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Free Agency Notes: Hayward, Billups, Parker

December 27th, 2013 at 12:34pm CST by Jonathan Nehring

Although a report came out this morning that Mike Woodson’s job is currently safe it hasn’t stopped anyone from speculating otherwise. Another person to come to Woodson’s defense is former University of Indiana teammate, and former Knicks head coach, Isiah Thomas. Thomas told Marc Berman of the New York Post that he expects Woodson to hold up well and succeed once he gets all his players back from injury.

A few notes regarding players who could join Woodson in looking for jobs soon.

Since Gordon Hayward and the Jazz were unable to reach an agreement on an extension this offseason, Hayward will be headed to restricted free agency next summer. Hayward expressed to Lang Greene of HoopsWorld that the Jazz remain his preferred option because he loves the way the franchise is headed. Of particular interest to Hayward is the Jazz’s core group of players, a bunch of young players whom he thinks will be successful in the near future. As Greene points out, the Jazz only have $27MM in guaranteed salaries next season which will allow them to be a competitor in free agency next summer.
David Mayo of MLive Media Group passed along in a Q&A session that he doesn’t think either the Pistons or Chauncey Billups will want Detroit to exercise their team option on Billups $2.5MM contract next year.
Although the Knicks have been promised no trades for the near future, their moves in free agency are still a major focal point of discussion around the league. One upcoming free agent that has been linked with the Knicks is the Spurs‘ Tony Parker. Dan McCarney broke down the likelihood of Parker signing with the Knicks in 2015. McCarney believes Parker’s past loyalty to the Spurs will continue through his next round of free agency and doesn’t imagine we will ever see Parker in any jersey other than San Antonio’s.

Eastern Notes: Lowry, Bobcats, Cavs, Woodson

December 19th, 2013 at 6:04pm CST by Charlie Adams

The Bulls are the only team from the East that will see any action on the hardwood tonight, but that doesn’t mean other clubs from around the conference aren’t making some noise off of the court. Let’s take a look at a few notes from around the Eastern Conference..

The Raptors aren’t urgently trying to move Kyle Lowry, Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld reports (via Twitter). This report comes as a bit of a surprise since we heard yesterday that the club was working hard to move the veteran guard. It seems likely that Lowry will be moved before the trade deadline, but how soon remains unclear.
Nate Duncan of HoopsWorld examines the rosters of the Bobcats and Cavaliers and reveals who he thinks could be franchise players for each club.
The Knicks have won five out of their last ten games, but Marc Stein of ESPNNewYork.com reports that Mike Woodson is still on the hot seat and being evaluated on a “game-by-game basis” by upper management. Stein notes that if the Knicks had lost to the Bucks last night, it might have marked the end of Woodson’s tenure in New York.
Chauncey Billups has no desire to coach after his playing days, Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald notes in his latest piece. He wouldn’t rule out the possibility of a front office gig, however.
The Bucks will not attempt to deal for Omer Asik, tweets Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times. It’s not completely clear, but Woelfel might be talking about a trade in the long term since we’ve heard that Asik will remain in a Rockets uniform for the time being.
Danny Granger is returning to the Pacers’ lineup, but it’s a much different squad than the one he left, notes Candace Buckner of USA Today Sports. Buckner still sees Granger as a valuable asset to the team but suggests he will have a different role than the one he had before his injury.

Central Notes: Billups, Hollins, Antetokounmpo

November 2nd, 2013 at 2:09pm CST by Charlie Adams

This NBA offseason saw an unusual amount of head coaching turnover, notes Jodie Valade of the Plain Dealer. Three of the record 13 new head coaches have found homes in the Central Division: Mike Brown for the Cavaliers, Larry Drew for the Bucks, and Maurice Cheeks for the Pistons. Here are some more notes from around the Central Division:

Tayshaun Prince says he was “shocked” when fellow former Pistons mainstay Chauncey Billups decided to return to Detroit this summer, but he applauds the team for a summer that was “a move in the right direction,” as MLive’s David Mayo observes.
Pistons coach Maurice Cheeks said he spoke with Lionel Hollins about the former Grizzlies coach joining the Detroit staff as an assistant, tweets Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News. The talks likely took place during the summer, as Hollins remains without a coaching gig.
Playing time might be limited for rookie Giannis Antetokounmpo, but the Bucks would rather keep him in Milwaukee than send him on D-League assignment, tweets Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel. The Bucks share the Fort Wayne Mad Ants with six other NBA teams, so Antetokounmpo might get lost in the shuffle if sent down.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Central Notes: Billups, Bulls, Copeland

October 2nd, 2013 at 7:01pm CST by Michael Pina

A few notes from the Central Division.

In his first year back with the Pistons, Chauncey Billups says he wants to play with the ball in his hands most of the time he's on the court, despite the team already having point guard Brandon Jennings, writes FreeP.com's Vince Ellis.
Pacers head coach Frank Vogel announced today that he'll play incoming free agent Chris Copeland at the power forward spot "90% of the time," according to the Indianapolis Star's Candace Buckner.
Bulls.com's Adam Fluck writes about the team's new starting backcourt of Derrick Rose and Jimmy Butler, which should be one of the team's major strong points in the upcoming season.

Odds & Ends: Billups, Brown, Stephenson, Siva

July 30th, 2013 at 10:02pm CST by Michael Pina

A few random notes from around the league.

Chauncey Billups is about to enter his 17th season in the NBA, and his second stint with the Pistons. But even after all he's accomplished, Billups still believes he has something to prove to himself, writes Yahoo! NBA reporter Marc J. Spears.
According to ESPN.com's Marc Stein, Bobby Brown has agreed to a one-year deal with a team in China. The deal has an opt-out clause that'll allow Brown to join the NBA if he can strike a deal with a team in the next two weeks.
In an interview with Michael Pointer on IndyStar.com, Lance Stephenson answers a few questions about his upcoming season with the Pacers, including the likelihood that he'll come off the bench.
Even though they just traded for Brandon Jennings and signed Chauncey Billups, the Pistons will still likely sign their second-round pick, Peyton Siva, tweets DetroitNews.com's Vincent Goodwill.

Odds & Ends: Pacers, Billups, Mavs, Reinsdorf

July 27th, 2013 at 10:53pm CST by Spencer Lund

The Mavs have had a busy offseason, since there was so much turnaround after loading up on expiring contracts last season with a chance to nab Dwight Howard or Josh Smith in free agency this summer. Since they failed to land any of the upper-tier free agents, they decided to surround 35-year-old Dirk Nowitzki with mid-tier acquisitions in an attempt to get Dirk a second title, but without spending their way out of contending for the free agents next summer when Dirk, Shawn Marion and others have their contract's expire.

Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram listed all the Mavericks from last season who will be playing on different rosters next season (Twitter): O.J. Mayo is on the Bucks, Elton Brand and Jared Cunningham joined the Hawks, Darren Collison signed with the Clippers, Chris Kaman joined the Lakers after they failed to re-sign Howard, and Anthony Morrow joined an improved Pelicans team. Two former Mavs are still unsigned, though, as Price tweets: Rodrigue Beaubois and Mike James.

Here are a few more tidbits as the NBA comes up on the end of the free agency period…

Vincent Ellis of the Detroit Free Press tweets that the Pistons have talked with recent free agent signee Chauncey Billups about joining the front office in Detroit after he retires
The Pacers are “going for it” with their recent trade for Luis Scola, writes Bob Kravitz of the Indianapolis Star.
Kyrie Irving has been impressing once again at Team USA tryouts in Las Vegas this past week. Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Cleveland Plain Dealer talked with the 2012 Rookie of the Year about what he's trying to improve as he comes up on his third season in the league with a much-improved Cavs team.
Melissa Harris and Jared S. Hopkins of the Chicago Tribune profile Bulls COO, Michael Reinsdorf, the son of Bulls owner, Jerry Reinsdorf. The younger Reinsdorf is seen as his father's successor with the team.
The bizarre Tennesse "Jock Tax" that Grantland's Zach Lowe wrote about a couple weeks ago, is something NBA millionaires can afford, writes Geoff Calkins of the Commercial Appeal.
Pablo Prigioni is "really excited" to come back to the Knicks next year reports Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com.

Contract Details: Rice, Billups, Speights, Splitter

July 19th, 2013 at 11:46am CST by Luke Adams

We've already passed along plenty of new details and information this week on the summer's free agent contracts, with round-ups on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. We've got a few more updates worth noting today, so let's dive in….

Eric Pincus updated salary details for several teams at HoopsWorld, including the Wizards, Jazz, Raptors, Spurs, Kings, and Trail Blazers.
Mark Deeks of ShamSports also provides new contract information for the Wizards, Trail Blazers, Warriors, Pistons, and Pacers.
According to Deeks, Glen Rice Jr.'s deal with the Wizards is a two-year minimum-salary pact, with a guaranteed first year and a partially guaranteed ($400K) second year.
Deeks also notes that Chauncey Billups and Marreese Speights are the only players known so far to receive actual team options on their contracts. Most other free agents reported to have signed deals with team options actually have a partially guaranteed or non-guaranteed season on their contracts (Twitter links).
According to Pincus, Tiago Splitter's contract with the Spurs starts at $10MM, and eventually decreases to $8.25MM in year four. The deal also includes a 15% trade kicker (Twitter links).

Odds & Ends: Billups, Jennings, Bobcats, Pelicans

July 18th, 2013 at 12:53am CST by Chuck Myron

The trade that sent Chauncey Billups away from Detroit in 2008 left a strained relationship between the point guard and Pistons front office chief Joe Dumars. It took an apology from Dumars to open up the talks that led Billups to re-sign with the team, as Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News details. It appears the Bucks and Brandon Jennings may have some fence-mending to do as well, as we cover in our look around the Association:

The Bucks and Jennings' camp both see a sign-and-trade as ideal, but it seems he's more likely to ink his qualifying offer, writes Michael Hunt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Hoops Rumors readers see a signed QO as the most likely outcome.
Bobcats coach Steve Clifford wants the team to carry six big men and add a third point guard, notes Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer. There are six bigs on the roster, but Jeff Adrien's deal is non-guaranteed.
Charlotte's name change from the Bobcats to the Hornets is set to receive official NBA approval Thursday, Bonnell notes in a separate piece. The switch will occur next summer.
The Pelicans' offseason is a "game-changer" for Eric Gordon, writes Sam Amick of USA Today, as the team's moves have helped sculpt an intriguing core that figures to entice the once-disgruntled shooting guard to stay.
Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee spoke with Kings minority owner John Kehriotis, who's in a somewhat awkward situation after making a play at the majority interest in the team that went to new principal owner Vivek Ranadive.
Kurt Rambis made comments on ESPN last fall that reportedly prompted Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni to cross him off his list of potential assistants, but it appears D'Antoni has changed his mind, as Rambis is set to join his staff, notes Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. Johnny Davis will join him, along with fellow newcomers Mark Madsen and Larry Lewis.
The Wizards will hire Frank Ross as director of player personnel, TNT's David Aldridge tweets. Ross has been serving as the Thunder's scouting director for the East Coast.

Pistons Sign Chauncey Billups

July 16th, 2013 at 2:07pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 16TH: The Pistons have made the Billups signing official, issuing a press release and (re-)introducing the veteran guard to Detroit media today.

JULY 11TH: The Pistons have reached a contract agreement with former NBA Finals MVP Chauncey Billups, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. According to Wojnarowski, the ex-Piston will return to Detroit on a two-year deal worth $5MM+. The second year will be a team option, tweets Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News.

Billups, 36, indicated last week that he hoped to play at least two more years in the NBA, so seeing him secure a multiyear deal, even if the second year isn't fully guaranteed, isn't a shock. In addition to the Pistons, the Cavaliers, Spurs, Mavericks, Knicks, Kings, Nets and Wolves all expressed some level of interest in the veteran guard.

The two years Billups spent with the Clippers only resulted in 44 total games, due mostly to a torn Achilles tendon suffered in February 2012. In the contests he did play with the club, he averaged 11.5 PPG and 3.1 APG in 24.4 minutes per game, while shooting 37.7% on three-pointers.

For the Pistons, the hope is that Billups will be solid as a backcourt rotation piece and will help mentor Brandon Knight. The team appears to be using either cap space or its $2.65MM room exception to fit Billups onto the roster.

Pacific Notes: Nash, Jamison, Clippers

July 9th, 2013 at 11:07pm CST by Michael Pina

A few notes from around the Pacific Division.

Steve Nash told ESPN 710 radio that he believes the Lakers had no chance in convincing Dwight Howard to re-sign in Los Angeles.
ESPNLA.com's Ramona Shelburne tweets that free agent forward Antawn Jamison will delay his decision on signing with the Clippers until later in the week.
The Clippers have officially renounced the rights to Chauncey Billups and Lamar Odom, but are still interested in signing Odom, according to a tweet from Los Angeles Times reporter Brad Turner.