing with San Antonio’s D-League affiliate since the Spurs dropped him from their NBA roster at the end of training camp. The Jazz are reportedly discussing a deal with draft-and-stash prospect Tibor Pleiss as well, but Utah has two open roster spots, so Cotton’s deal won’t necessarily interfere with that.

Cotton reportedly turned down several offers to play in Europe that came his way earlier this season in hopes of landing the NBA deal that he now appears to have. The 22-year-old who went undrafted out of Providence this past June has put up 22.6 points, 4.7 assists and 2.5 turnovers in 40.3 minutes per game for the D-League Austin Spurs. He’s also corralled an impressive 4.8 rebounds considering his 6’1″ height.

The Spurs gave Cotton a $50K partial guarantee on the deal that brought him to San Antonio’s training camp, so he’s already made more in NBA salary than the $29,843 that a standard 10-day contract would give him. The Jazz have familiarity with him, since he worked out for the team prior to the draft, as Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune notes (on Twitter). He’s set to become the fourth player the Jazz have signed to a 10-day deal this season, as our 10-Day Contract Tracker shows.

And-Ones: Gordon, Stephenson, Singleton

January 18th, 2015 at 10:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

Magic rookie Aaron Gordon was back in action Sunday for the first time since foot surgery two months ago, reports Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel. Gordon contributed eight points and three rebounds in 12 minutes of action in a loss to the Thunder. “I just enjoy the game so much,” Gordon said. “You realize that when you’re not playing, how much you miss it. And then when I got back out there, it’s fun. I learned a lot [when I was injured]. I just move better without the ball now.”

Here’s more from around the league:

Lance Stephenson was back in the Hornets‘ lineup this week, but he may not be there long, writes Michael Lee of The Washington Post. Stephenson was part of a rumored three-team deal that would have sent him to the Nets, and he can expect to hear his name in more trade talks before the February 19th deadline. Lee notes that Charlotte began shopping Stephenson around the league in December before he suffered a pelvic strain that kept him out of action for 14 games.
Former Wizard Chris Singleton is expected to sign with a team in the D-League, according to D-League Digest (Twitter link). Singleton spent three seasons in Washington, averaging 4.1 points and 3.2 rebounds in 148 games. He has been playing with the Jiangsu Dragons in the Chinese Basketball Association.
D-Leaguer Bryce Cotton has rejected several overseas offers in hopes of getting an NBA callup, sources tell Shams Charania of RealGM. The high-scoring Austin Spur has reportedly turned down teams in Turkey, Italy and Belgrade. The 22-year-old went undrafted out of Providence last June. He joined the Spurs‘ summer league team and was invited to training camp, but failed to make the regular season roster. After clearing waivers, he joined San Antonio’s D-League affiliate.

Southwest Notes: Barea, Mavs, Pelicans, Cotton

October 27th, 2014 at 11:13pm CST by Alex Lee

The Rockets were the busiest Southwest team on roster cut-down day, waiving a total of five players to get down to 15. However, the Mavericks had an interesting day as well, deciding to waive reserve point guard Gal Mekel in hopes of reuniting with recently released J.J. Barea. Let’s see what else is going on in the Southwest tonight:

As Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News writes, any team that wants to claim Mavericks-target Barea off waivers would need more than about $4.5MM in cap space, or a trade exception or disabled player exception of at least that size. Sefko mentions the rival Rockets as a team that might want to claim Barea but likely wouldn’t based on its lack of flexibility.
The Mavericks tried to acquire Barea from the Wolves last season but the teams couldn’t come to an agreement, according to Jon Krawczynski of the Associated Press (via Twitter).
The Pelicans‘ desire to re-sign Omer Asik is a factor in the team declining to pick up the 2015/16 option on Austin Rivers, writes John Reid of the Times Picayune. Reid adds that with Eric Gordon likely to opt in to his $15.5MM salary for next season, New Orleans preferred the additional financial flexibility.
Bryce Cotton, who was released by the Spurs last week, plans to sign with San Antonio’s D-League affiliate in the next few days, sources tell Jabari Young of Comcast Sports Northwest (via Twitter).

Spurs Waive Bryce Cotton, Josh Davis

October 23rd, 2014 at 1:09pm CST by Eddie Scarito

1:09pm: Both players have officially been waived, the team announced.

12:57pm: The Spurs intend to waive Josh Davis and Bryce Cotton, Mike Monroe of The San Antonio Express-News reports (Twitter link). Both players’ deals carry partial guarantees, with Cotton set to receive $50K, and Davis due $20K if they are not claimed on waivers. These moves will reduce San Antonio’s preseason roster count to 16, with JaMychal Green and his partially guaranteed deal being the lone one on the Spurs’ books that isn’t fully guaranteed.

The 23-year-old Davis played for three colleges, first for North Carolina State as a freshman, where he averaged 2.6 PPG and 1.7 RPG in 10.4 minutes a night. During his sophomore and junior seasons at Tulane, Davis averaged 17.6 PPG and 10.7 RPG. For his senior campaign with the San Diego State Aztecs, his numbers were 7.7 PPG and 10.1 RPG. His slash line for this past season was .455/.000/.472.

Cotton went undrafted out of Providence where he notched 21.8 points, 5.8 assists and 2.4 turnovers per game during his senior season with the Friars. Several teams offered to draft him if he agreed to play overseas next season, but he rejected those offers for a shot at the NBA. The NBA D-League is a possibility for both players, as teams can retain the D-League rights for up to four players that they waive.

And-Ones: Roberts, Spurs, Vucevic, Rubio

October 21st, 2014 at 9:45pm CST by Alex Lee

After his sit down with Michele Roberts, Tim Bontemps of the New York Post doesn’t get the feeling that the new NBPA head is on board with the idea of a gradual increase in the salary cap starting in 2016 (Twitter links). The alternative is to allow the cap to jump up after the 2015/16 season — Bontemps estimates a spike to over $90MM — due to the injection of the money from the league’s new TV deal. That increase, of course, could coincide with the free agency of superstar Kevin Durant.

Let’s take a look at what else is going on around the league on Tuesday:

It would be shocking if any of Bryce Cotton, Josh Davis or JaMychal Green were to end up on the Spurs’ final roster, writes Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News. Cotton, Davis and Green all have partially guaranteed deals, but as our Expanded Roster Counts show, the Spurs already have 15 fully guaranteed contracts on the books.
A strong showing in 2014/15 would have likely netted Nikola Vucevic a more lucrative deal next summer than the one he agreed to earlier tonight, according to Grantland’s Zach Lowe. However, Lowe believes Vucevic’s shortcomings on the defensive end add risk for the Magic while also conceding the deal should be a fair one considering the rising cap (Twitter links).
Ben Golliver of Sports Illustrated, also pointing to the increasing salary cap, writes that Vucevic’s extension compares favorably to the four-year, $48MM deal Utah’s Derrick Favors inked last October. Golliver adds that the pact eliminates any chance of a bidding war over Vucevic for the Magic next summer which could have resulted in an overpay.
Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities expects Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor to soon become more involved in extension talks for point guard Ricky Rubio (via Twitter). The Wolves reportedly upped their offer to four years, $48MM shortly after we heard that Rubio and Taylor had spoken several times on the phone. Wolfson, who speculates that a total offer of $52-54MM might do it, adds that Taylor’s loyalty to Rubio could “change the dynamic” of the talks (Twitter links here).

Western Notes: Mozgov, Spurs, Calathes, Scott

October 13th, 2014 at 8:40pm CST by Charlie Adams

Teams asked the Nuggets about potential trades for Timofey Mozgov last winter and throughout the summer, writes Chris Dempsey of The Denver Post, indicating that the Cavs aren’t the only opposing club interested in the 7-footer. While Mozgov remains in Denver for the time being, the Nuggets’ frontcourt depth might mean the club is willing to ship him away for a lucrative enough return. As we wait and see if Mozgov remains in blue and gold, let’s round up the latest from out west:

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich indicated that camp invitees Bryce Cotton, Josh Davis, and JaMychal Green are likely to remain with the team through the preseason, tweets Jeff McDonald of the Express-News.
Chris Herrington of The Commercial Appeal doesn’t necessarily see the Grizzlies signing a fourth point guard for depth while Nick Calathes is out with a 13 game suspension. If Memphis does decide to carry a 15th player into the season, however, a one-guard would be the most likely choice. Herrington adds that he’d like to see what Jon Leuer and Jarnell Stokes can do with Kosta Koufos headed towards free agency.
Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report chronicles the events that culminated in the Lakers’ decision to hire new coach Byron Scott. Ding opines that the extensive history Scott has with the franchise will mesh well with Los Angeles’ young cast of players, making him an exceptional hire for the Lakers.

Chuck Myron and Zach Links contributed to this post.

Spurs Sign Bryce Cotton

July 9th, 2014 at 2:35pm CST by Chuck Myron

2:35pm: Cotton’s guarantee is only for $50K, tweets Mark Deeks of ShamSports.

WEDNESDAY, 8:38am: The contract is “nominally guaranteed” for the first season and non-guaranteed for 2015/16, according to Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News. It’ll become fully guaranteed if he makes the opening night roster, McDonald adds, though I suspect that full guarantee would apply to this coming season, and not 2015/16 (Twitter links).

MONDAY, 6:23pm: Cotton has officially signed with the Spurs, the team announced.

SUNDAY, 8:55am: A source tells Jabari Young of the San Antonio Express-News that Cotton remains unsigned (Twitter link). Young suggests that the deal on the table from the Spurs is just a summer league arrangement and says that Cotton is on the lookout for something more.

JULY 2ND, 11:24am: The deal is expected to be formally signed on Wednesday, Charania writes in his full piece, and since minimum-salary contracts are some of the few that can become official during the July moratorium, that suggests that Cotton is indeed getting the minimum. Several teams offered to draft him if he agreed to play overseas next season, but he rejected those entreaties, according to Charania, who identified the Mavs as another team that had interest. The second season is fully guaranteed if he makes the team out of training camp, Charania adds, presumably referring to this year’s training camp.

11:11am: The Spurs and undrafted Providence guard Bryce Cotton have agreed on a partially guaranteed two-year deal, reports Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). Presumably the arrangement is for the minimum salary, or something close to it.

San Antonio worked out Cotton prior to the draft, and while the team held multiple late second-round picks at one point, it wound up trading two of them and using the 54th overall pick on Nemanja Dangubic. I wouldn’t be surprised if the shoulder injury to Patty Mills, which may keep him out for up to seven months, played a role in Cotton’s deal.

Cotton notched 21.8 points, 5.8 assists and 2.4 turnovers per game in his senior season with the Friars. He also averaged 39.9 minutes per outing, nearly the length of an entire college game.

Western Notes: Kerr, Fernandez, Draft

June 12th, 2014 at 9:27pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Money wasn’t the issue for Steve Kerr when he chose the Warriors over the Knicks, as Howard Beck of Bleacher Report hears that New York would have met whatever salary demand he made, as Beck said on the Knickerblogger Podcast. Robert Silverman of KnickerBlogger.net provides the transcription.