Derrick Jones Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pacific Notes: Goodwin, Jones, Clippers, D’Antoni

October 26th, 2016 at 11:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

Former Suns guard Archie Goodwin cleared waivers today at 5 pm Eastern time and is now officially a free agent. Phoenix released Goodwin on Monday after being unable to deal him to another team. The 22-year-old out of Kentucky spent three seasons with the Suns. He appeared in 57 games last season, averaging 8.9 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists per night.

There’s more news out of the Pacific Division:

Derrick Jones overcame long odds to earn a spot on the Suns‘ roster, writes Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic. The 19-year-old wasn’t taken in the draft after being ruled ineligible at UNLV, then missed all of summer league with an injury. Jones signed a four-year contract that could be worth up to $3.6MM, but all he is guaranteed for now is $42.5K of his $543,471 salary. Still, he is elated about the opportunity. “When I was the last one here from training camp, I knew there was a reason I am here,” Jones said. “I feel as though I’m a NBA player. I have NBA athleticism. My game is going to come a long way. I just got to be able to knock down my jump shots consistently. That’s one thing I’m going to put in work to do.”
The Clippers understand they may be facing their final season with Blake Griffin and Chris Paul, relays Dan Woike of The Orange County Register. Both are expected to opt out next summer and become free agents. With J.J. Redick also headed toward free agency and L.A. well over the salary cap, it will create a serious financial strain to keep the current core together. “We’re not really worried about what happens after this season. We’re worried about what happens in the season,” Griffin said. “Every year, if you don’t have a sense of urgency, if it takes somebody being like ‘This could be the last year to have a sense of urgency,’ then you’re already kind of playing from behind. I don’t think it really affects us.”
New Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni thought his career might be over when he left the Lakers in 2014, writes Bill Oram of The Orange Country Register. Not only did that team underachieve, but D’Antoni spent much of the season fighting with Kobe Bryant. D’Antoni revived his career as an assistant with the Sixers last season before being hired by Houston over the summer. “It’s a privilege to be able to coach in this league,” D’Antoni said. “It’s very rare you can dictate where you want to go, and usually where you’re going they have problems or you wouldn’t be going there. You just try to find the right situation, and if it’s not the right situation, try to make it work. If it doesn’t work out, try to live to fight a battle someplace else. It was a privilege to coach the Lakers. It was a privilege to coach Kobe and those guys. I’m better for it.”

Suns Waive Archie Goodwin

October 24th, 2016 at 4:25pm CST by Luke Adams

4:25pm: The Suns officially announced that Goodwin was waived.

2:57pm: Another player with a guaranteed 2016/17 salary has been released, according to Shams Charania of The Vertical, who reports (via Twitter) that the Suns have waived former first-round pick Archie Goodwin. The move brings the team’s roster to 15 players, so no additional cuts are necessary before opening night.

The 29th overall pick in the 2013 draft, Goodwin has appeared in 150 games for the Suns since making his NBA debut. In 2015/16, he averaged 19.5 minutes per contest in 57 games (13 starts), recording 8.9 PPG, 2.5 RPG, and 2.1 APG.

While Goodwin has yet to develop into a productive NBA regular, he has shown flashes of promise and explosiveness. The Kentucky product is still just 22 years old, and was set to earn a modest salary of $2,094,089 from the Suns this season before becoming eligible for restricted free agency in 2017. If Goodwin clears waivers, Phoenix will remain on the hook for that salary, but he looks like a candidate to draw interest on waivers from teams with cap room. A club like the Sixers, who are fairly thin in the backcourt and are well below the salary cap floor, could be interested in placing a claim on Goodwin.

The Suns had still been carrying two players without fully guaranteed salaries, in John Jenkins and Derrick Jones. Jenkins’ salary is believed to be fully guaranteed now that he has remained on the roster beyond October 23, whereas Phoenix maintains some flexibility with Jones, whose deal is partially guaranteed for about $43K — it won’t fully guarantee until January 10.

Contract Details: Brand, Rockets, Thunder, Pacers

September 30th, 2016 at 8:48am CST by Luke Adams

With training camps underway, teams have now officially finalized the contract agreements with various camp invitees that had been reported over the past several weeks, meaning we have plenty of contract details to round up. As usual, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders has been busy reporting those details, updating his salary pages for teams around the NBA.

Because we have so many updates to pass along from Pincus, we’ll divide them up by players who received some guaranteed money from their teams, and those who didn’t. All of the links below point to the Basketball Insiders team salary pages, so be sure to click through for additional information.

Here are the latest salary updates from across the league, via Pincus:

Players receiving guaranteed money:

These players aren’t necessarily assured of regular-season roster spots. In fact, many of them likely received guarantees as an incentive to accept a D-League assignment. Still, for some players, larger guarantees should increase their odds of making 15-man rosters.

Thomas Walkup (Bulls): One year, minimum salary. $69.5K guaranteed.
Keith Benson (Heat): Two years, minimum salary. $75K guaranteed.
Henry Sims (Jazz): One year, minimum salary. $75K guaranteed.
Alex Poythress (Pacers): One year, minimum salary. $35,381 guaranteed.
Kevin Seraphin (Pacers): Two years, $3.681MM. First year ($1.8MM) guaranteed.
Julyan Stone (Pacers): One year, minimum salary. $50K guaranteed.
Gary Payton II (Rockets): Two years, minimum salary. First year ($543,471) guaranteed.
Isaiah Taylor (Rockets): Two years, minimum salary. $50K guaranteed.
Kyle Wiltjer (Rockets): Two years, minimum salary. $275K guaranteed.
Cat Barber (Sixers): One year, minimum salary. $50K guaranteed.
Elton Brand (Sixers): One year, minimum salary. $1MM guaranteed.
Derrick Jones (Suns): Three years, minimum salary. $42.5K guaranteed.
Alex Caruso (Thunder): One year, minimum salary. $50K guaranteed.
Kaleb Tarczewski (Thunder): One year, minimum salary. $75K guaranteed.
Chris Wright (Thunder): One year, minimum salary. $100K guaranteed.

Players receiving no guaranteed money:

The following players all signed one-year, minimum salary contracts with no guaranteed money. Many of these deals are “summer contracts,” which won’t count against a team’s cap unless the player earns a spot on the 15-man roster.

Jabari Brown and Jaleel Roberts (Bucks)
Markel Brown, Dahntay Jones, Cory Jefferson, Eric Moreland, John Holland, and Jonathan Holmes (Cavaliers)
Dorell Wright (Clippers)
Chris Crawford (Grizzlies)
Ryan Kelly, Will Bynum, and Richard Solomon (Hawks)
Perry Ellis (Hornets)
Eric Dawson (Jazz)
Julian Jacobs and Travis Wear (Lakers)
Quinn Cook (Pelicans)
Joel Anthony and Nicolas Laprovittola (Spurs)
Gracin Bakumanya, Derek Cooke, and Shaquille Harrison (Suns)
Rasual Butler (Timberwolves)

Western Notes: Payne, Suns, Barnes, Wolves Coaches

September 25th, 2016 at 9:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

Second-year Thunder guard Cameron Payne has shown encouraging signs in his recovery from the Jones fracture surgery he had in July, writes Erik Horne of The Oklahoman. Payne has gone through full contact during Oklahoma City’s first two days of practice and is expected to participate in a scrimmage on Tuesday. Coach Billy Donovan said Payne has been working to recapture his timing, but the medical staff hasn’t recommended any limitations on his playing time. “He probably feels like the more he can play, the more comfortable he’ll get back into a routine,” Donovan said. “He’s obviously been in practice. He’s been active. Cam’s got a really, really instinctive game. He’s got a good feel for the game. I think getting his timing back playing, because he hasn’t done a lot of 5-on-5 will take him a little bit of time. But he looks good; he’s moving well.”

There’s more news from the Western Conference:

The four players the Suns added to their training camp roster today will probably end up in the D-League, according to Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic. Phoenix reached agreements with undrafted rookies Gracin Bakumanya, Shaquille Harrison and Derrick Jones, along with returning D-League player Derek Cooke. Teams can assign up to four waived players to the D-League as long as they aren’t claimed by other organizations.
As he gets ready for his first training camp with the Kings, one of Matt Barnes‘ objectives will be to improve team chemistry, relays Andy Furillo of The Sacramento Bee. The 36-year-old Barnes agreed to a two-year, $12MM contract this summer to come to Sacramento. He joins an organization that was beset by internal problems last season, especially between star big man DeMarcus Cousins and former coach George Karl. “I’ve never been a star player, so to speak,” Barnes said, “but I’ve been one of the leaders, one of the voices of reason, and I have, I think, an uncanny ability to be able to get through to everybody, and not so much by talking. I lead by example, so that when I do talk, people listen, and I’m respected.”
The Timberwolves finalized their coaching staff today, the team announced on its website. Minnesota named Andy Greer and Rick Brunson as assistant coaches, Peter Patton as shooting coach and Daisuke Yoshimoto as special assistant to the president of basketball operations. In addition, Vince Legarza was promoted to player development coach.

Suns Sign Bakumanya, Cooke, Harrison, Jones

September 25th, 2016 at 6:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Suns signed four players just before the start of training camp, the team announced today on its website. The addition of Gracin Bakumanya, Derek Cooke, Shaquille Harrison and Derrick Jones gives Phoenix 19 players under contract heading into the first day of camp on Monday.

Bakumanya, a 6’11” center, was an international early-entry candidate who wasn’t selected in June’s draft. A native of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Bakumanya played in France last season and was part of the Rockets’ summer league team.

A 6’9″ power forward, Cooke played for the Suns’ D-League affiliate in Bakersfield last season, averaging 4.8 points and 7.0 rebounds in 47 games. Cooke, a Wyoming alumnus, played for the Suns’ team in the summer league.

Harrison, formerly of Tulsa, also went undrafted this year. A 6-4 guard, he averaged 15.1 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.1 assists as a senior and earned All-American Athletic Conference second team honors the past two seasons.

Jones, a 6’7″ power forward, spent one season at UNLV before entering the draft. The 19-year-old averaged 11.5 points and 4.5 rebounds in 30 games with the Runnin’ Rebels.

Suns To Add Three Players To Camp Roster

September 15th, 2016 at 10:32am CST by Luke Adams

The Suns are adding three players to their training camp roster, according to Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic, who reports that Mike Moser, Shaquille Harrison, and Derrick Jones Jr. will join the team. It’s not clear whether or not any of the three players will receive any guaranteed money, but their deals won’t be fully guaranteed.

Moser, who played his college ball at UCLA, UNLV, and Oregon, went undrafted in 2014 and has been playing overseas since then, spending time with teams in Lithuania and Israel. In 2015/16, the 25-year-old power forward appeared in 19 games for Hapoel Holon, averaging 11.5 PPG and 7.9 RPG for the club.

Harrison, who turns 23 next month, went undrafted out of Tulsa earlier this year. A point guard, Harrison averaged 15.1 PPG, 5.5 RPG, and 4.1 APG during his senior year, but failed to improve his outside shooting, making less than 20% of his three-point attempts.

Jones, a small forward out of UNLV, played just one college season before entering the NBA draft. He wasn’t selected in June, after a freshman year in which he averaged 10.9 PPG and 4.3 RPG in 28 games. Jones was ruled academically ineligible for the final four games of his first and only college season because his ACT results were called into question by the NCAA, which is believed to have contributed to his decision to go pro.

All three players will have a chance to earn a spot on the Suns’ roster, but Phoenix currently has 14 players on guaranteed contract, and incumbent guard John Jenkins likely has a leg up for the 15th spot. It’s possible that Moser, Harrison, and Jones will all ultimately land with the Northern Arizona Suns, Phoenix’s D-League affiliate.

Western Notes: Welch, Davis, Ellis, Selden

June 15th, 2016 at 9:27pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Here’s the latest news and notes from the Western Conference:

Former Sacramento assistant coach John Welch and the Clippers are in the process of finalizing a deal that will see him join Doc Rivers‘ coaching staff, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports (Twitter link).
The Kings held a pre-draft workout today for Zachary Auguste (Notre Dame), Egidijus Mockevicius (Evansville), Wade Baldwin (Vanderbilt), Antwan Scott (Colorado State), Eric McClellan (Gonzaga) and Fred VanVleet (Wichita State), the team announced.
Working out for the Kings on Thursday will be Elgin Cook (Oregon), Isaiah Taylor (Texas), Jarrod Uthoff (Iowa), Shaquille Harrison (Tulsa) and Derrick Jones (UNLV), Sean Cunningham of ABC 10 tweets.
The Jazz have a private workout scheduled on Thursday for former Michigan State power forward Deyonta Davis, the team announced. Davis is the No. 10 overall prospect according to Jonathan Givony of Draft Express.
The Clippers have workouts set for Thursday with Wayne Selden (Kansas), Isaiah Whitehead (Seton Hall), Brandon Austin (NW Florida State), Perry Ellis (Kansas), Kaleb Tarczewski and Tonye Jekiri (Miami), Dan Woike of The Orange County Register tweets.

Central Notes: Noah, Walters, Draft

June 14th, 2016 at 5:14pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Bulls center and unrestricted free agent Joakim Noah is looking forward to the free agent process and being recruited by interested suitors, as he told Orazio Cauchi of Sportando. When asked how involved he is in the free agent process, Noah said, “I’m very focused on free agency. I spent the last 10 years in Chicago, there were good moments and bad moments but now I have an incredible opportunity for a player, being recruited by a team, I definitely want to live that kind of experience. It’s new for me but it’s something very intriguing for a player. I’ll consider every offer on the table, no doubt.”

The big man was also asked if the culture of the team changed under Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg this season, with Noah telling Cauchi, “I don’t think so. I mean, Hoiberg is a good coach, the locker room is something that the players need to make work. It’s on us, not on the coach.”

Here’s more from the Central Division:

The Pacers have their sixth pre-draft workout scheduled for Wednesday, the team announced. Attendees will include Kellen Dunham (Butler), Jordan Loyd (Indianapolis), Taurean Prince (Baylor), Alex Poythress (Kentucky), Diamond Stone (Maryland), and Goodluck Okonoboh (UNLV), according to the release.
The Pistons are expected to name Rex Walters as head coach of their D-League affiliate, the Grand Rapids Drive, Adam Johnson of D-League Digest relays. Walters previously served as the head coach at the University of San Francisco from 2008-16, compiling a record of 126-125 during his tenure. Otis Smith, the current coach of the Drive, is expected to be promoted to a front office position with the Pistons, Johnson tweets.
The Bucks held a group workout this morning for Max Landis (IPFW), Carrington Love (UWGB), Tyrone Wallace (California), Kyle Collinsworth (BYU), Derrick Jones (UNLV) and Kyle Wiltjer (Gonzaga), the team announced. Milwaukee also held an individual workout this afternoon for Marquette big man Henry Ellenson, the team relayed in the same announcement.

Draft Workouts: Jazz, English, Pacers, Pistons

May 31st, 2016 at 8:19pm CST by Luke Adams

The Jazz, armed with four picks in this year’s draft, are doing plenty of due diligence in the weeks leading up to June 23rd, and will bring in six more prospects for workouts tomorrow. According to the team (via Twitter), the following players will participate in that workout: Bryn Forbes (Michigan State), Max Landis (IPFW), Trevor Cooney (Syracuse), Shawn Long (Louisiana-Lafayette), Kenny Gaines (Georgia), and Pascal Siakam (New Mexico State).

Utah is hardly the only NBA team bringing in prospects for pre-draft workouts, so let’s round up a few more updates from around the league…

Former Iona guard A.J. English has a pair of workouts for Eastern Conference teams lined up this week, according to Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv, who writes that English will get a look from the Wizards on Wednesday and the Knicks on Thursday.
Thon Maker‘s previously-reported workout with the Pacers will take place on Wednesday, and the seven-footer will be joined by five other players, according to Zagoria (Twitter link). Jake Layman (Maryland), Retin Obasohan (Alabama), Shavon Shields (Nebraska), Fred VanVleet (Wichita State), and Stephen Zimmerman (UNLV) will also participate in the workout.
Zagoria provides a couple more workout updates, tweeting that Manhattan’s Jermaine Lawrence will work out for the Warriors on June 6th, while his college teammate Shane Richards works out for the Nets on Wednesday.
Yogi Ferrell (Indiana), Ron Baker (Wichita State), Derrick Jones (UNLV), Thomas Walkup (Stephen F. Austin), and Marcus Paige (UNC) worked out for the Pistons on Tuesday, tweets Vincent Ellis of The Detroit Free Press. Ferrell’s participation had been previously reported. Meanwhile, per Ellis (Twitter link), Tobias Harris‘ brother Tyler Harris also was a part of Detroit’s workout — the younger Harris played college ball for N.C. State, Providence, and Auburn.

And-Ones: Jackson, Gasol, Whitehead

May 30th, 2016 at 10:38pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Knicks president Phil Jackson has no plans to leave his job and rejoin the Lakers, Los Angeles co-owner and Jackson’s fiance Jeanie Buss said in a radio interview that was relayed by ESPN.com’s Ian Begley. Jackson has three seasons remaining on his Knicks’ contract, though he does have an opt-out clause after next season. “He’s committed to New York for many years,” Buss said in the ESPN Radio interview. “He’s building something there. He has a mission, he’s on that journey to get the team back to where he believes it can be and it will be.”

In other developments around the league:

Bulls center Pau Gasol is unsure about playing at the Rio Olympics because of concerns over the Zika virus, according to Tales Azzoni of the Associated Press. Gasol told Azzoni that he and other Spanish athletes are worried about the virus’ effects on them and their families. “I’m thinking about [whether or not to go],” he said.
The Cavaliers worked out guards Ron Baker (Wichita State) and Yogi Ferrell (Indiana) and forwards Derrick Jones (UNLV) and Kyle Wiltjer (Gonzaga) on Sunday, Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops tweets. None are considered first-round prospects by either ESPN Insider Chad Ford or DraftExpress’ Jonathan Givony.
Shooting guard Isaiah Whitehead will work out for the Pacers on Thursday and the Knicks on Saturday, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders tweets. The Seton Hall sophomore is ranked No. 39 by Ford and No. 57 by Givony.