Earl Barron Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Cavs, D-League, Temple

November 3rd, 2014 at 5:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

Not surprisingly, three of the NBA’s four unbeaten teams reside in the Western Conference, where the Warriors, Rockets and Grizzlies are all 3-0. The East’s lone unbeaten is the franchise that’s won the last four conference championships, but it’s nonetheless surprising to see the Heat back atop the conference standings after they lost LeBron James this past summer. While we wait to see if Miami will continue to reign without King James, here’s the latest from around the league:

The Cavs feel like they made concessions in their final extension offer to Tristan Thompson, which exceeded $48MM over four years, but neither side has any hard feelings in the wake of the failed negotiations, according to Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio.
NBA teams kept the D-League rights to 47 players cut during camp this year, the D-League announced, listing all of them. The Mavs, Warriors and Suns used all four spots available to each NBA team to reserve the rights to such players, so they can’t keep the D-League rights to anyone they waive during the regular season, unlike the rest of the teams in the NBA. Renaldo Balkman, Bernard James, Doron Lamb, Hasheem Thabeet, Peyton Siva, Malcolm Lee and Earl Barron are this year’s “affiliate players” with NBA experience.
Garrett Temple refrains from drinking, smoking and tattoos, and he’s convinced the straight-arrow approach has helped him win jobs during his career, as Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post observes. Injuries to others have thrust Temple into the starting lineup for the Wizards, who re-signed him this summer for two years at the minimum salary.

Suns Waive Earl Barron

October 25th, 2014 at 1:54pm CST by Eddie Scarito

1:54pm: Barron has been officially waived, the team has announced.

1:34pm: The Suns have waived Earl Barron, Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic reports (Twitter link). No official announcement from the team has been made, but this move would reduce Phoenix’s preseason roster count to 15 players, which is the regular season maximum. Barron’s contract was non-guaranteed, so the team’s look at Barron didn’t cost them anything.

Apparently, Barron didn’t impress the Suns enough to unseat one of their younger big men from the team’s rotation. If he’s healthy Barron should have an opportunity to catch on with another team now, or later on during the season on a 10-day contract, as veteran big men tend to be in higher demand as the season progresses and injuries begin to take their toll on rosters.

In 124 career games, Barron has averaged 4.9 PPG and 3.7 RPG. His career slash line is .375/.071/.716.

Western Notes: Thompson, Blazers, Barron

October 18th, 2014 at 10:37am CST by Eddie Scarito

The deadline for players and teams to agree to contract extensions is October 31st. A few members of the 2011 draft class have already inked their deals, but one of the more prominent players still awaiting his turn is the Warriors‘ Klay Thompson. Chris Bernucca of Sheridan Hoops runs down where Thompson and all of the 2011 first-rounders stand in regard to their contracts and extensions.

Here’s more from out west:

One of the few rotation and roster decisions left for the Trail Blazers is at the backup power forward spot, Mike Tokito of The Oregonian writes. In the article, Tokito breaks down the available personnel and the options that GM Neil Olshey and coach Terry Stotts have at the position, and he also opines that the bench should be more productive this season thanks to the additions of Chris Kaman and Steve Blake.
When the Suns signed Zoran Dragic he became the 15th fully guaranteed deal on their books, which made Earl Barron‘s bid to make the regular season roster unlikely, Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic writes. But Barron has continued to impress the team and coach Jeff Hornacek said Barron has a shot at making the regular season roster, and that managing partner Robert Sarver has expressed a willingness to waive a player with a guaranteed contract if Barron’s presence makes the team better in the long run, Coro notes.
Kevin Durant‘s injury that will sideline him for at least six to eight weeks is part of a rash of preseason injuries suffered by players this year. In an Insider article, Tom Haberstroh of ESPN.com examines the science behind Durant’s injury, if it was preventable, and what future issues the “Slim Reaper” and the Thunder might have to deal with.

And-Ones: Barron, Revenue, Heat, Marion

October 17th, 2014 at 2:49pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Suns are giving Earl Barron legitimate consideration for a spot on the regular season roster, and while that would force the team to rid itself of a fully guaranteed contract, coach Jeff Hornacek says that’s a move the team would be willing to make. Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic has the details.

“The one guy that sticks out and is really fighting for the team is Earl Barron,” Hornacek said. “He’s still on the roster for a reason. I know our guys are saying, ‘If he’s going to help us and we have to eat a contract somewhere, I think [owner] Robert [Sarver] is willing to do that.’ If it’s going to help us win games and he’s better than another guy, Robert is all for it.”

Hornacek’s comments sound familiar to the ones that Mavs coach Rick Carlisle made recently in which he insisted that owner Mark Cuban would be willing to sacrifice guaranteed salary to keep the non-guaranteed Charlie Villanueva. However, the Mavs are reportedly eager to open up an opening-night roster spot, which would appear to cut Villanueva out of the mix, and Sarver has never been particularly generous in his spending on the Suns. While we wait to see how it plays out in both Dallas and Phoenix, here’s more from around the league:

Potential changes to the league’s revenue sharing system join the draft lottery among the major topics on the agenda for the NBA’s Board of Governors next week, tweets Grantland’s Zach Lowe. The board appears poised to implement a new lottery system for the 2015 draft.
Erik Spoeltra this week called Heat signee signee Shawne Williams “one of the great surprises of the offseason” and raved about his shooting, notes Jason Lieser of The Palm Beach Post. Williams has a fully guaranteed deal with Miami.
Shawn Marion admits the Mavs reached out to him the instant he became a free agent this summer, as Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram notes (Twitter link). Carlisle, Dirk Nowitzki and other Mavs figures retain a soft spot for the versatile Cavs addition who’ll be a free agent again at season’s end, as Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com details.

Western Notes: Clippers, Barron, Iguodala

October 15th, 2014 at 7:54pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Clippers are fortunate to have three solid veterans who are willing to come off of the bench, Melissa Rohlin of The Los Angeles Times writes. Discussing Spencer Hawes, Matt Barnes, and Jamal Crawford, coach Doc Rivers said, “There are two groups. One is the old veterans like Matt. They want to come off the bench. That’s when they’ve figured it out — it saves them, it makes them fresher, they’re smarter, they can actually watch the game and evaluate the game. And then there’s that extraordinary group of guys who clearly could be starters and actually still prefer coming off the bench…. Jamal could start anywhere, he could start here, but he prefers coming off the bench.”

Here’s more from out west:

The Warriors depth has been an issue since the team decided to sign Andre Iguodala and let Jarrett Jack and Carl Landry leave as free agents, Yannis Koutroupis of Basketball Insiders writes. Golden State is exploring the idea of using Iguodala as their sixth man this season, notes Koutroupis.
One element of the Spurs‘ success over the years has been roster continuity, and the franchise places first overall in that department in Joe Freeman of the Oregonian‘s rankings. Finishing in second place was the Trail Blazers, which is a by-product of GM Neil Olshey‘s commitment to development from within the organization and to create year-to-year cohesion and consistency, notes Freeman. This plan will be tested next summer thanks to a number of players reaching free agency, Freeman opines.
With the Suns waiving Joe Jackson, Casey Prather and Jamil Wilson yesterday, Earl Barron remains the lone player in camp with a non-guaranteed contract, Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic tweets. Coro notes that Barron has performed well enough in camp to be considered for the team’s final regular season roster spot.

Suns Sign Barron, Prather

September 27th, 2014 at 11:34am CST by Chuck Myron

SEPTEMBER 27TH, 11:34am: The signings are official, the team has announced.

SEPTEMBER 25TH, 11:05pm: The signings have taken place, according to the RealGM transactions log.

AUGUST 26TH, 8:21am: The Suns have agreed to non-guaranteed deals with eight-year NBA veteran Earl Barron and undrafted rookie Casey Prather that will allow the pair to join the team for camp, reports Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. They’re almost certainly on minimum-salary arrangements in spite of Phoenix’s ample cap flexibility.

The deal is Barron’s first in the NBA after he signed with the Knicks for the final game of the regular season and the playoffs in 2013. He didn’t see any postseason action that year, appearing in just that lone regular season game, and while the Knicks were reportedly split on bringing him back for last year’s camp, they decided against it, and he spent the season playing in China and Lebanon instead.

Prather made his first contact with the Suns through a predraft workout, though he spent summer league with the Hawks. The small forward from Florida entered the draft as the 83rd-best prospect in Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress rankings and No. 95 on Chad Ford’s ESPN.com board after a breakout senior season with the Gators. His 13.8 points in 27.9 minutes per game represented the first double-digit scoring average of his college career.

Barron and Prather will join 13 other Suns, all of whom have guaranteed deals, as our roster counts show. That doesn’t include Eric Bledsoe or second-round pick Alec Brown, though the Suns could make room for them if they cut Barron, Prather or both before opening night.

D-League Notes: Barron, Moultrie, Hairston

February 5th, 2014 at 6:22pm CST by Charlie Adams

A pair of reports earlier today revealed that Othyus Jeffers is set to rejoin the Iowa Energry while Jarvis Varnado, Jeffers’ teammate in Des Moines for the time being, is drawing interest from several NBA clubs. Here’s a look at more news from around the D-League:

Another former member of the Energy, Earl Barron, has inked a deal to play in Lebanon with Moutahed, tweets Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. After making his NBA debut in 2005, Barron has played for seven different NBA clubs and seen action in 121 D-League contests.
We heard yesterday that the Sixers assigned Arnett Moultrie to the D-League following comments he made on Monday about frustration over a lack of playing time. However, Tom Moore of Calkins Media hears that the assignment to Delaware is unrelated to Moultrie’s venting, and that the big man will return to Philly once he meets certain conditioning standards (Twitter links).
It’s been nearly a month since P.J. Hairston joined the D-League’s Texas Legends, and he’s still trying to move on from his playing days as a Tar Heel. Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com suggests that now is the time for Hairston to focus on impressing NBA executives to improve his draft stock.
Thunder GM Sam Presti recently sat down and discussed his club’s innovative use of its D-League affiliate with Anthony Slater of the Oklahoman.

Knicks Rumors: Barron, Woodson, Collins

November 6th, 2013 at 5:15pm CST by Luke Adams

It’s been an eventful day for Knicks content so far at Hoops Rumors. In addition to discussing the club in a pair of notes posts, I also explored possible solutions for the team’s depleted frontcourt. News of Tyson Chandler‘s injury has plenty more updates coming out of New York, so let’s round up the latest:

The last update we heard on Earl Barron had him signing with a Chinese team in September, but Jared Zwerling of ESPN New York indicates that the big man has returned stateside and would be “excited” about any interest from the Knicks (Twitter links). New York’s coaching staff reportedly wanted the front office to sign Barron before he landed in China.
In a long piece on the Knicks, Grantland’s Zach Lowe suggests that teams with expendable bigs will be making “predatory calls” to GM Steve Mills today. Lowe lists Jason Maxiell (Magic), Ekpe Udoh (Bucks), Kevin Seraphin (Wizards), Kendrick Perkins (Thunder), and Kris Humphries (Celtics) among his possible trade candidates, but notes that any deal would be difficult.
Mike Woodson isn’t constantly looking over his shoulder or worrying about his job security, despite the team’s sluggish start, as he told ESPN Radio today (link via Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN New York).
Harvey Araton of the New York Times suggests Jason Collins would be a good free agent fit for the Knicks, which is something I proposed earlier today.

Free Agent Updates: Barron, Balkman, Wright

September 25th, 2013 at 4:19pm CST by Luke Adams

As free agents continue to land on NBA training camp rosters or with international teams in advance of the coming season, let's round up a few of today's items on new signings and players still on the market….

Free agent big man Earl Barron has signed with China's Qingdao DoubleStar, agent Derrick Powell tells Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype (Twitter link). Barron reportedly drew interest from the Pelicans, Sixers, Pacers, and Jazz, and had been hoping to sign with the Knicks. However, New York decision-makers were said to be split on whether or not to add the former Memphis Tiger.
Ex-Knick Renaldo Balkman is considering accepting a training camp invite from the Mavericks, according to Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News. The Mavs, who have one open roster spot left for camp, are hoping to bring in "active defensive-minded bodies" to fill out their preseason roster, says Sefko.
Former first round pick Antoine Wright is set to sign with a club in Poland, according to a report passed along by Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Wright played in the D-League last season and most recently appeared in the NBA in 2010/11.
Shams Charania of RealGM.com spoke to former Clippers forward Bobby Simmons, who says he's still aiming to make an NBA comeback. As our international player movement tracker shows, Simmons didn't play in the NBA or anywhere else last season.

Knicks Split On Signing Earl Barron

September 18th, 2013 at 9:24pm CST by Alex Lee

While the Knicks coaching staff would like to add free-agent big man Earl Barron, the team's front office is not in any hurry to do so, writes Jared Zwerling of Bleacher Report. This is not the first time we have heard that the Knicks like Barron from Zwerling, who cites several sources in his story, presumably making Barron a solid candidate to land one of the last three Knicks roster spots should they bring him aboard.

Zwerling also confirms what we heard yesterday; that the Knicks have worked out a slew of free agents in preparation for training camp, which he says is contributing to the disagreement on Barron. Zwerling reports that center Hamed Haddadi, who worked out for the Knicks last month, hopes to find a team this week but that team is unlikely to be New York. Cole Aldrich and DeSagana Diop are another pair of free agent big men that have worked out with the Knicks.

Apparently, Barron shot the ball well in his Monday workout with the Jazz. According to Zwerling's source close to Barron, while the free agent hopes to land in New York and may use Utah's interest as leverage to speed up the process, he is not waiting on the Knicks.