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Clippers Notes: Jamison, Odom, Mullens

August 28th, 2013 at 2:59pm CST by Luke Adams

The Clippers reached an agreement to sign Antawn Jamison earlier this week, but most of you don't expect him to make a significant impact for the team this season. When Alex Lee of Hoops Rumors asked last night how many points per game Jamison would score in the 2013/14 season, over 62% of you predicted a single-digit average for the veteran forward.

Here's more on the Clippers:

Grantland's Kirk Goldberry examines what the signing of Jamison means for the Clippers.
After adding Jamison, the Clippers are no longer interested in re-signing Lamar Odom, a source tells Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. However, Medina adds that the team would "welcome Odom to training camp," so it may just be a matter of not wanting to guarantee him any money. Odom's alleged drug problems almost certainly played a part in that stance.
With 14 contracts on their books, the Clippers plan to fill the last roster spot in training camp, according to Medina. It's worth noting that once Jamison's deal becomes official, L.A. will have 13 players on guaranteed contracts. Maalik Wayns also has a non-guaranteed pact, and Brandon Davies reportedly agreed to a partially guaranteed deal earlier in the summer, though the team has yet to announce it. In any case, it seems that there could conceivably be two spots up for grabs in camp.
Byron Mullens knows that some fans and observers are wondering why the Clippers would sign him, but he tells Eric Patten of Clippers.com that he intends to prove his doubters wrong. Mullens inked a two-year, minimum-salary contract last month.

Western Notes: Grizzlies, D’Antoni, Mullens

July 30th, 2013 at 9:00pm CST by Michael Pina

A few notes from around the Western Conference.

The Commercial Appeal's Geoff Calkins writes that Mike Miller's decision to sign with the Grizzlies, over several other contending teams, proves that Memphis is a destination free agents will start to consider.
Lakers head coach Mike D'Antoni still doesn't understand why Dwight Howard decided to leave Los Angeles, writes ESPNLA.com's Dave McMenamin.
Eric Patten from Clippers.com writes about what Byron Mullens might be able to give the Clippers next season as their backup center.

Clippers Sign Byron Mullens

July 22nd, 2013 at 5:26pm CST by Chuck Myron

MONDAY, 5:26pm: The Clippers announced that the deal has been signed.

SATURDAY, 6:02pm: Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times reports that Mullens is expected to sign his contract on Monday or Tuesday next week (Twitter link).

5:46pm: Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski reports that the Clippers and Mullens have agreed to a two-year deal worth $2MM. The second year will be a player option.

WEDNESDAY, 10:01pm: The deal would include a player option for 2014/15, and is on track to be finalized late tonight or on Thursday, Wojnarowski writes.

9:16pm: The Clippers and Byron Mullens are close to an agreement on a two-year deal, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The Wasserman Media Group client became an unrestricted free agent when the Bobcats declined to tender a qualifying offer last month. The Lakers had interest in Mullens at the start of free agency, but may have moved on after adding Chris Kaman and re-signing Robert Sacre.

The Mullens signing would have to take place for the minimum salary, since the Clippers are over the cap and split their mid-level exception between Matt Barnes and Darren Collison. The Clips don't have their bi-annual exception, having used it to sign Grant Hill last summer. Bringing Mullens aboard may take the team out of the running for Antawn Jamison and Lamar Odom, two other big men who had been Clippers free agent targets.

Mullens is a 7'0" three-point gunner who could give the Clippers some floor spacing on offense if he continues to improve his touch. He's a career 30.1% shooter from behind the arc, and made 31.7% of his 3.9 three-point attempts per game this past season.

Renounced Players: Wednesday

July 10th, 2013 at 9:58pm CST by Luke Adams

As teams clear cap space to finalize signings and trades, it may mean renouncing Early Bird or Bird rights to their own free agents, in order to remove cap holds from the books. Once a player is renounced, his previous team has no more claim to him that any other team — he could still be re-signed, but it would have to be done using cap space or an exception. Some of those decisions are more notable than others, but for completion's sake, we'll track the latest of these cap-clearing moves right here:

Mo Williams is the most prominent name among the several whose rights the Jazz renounced today, according to the RealGM transaction log. Al Jefferson, DeMarre Carroll and Earl Watson, who already have deals to join other teams, are also on the list, as are the long-retired Brevin Knight and Greg Ostertag.
Bobcats are set to re-sign Josh McRoberts, but they won't be using their Early Bird rights to do so, as they've renounced his rights, RealGM shows. The team also renounced their rights to Reggie Williams, who's heading to the Rockets, and it cut ties with DeSagana Diop, Byron Mullens and Jannero Pargo, too.
Golden State will sign Jermaine O'Neal, so the Suns have renounced his rights, as well as their rights to Wesley Johnson and Diante Garrett, as RealGM notes.

Earlier updates:

The Hawks have cleared out unwanted cap holds from their books, renouncing their rights to Hilton Armstrong, Erick Dampier, Devin Harris, Dahntay Jones, Randolph Morris, Zaza Pachulia, Johan Petro, Josh Smith, and Etan Thomas, according to RealGM.com's transactions log.
RealGM.com also has the Trail Blazers renouncing multiple players, including Luke Babbitt, J.J. Hickson, Eric Maynor, and Nolan Smith.
Most interestingly, according to RealGM.com, the Bucks have renounced their rights to Monta Ellis. That doesn't necessarily preclude a sign-and-trade, but it would mean the team would have to use cap space rather than Ellis' Bird rights to accommodate a deal.
The Pelicans have renounced their rights to Louis Amundson, Xavier Henry, and Roger Mason Jr., the team announced today in a press release.
In order to clear cap room for their signings, the Pistons renounced Will Bynum, Jose Calderon, Vernon Macklin, Corey Maggette, Jason Maxiell, and Ben Wallace, according to RealGM's transactions log. The Pistons plan to re-sign Bynum, but removing his $6MM+ cap hold and signing him to a smaller figure using cap space makes the most sense.
After renouncing their rights to Chauncey Billups and Lamar Odom, the Clippers have also renounced Bobby Simmons, according to RealGM.com's transactions log.

Big Man Rumors: Bynum, Wright, Oden, Mullens

July 1st, 2013 at 12:50pm CST by Luke Adams

Earlier this afternoon, we passed along a few notes and rumors related to point guards. Now let's go a little bigger, with a focus on free agent centers….

The Mavericks were one of several teams to contact Andrew Bynum shortly after free agency began last night, agent David Lee tells Tim McMahon of ESPNDallas.com. The Mavs, like all the teams chasing after Dwight Howard, are also in the market for Bynum as a fallback option, and the Trail Blazers and Cavaliers are reportedly pursuing the oft-injured center as well.
Dallas would like to retain Brandan Wright, but the Hawks, Magic, Pistons, Raptors, and Knicks all expressed interest in the Jim Tanner client after free agency began last night, McMahon reports. Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com (Twitter link) also adds the Lakers to the list of potential suitors for Wright.
The Heat, Spurs, Cavs, Celtics, Mavericks, Kings, Pacers, and Grizzlies all have interest in Greg Oden, but the former No. 1 overall pick is in no rush to make his decision on where to sign, writes Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. He's hoping to be physically ready to play by training camp.
According to Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio (via Twitter), it's unlikely that Oden lands with the Cavs.
The Lakers have inquired on Byron Mullens, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Mullens became an unrestricted free agent when the Bobcats didn't tender him a qualifying offer.
The Heat are in contact with Chris Andersen's camp in the hopes of working out a deal, tweets Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida.

Bobcats To Extend QO To Henderson, Not Mullens

June 28th, 2013 at 5:46pm CST by Luke Adams

5:46pm: The Bobcats have confirmed via press release that they're tendering a qualifying offer to Henderson.

12:31pm: The Bobcats will extend a qualifying offer to Gerald Henderson, making him a restricted free agent, reports Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (via Twitter). However, according to Bonnell, Byron Mullens won't receive a QO of his own from the Bobcats.

Both Henderson and Mullens met the starter criteria in Charlotte, meaning that their qualifying offers would have been worth $4,531,459 each. For Henderson, that's a modest increase on what would have been a $4,267,426 offer, but it represents a significant increase for Mullens, who otherwise would've been in line for a $3,293,976 QO. Perhaps that played a part in the Bobcats' decision, though Mullens' unproductive second half (7.2 PPG, 3.7 RPG in 20 games after the All-Star break) likely didn't help his case either.

When free agency opens next week, both Henderson and Mullens will be free to negotiate with any team, but only Mullens will be able to sign outright with a rival club. If Henderson signs a rival offer sheet, the Bobcats will have three days to match it.

Qualifying Offers And The Starter Criteria

April 19th, 2013 at 11:48am CST by Luke Adams

As we explained a year ago when the 2011/12 regular season ended, new details of the league's Collective Bargaining Agreement have slightly modified the usual process for restricted free agency. The qualifying offers teams extend to potential restricted free agents are now based, in some instances, on a newly-defined "starter criteria."

The CBA describes a "starter" as either starting 41 games or playing 2,000 minutes in a season, and rewards players for meeting those criteria. If a player achieved one of those benchmarks in the season prior to his free agency, or averaged one of those benchmarks in the two seasons leading up to his free agency, his qualifying offer will be affected as follows:

A top-14 pick who does not meet the starter critera will receive a same qualifying offer equal to 120% of the amount applicable to the 15th overall pick.
A played picked between 10th and 30th who meets the starter criteria will receive a qualifying offer equal to 120% of the amount applicable to the ninth overall pick.
A second-round pick or undrafted player who meets the criteria will receive a qualifying offer equal to 100% of the amount applicable to the 21st overall pick.

Because the 2009 class of first-round picks will be hitting restricted free agency this season, the 2009/10 rookie scale will dictate the qualifying offers received. Using RealGM's rookie scale chart for 2009, we can calculate the qualifying offers as follows:

120% of the amount applicable to the ninth overall pick is $4,531,459.
120% of the amount applicable to the 15th overall pick is $4,135,391.
100% of the amount applicable to the 21st overall pick is $2,785,146.

So which players will be affected by this new rule this summer? Using our list of free agents (restricted FAs are marked with R), the above calculations, and the starter criteria, this offseason's modified qualifying offers are listed below. Teams will have to offer these free agents a one-year contract worth the listed amount to make them restricted — otherwise they'll become unrestricted and can freely sign with any club.

Top-14 picks who failed to meet the starter criteria and will now be eligible for a QO of $4,135,391 (previously anticipated QO in parentheses):

Tyler Hansbrough, Pacers ($4,225,423)

Players picked between 10th and 30th who met the starter criteria and will now be eligible for a QO of $4,531,459 (previously anticipated QO in parentheses):

Brandon Jennings, Bucks ($4,330,469)
Gerald Henderson, Bobcats ($4,267,426)
Jeff Teague, Hawks ($3,469,568)
Darren Collison, Mavericks ($3,342,175)
Byron Mullens, Bobcats ($3,293,976)

Other free agents with three years or less in the NBA who met the starter criteria and will be eligible for a QO of $2,785,146:

None. Although restricted free agents like Nikola Pekovic (Timberwolves) and Tiago Splitter (Spurs) also met the starter criteria, both players are already in line for higher QOs because they were signed to larger deals using cap space (Pekovic) or the mid-level exception (Splitter).

Kyler On Harden, Jennings, Holiday, Rockets

October 30th, 2012 at 10:50am CST by Luke Adams

Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld shared a few updates on extension-eligible players in his NBA AM column this morning, and also tweeted a few notes about the Rockets' options in free agency next summer. Let's dive right in and round up the highlights….

James Harden and the Rockets will almost certainly reach an agreement on a five-year extension today or tomorrow. It's just a matter of whether it will be for the true max or slightly below that.
If Tyreke Evans, who won't be extended this week, struggles early in the season, he could become a trade candidate for the Kings.
According to Kyler, Brandon Jennings' camp is seeking an extension worth $9-10MM annually, which the Bucks aren't interested in. Those numbers are a little surprising to me — I'd think the Bucks wouldn't mind a deal in that neighborhood, while Jennings would be seeking something closer to the max.
The Sixers and Jrue Holiday don't appear headed for an extension this week. Kyler says Philadelphia's offer was worth about $8-9MM annually.
The "broad strokes" are there for an agreement between Ty Lawson and the Nuggets. Now it's just a matter of working out the final value of the contract.
The odds of Taj Gibson and the Bulls reaching an extension agreement today or tomorrow are about 50/50 at best.
The Hawks have told Jeff Teague that he's still part of their long-term plans, but the team wants to maintain flexibility next summer, so he won't be extended now. The Bobcats have a similar stance with Gerald Henderson and Byron Mullens.
In a series of tweets, Kyler says the Rockets are unlikely to be serious players for Josh Smith in free agency next summer, unless they trade for him. The fifth year that the team holding Smith's Bird Rights will be able to offer could be a dealbreaker, according to Kyler, who adds that the forward appears happy with the Hawks for now.
Kyler expects the Rockets to take a similar approach to what they did this past offseason, pursuing restricted free agents and perhaps making a poison pill offer or two. Paul Millsap could also be a potential target, says Kyler (Twitter links).

Eastern Notes: Sixers, Heat, Mullens, Ewing

October 12th, 2012 at 12:26pm CST by Luke Adams

As we await an evening preseason schedule that includes a pair of contests between Eastern teams (Pistons/Raptors and Bulls/Cavaliers), let's round up the latest links out of the Eastern Conference….

Jrue Holiday, who is eligible for a contract extension this month, tells Yannis Koutroupis of HoopsWorld that he thinks the 76ers are on the "right path" to title contention.
The Heat haven't been involved in trade deadline deals in recent years, and Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel isn't expecting that to change this season. Winderman also addresses the Heat's two open roster spots in his latest mailbag.
Byron Mullens is entering the final season of his rookie contract, and Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer believes he's exceeded expectations more than anyone else in Bobcats camp so far (Twitter link).
At a Madison Square Garden promotion, Patrick Ewing told Mark Cannizzaro of the New York Post that he's still hoping to coach an NBA team, whether it's the Knicks or another club, despite not being hired this offseason. "I’m just home, hanging out," Ewing said. "I do have coaching [aspirations], but all the jobs are taken up right now. So I’m just hanging out, relaxing and taking some time off and will try to come back next year."
Sam Smith fields a number of Bulls-related questions in his newest mailbag at Bulls.com.

Odds & Ends: Gordon, Cavaliers, Vazquez

July 17th, 2012 at 6:51pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Eric Gordon may have to win back some of the fans in New Orleans this year after comments he made about his "heart" already being in Phoenix and not wanting the Hornets to match after the Suns signed him to an offer sheet. Marc J. Spears of Yahoo elaborates on Gordon's thoughts throughout the free agency process and says that the Gordon is now committed to leading a young New Orleans team moving forward. Spears also says that the 6'3 guard has the ability to opt out after the third season and become an unrestricted free agent. Here's more of the miscellaneous tidbits what we've heard this evening..

Nick Friedell of ESPN Chicago discusses why the Bulls' title window will shrink over the next two seasons.
Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer describes the progress that Byron Mullens appears to be making with the Bobcats based on his performances at the Las Vegas Summer League.
76ers head coach Doug Collins says he feels "very good" about what the team has accomplished during this offseason, writes John Gonzalez of CSNPhilly.com.