Mobile Menu
HEADLINES

Darren Collison

Cavs Eyeing Clark, Collison, Watson

July 2nd, 2013 at 6:48pm CST by Luke Adams

TUESDAY, 6:48pm: The interest between Clark and the Cavs is "very mutual", one source told Sean Deveney of the Sporting News.  Clark has connections to the Cavaliers as Mike Brown coached him briefly with the Lakers last year and newly hired assistant coach Igor Kokoskov was in Phoenix for Clark’s first year-and-change.

MONDAY, 12:24am: C.J. Watson is another point guard on the Cavs' radar, according to Amico (via Twitter).

12:17am: With free agency underway, the Lakers have contacted unrestricted free agent Earl Clark about returning to the team, tweets Sean Deveney of the Sporting News. However, Clark is also set to meet with the Cavaliers on Tuesday, according to Deveney.

The Cavs' interest in Clark has been previously reported by Deveney and confirmed by other outlets, and Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld tweets that the team's interest is "real," adding that Cleveland has liked Clark for "quite a while."

In addition to Clark, the Cavs are also said to be eyeing point guard Darren Collison, according to Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio (via Twitter). Collison didn't receive a qualifying offer from the Mavericks, so he's now an unrestricted free agent, free to sign outright with any team.

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Warriors, Nuggets, Mavs Contact Jarrett Jack

July 1st, 2013 at 3:56pm CST by Luke Adams

The Warriors, Nuggets, and Mavericks are among the teams that have reached out to Jarrett Jack on the first day of free agency, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter).

Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group has more details on the Warriors' meeting with Jack, describing it as "positive," though no offer was made. While Golden State would like to keep its veteran point guard, the Warriors' financial flexibility is limited, with team salary in such close proximity to the tax. The club may pursue Darren Collison if bringing back Jack isn't possible, according to Thompson.

Meanwhile, the Mavericks are seeking a veteran point guard to complement rookies Shane Larkin and Gal Mekel, but the Nuggets' interest is a little surprising, considering Denver has Ty Lawson and Andre Miller under contract for next season.

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Mavericks Decline To Make QO To Collison

June 30th, 2013 at 6:25pm CST by Zachary Links

Point guard Darren Collison is a free agent after the Mavericks refused to make him a qualifying offer, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter).  The QO would have paid him just over $4.5MM for 2013/14.

The move was expected as the Mavericks want to clear up as much space as possible in their pursuit of Dwight Howard.  Collison started 47 games for Dallas last season, averaging 12.0 PPG with 5.1 APG and 2.7 RPG.  The soon-to-be 26-year-old could still re-sign with the Mavs, but he’ll have to wait and see how things play out with their offseason first.

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Odds & Ends: Mayo, Larkin, Collison, Raptors

April 24th, 2013 at 11:04pm CST by Chuck Myron

Patrick Beverley was a surprise starter for the Rockets tonight, and his performance was even more astounding, as he racked up 16 points, 12 rebounds and six assists to help Houston come within three points of beating the top-seeded Thunder at home. Beverley was playing in Russia at the beginning of the season, and didn't make his NBA debut until he completed a week-long stint in the D-League after the Rockets signed him in January. His play tonight underscores the importance of seemingly under-the-radar transactions. As always, we'll keep track of NBA moves both great and small, and here's the latest:

  • The Jazz may make a strong push to sign O.J. Mayo this summer, HoopsWorld's Steve Kyler hears (Twitter link). Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors wrote in March that Mayo could command better than the full mid-level, though that was before the shooting guard's April slump. 
  • Last week Chad Ford of ESPN.com heard University of Miami sophomore Shane Larkin was leaning toward entering the draft, but Larkin tweets that his decision is still up in the air, and that he'll make an announcement Sunday evening.
  • Darren Collison probably won't return to the Mavericks unless he accepts a backup role, writes Tim McMahon of ESPN.com, who nonetheless believes Collison should be a well-paid backup, projecting that he'll sign a four-year, $15MM deal.
  • There are plenty of philosophical differences between Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo and coach Dwane Casey, but ownership wouldn't look kindly upon Colangelo if he fired his third coach in less than five years, observes Eric Koreen of the National Post. 
  • Michael Jordan has hired four coaches, but none of them have lasted as long as three seasons, leading Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer to wonder if Jordan and the Bobcats front office are more deserving of blame than former coach Mike Dunlap.
Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

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):

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):

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).
Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Mavericks Links: Collison, Brand, Mayo

April 18th, 2013 at 10:05pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Headed for free agency this summer, Mavericks point guard Darren Collison told reporters that he’s capable of starting on any team. Despite finishing the final 23 games of the season as a reserve, the former UCLA product hasn’t ruled out a return to the Mavericks, even if it means he’d continue that role (Dwain Price of the Star-Telegram reports). Also, as Jon Machota of SportsDayDFW notes, Collison hasn't had any discussions with his agent about where he could end up next season. Here are a few more links to share out of Dallas:

  • Price also hears that Elton Brand would like to return to Dallas next season in order to make up for being unable to help the team make the playoffs this season. Picked up off of amnesty before the start of the season, the former number one overall pick averaged 7.2 PPG and 6.0 RPG, marking the first year in his career with his scoring average in the single-figures. 
  • Count head coach Rick Carlisle among the proponents of bringing O.J. Mayo back in a Mavs uniform next season, writes Price. This morning, we heard that the 25-year-old swingman plans to opt out of his contract in hopes of negotiating a long-term deal with Dallas. 
Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Odds & Ends: James, Clark, Sixers, Collison

April 6th, 2013 at 8:55pm CST by Michael Pina

When Heat general manager Pat Riley spoke out against Celtics general manager Danny Ainge last week, it was a calculated move on his part to keep LeBron James around after 2014, writes the Daily News' Mitch Lawrence.

 

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Western Notes: McGuire, Iguodala, Kings, Mavs

March 12th, 2013 at 1:12pm CST by Luke Adams

As we look forward to an eight-game evening slate that includes Dwight Howard's return to Orlando, let's round up a few of today's stories relating to Western Conference clubs….

  • The Warriors elected not to sign Dominic McGuire after the trade deadline using one of their open roster spots at least in part because coach Mark Jackson didn't want McGuire taking minutes away from rookie Draymond Green, according to Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group (via Sulia).
  • Andre Iguodala admits to Paola Boivin of the Denver Post that his 2013/14 player option is in the back of his mind, but says he won't make a concrete decision on whether or not to exercise it until after the season.
  • Despite David Stern's insistence that the Kings sale won't result in a bidding war, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports that the Sacramento group may be in trouble if the Seattle group "keeps pushing up the price."
  • Part of the reason the Mavericks released Dominique Jones was to give him an opportunity to find playing time with another club, as GM Donnie Nelson explains to Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "The playing time that Dominique probably deserves wasn’t here and available," Nelson said. "Hopefully that presents itself with another team some place."
  • Darren Collison isn't complaining about coming off the bench for the Mavericks, but when he becomes a free agent this summer, he'll hit the market believing that he's capable of being a starter somewhere, writes Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News.
Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Western Notes: Spurs, Marion, Mayo, Collison

February 27th, 2013 at 9:49pm CST by Alex Lee

Stephen Curry absolutely went off at the Garden on Wednesday night, dropping 54 points via 11 treys on the Knicks in the game of the night.  Despite Curry's efforts, the Warriors still came up short, losing by four.  Here are some other notes from around the Western Conference:

  • Gregg Popovich says that the Spurs, as always, will do their due diligence in scouring the post-March 1st buyout market, but with their roster already 15 deep, he doesn't expect anything to come of it, tweets Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News.
  • Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News answered a few questions about the Mavericks roster in a chat on Tuesday.  Sefko doesn't see the Mavs dealing Shawn Marion next season just to free up cap space, opining that Marion is still a starting caliber player that warrants something worthwhile in return.  
  • Sefko also considers re-signing O.J. Mayo and Darren Collison critical to the team's chances of luring whatever big name free agents they'll set their sights on, largely due to their youth.  Keeping both players, who have had nice seasons in Dallas, will be difficult without overpaying, Sefko says.
  • Pau Gasol, likely still a month from returning, has been cleared to work out on an elliptical machine, tweets Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News.  Gasol tore his plantar fascia three weeks ago and the Lakers are sticking to their original timetable of six-to-eight weeks for his return. 
Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Western Notes: Rockets, Blazers, Payton, Suns

February 15th, 2013 at 2:21pm CST by Luke Adams

While there's been plenty of talk about the cap space the Rockets are expected to have this summer, coach Kevin McHale is just hoping to see that space turned into an impact player, as he jokes to Sam Amick of USA Today.

"I've never seen Cap Room score a basket yet though," McHale said. "I've seen old Cap, and his last name is Room, I've yet to see him put a hoop in, haven't seen him block a shot, haven't seen him get a rebound yet. But when Cap Room starts putting up numbers, we should be in great shape."

Here are a few more notes out of the Western Conference as we prepare for All-Star weekend:

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0