Elliot Williams Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Northwest Notes: Lopez, Williams, Jackson

January 16th, 2015 at 9:13pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Thunder were reportedly in the mix for Nets center Brook Lopez, both as part of a proposed three-way deal with Brooklyn and Charlotte and in two-way talks with Brooklyn. OKC star Kevin Durant doesn’t necessarily see the need to add Lopez’s offensive talents to the Thunder’s rotation, Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman reports (Twitter link). “We put up a lot of points, that’s what we do,” Durant said. “No matter where it comes from, we score a lot. Adding a good player to your team always helps, but I like what we have here. We put up points. That’s not our problem.”

Here’s more from the Northwest Division:

Any trade for Lopez would almost certainly have to include Kendrick Perkins, a move that would weaken the team this season since he is the Thunder‘s best defender, Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman writes. Oklahoma City would benefit more from this deal next season, when all of the players would begin the campaign healthy, and the team could aim higher than just sneaking into the seventh or eighth playoff spot, like it hopes to do this year, Tramel opines.
The Jazz are still undecided as to whether or not they will sign Elliot Williams to a second 10-day contract, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link). In three appearances for Utah, Williams has averaged 2.7 points in 8.7 minutes of action per game.
The arrival of Dion Waiters has cut into the playing time of Reggie Jackson, and it has also increased the uncertainty of his future with the Thunder, Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman writes. Durant, when asked if he felt the need to help Jackson adjust to his new role, said, “We’re all professionals here, man. We know the nature of this game. This is not day care. We’re not babying anybody here. We all know that Reggie is such a good professional he knows that. He knows how to come to work every single day. And he knows that him and Dion are going to have to play together. And Dion knows that. So we’re not spending any of our energy on that type of stuff because this is a professional game. It’s a business at that as well. So, nah, we’re not going to do that.”

Jazz Sign Elliot Williams To 10-Day Contract

January 7th, 2015 at 11:29am CST by Chuck Myron

WEDNESDAY, 11:29am: The deal is official, the team announced.

TUESDAY, 11:51am: The Jazz are expected to sign Elliot Williams to a 10-day contract soon, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. The 25-year-old combo guard is in Salt Lake City to take a physical, Spears adds. The Jazz have 15 players, including Elijah Millsap, who signed a 10-day deal Monday, so the team would need to make a corresponding move if it wants to bring Williams aboard before Millsap’s 10 days are up.

Williams, the 22nd overall pick in 2010, would help shore up a Utah backcourt that’s suffering from the absences of Alec Burks, who’s done for the year, and Patrick Christopher and Rodney Hood, who are out indefinitely. The Sixers let go of Williams just before opening night, but a few days later he became the No. 2 overall pick in the D-League draft. The 25-year-old Thad Foucher client has justified that selection, running up 21.3 points, 7.7 assists and 4.7 rebounds in 37.2 minutes per game for the affiliate of the Warriors in 16 appearances this season.

Christopher and Joe Ingles are the only members of the Jazz on non-guaranteed contracts, and Wednesday is the last day the team can waive them without guaranteeing their salaries for the season. The Jazz have planned to clear multiple roster spots, as Jody Genessy of the Deseret News hears (Twitter links). Utah can let go of Millsap anytime, though the team is responsible for a full 10 days’ worth of salary to him regardless of when the Jazz would cut ties.

Robert Covington Tops D-League Draftees

November 1st, 2014 at 4:59pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The NBA D-League Draft was held today and the event was kicked off with Robert Covington being selected first overall by the Grand Rapids Drive, the Pistons D-League affiliate. Covington’s selection was first reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). The 23-year-old forward was arguably the most talented player in the D-League draft, though he isn’t expected to spend the full season in Grand Rapids, notes Chris Reichert of SB Nation, since he is on the radar of numerous NBA teams.

Covington spent much of last season with Houston’s D-League affiliate despite being on the team’s NBA roster the entire year. He earned himself a trip to the D-League’s All-Star game by averaging 23.2 PPG and 9.2 RPG in 34.1 minutes per game in 42 D-League appearances. He spent the preseason on Houston’s roster, though he was away from the team for weeks mulling offers to play in Europe before being waived. Covington came close to inking a deal with the Sixers, but decided to take the D-League route to begin the season.

Elliot Williams, a former 2010 first round pick of the Blazers, was selected by the Warriors affiliate with the second overall pick. The 6’5″ guard was a rotation player for the Sixers last year, averaging 6.0 PPG in 17.3 MPG, but was waived by Philadelphia when the team needed to pare its preseason roster count down to 15 players.

Other players selected in the opening round who had prior NBA regular season experience were Marquis Teague, Ben Hansbrough, Erik Murphy, Carrick Felix and Damien Wilkins.

One other player to keep an eye on is Milos Milisavljevic, a 21-year-old Serbian point guard who was selected by the Texas Legends, who serve as the affiliate of the Mavericks. Milisavljevic will be NBA draft-eligible in 2015, and is on the radar of NBA scouts, though he isn’t currently projected to be taken in either round by DraftExpress.

Here is the full list of first round selections:

Grand Rapids Drive (via Delaware) — Robert Covington
Santa Cruz Warriors (via Erie) — Elliot Williams
Austin Spurs — Erik Murphy
Santa Cruz Warriors (via Maine) — Carrick Felix
Grand Rapids Drive — Ben Hansbrough
Texas Legends — Milos Milisavljevic
Idaho Stampede — Tre’ Bussey
Bakersfield Jam — Robert Vaden
Oklahoma City Blue — Marquis Teague
Reno Bighorns (via Westchester) — Joonas Caven
Reno Bighorns — Brady Heslip
Canton Charge — Michael Dunigan
Santa Cruz Warriors — Melvin Johnson III
Rio Grande Valley Vipers — Chane Behanan
Sioux Falls Skyforce — Fuquan Edwin
Iowa Energy — Damien Wilkins
Los Angeles D-Fenders — Eloy Vargas
Rio Grande Valley Vipers (via Fort Wayne) — Justin Jackson

Sixers Waive Marquis Teague, Elliot Williams

October 27th, 2014 at 8:31pm CST by Chuck Myron

8:31pm: The release of Teague and Williams is now official, the team announced.

4:21pm: The Sixers are waiving Marquis Teague and Elliot Williams, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Wojnarowski indicates the moves have already taken place, though the team has made no formal announcement. The Sixers faced a 4:00pm Central deadline to cut ties with at least three players to meet the league’s 15-man regular season roster limit, so it’s likely Teague and Williams are already on waivers. The same is probably true of Travis Outlaw, whom the team was reportedly likely to release just as it traded for him.

Teague had just arrived in Philadelphia via last week’s trade with the Nets. His salary of about $1.12MM is fully guaranteed for this season. He had a team option for about $2.023MM for 2015/16, but that option goes away once he clears waivers. It’s been a quick descent for the 29th pick from 2012, whom the Bulls sent to the Nets via trade last season. He’s averaged 2.3 points in 9.6 minutes per game for his career.

Williams was about to start season two of a four-year non-guaranteed contract, one that he’d signed after missing a year with a torn left Achilles tendon. The 22nd overall pick from 2010 was a rotation player for the Sixers last year, averaging 6.0 PPG in 17.3 MPG, but Philadelphia elected against bringing him back this year, even though the team’s roster is worse than last year’s.

The moves will leave the Sixers with just nine fully guaranteed contracts, plus a small partial guarantee to JaKarr Sampson. The team’s other five players are on non-guaranteed deals, leaving Philadelphia with plenty of flexibility and likely setting up more transactions.

Several Midseason Signees On Multiyear Deals

January 27th, 2014 at 1:09pm CST by Chuck Myron

This time of year, most of the contracts that NBA teams hand out are of the 10-day variety. None of this season’s 10-day signees have deals for the rest of the season yet, though some of them likely will after the expiration of their second 10-day contracts with their respective teams.

Still, there are several midseason signees on non-10-day deals who remain under contract, and the majority of of their teams included extra, non-guaranteed seasons on their deals when they were signed. Many of those contract details weren’t reported at the time, but thanks to Basketball Insiders, ShamSports, and Storytellers Contracts, we know which teams have given themselves an extra bit of leverage and which haven’t, as explained below. All are making the minimum salary:

Diante Garrett, Jazz (signed November 13th): Garrett is on the fringe of the rotation at 14.4 minutes per game, and Utah tacked a pair of non-guaranteed seasons onto his contract, which runs through 2015/16.
Elliot Williams, Sixers (signed November 20th): Like Garrett, he’s on the periphery as a contributor, notching 13.8 MPG, and the Sixers, as is their wont, gave him a four-year non-guaranteed contract.
Chris Douglas-Roberts, Bobcats (signed December 11th): The fifth-year veteran is only signed for this season, but he figures to be a mainstay this year with Jeff Taylor out for the season, even though Michael Kidd-Gilchrist has returned from his injury.
D.J. Augustin, Bulls (signed December 13th): The injury-ridded Bulls are giving Augustin 30.4 MPG, and without much room under the salary cap, they probably couldn’t afford to let him and his guaranteed contract go and sign another player. His deal runs only through this season.
James Johnson, Grizzlies (signed December 16th): The former 16th overall pick has been a revelation for Memphis, which is giving him 22.9 MPG as he solidifies the team’s bench. The Grizzlies may regret only signing him for this season.
Kendall Marshall, Lakers (signed December 20th): Since moving into the starting lineup for his fifth game with the Lakers, the 2012 lottery pick is averaging 12.1 points and a whopping 11.4 assists in 38.7 MPG, resurrecting his career. It seems a strong bet the team will keep him next year, since his contract includes a non-guaranteed season for 2014/15.
Alexis Ajinca, Pelicans (signed December 20th): The center’s contract is fully guaranteed for next season, so he’ll be around New Orleans for a while. He’s started seven times despite seeing just 13.9 MPG as the Pelicans reportedly shop for another big man.
Jeremy Tyler, Knicks (signed December 31st): The player the Knicks cut J.R. Smith‘s brother to accommodate has barely seen the floor more than Smith did in his time with New York, notching just 7.0 MPG. His contract includes a non-guaranteed season for 2014/15.
Hedo Turkoglu, Clippers (signed January 16th): Freed from Orlando, Turkoglu is averaging 11.2 MPG in L.A. as he attempts to knock the rust off, having played in just 17 games over the past two seasons. He’ll be a free agent at season’s end, since the Clips only signed him for this year.

Honorable mention: Malcolm Thomas, Spurs/Jazz (signed December 3rd) — An injury to Kawhi Leonard forced Thomas off the Spurs roster, but the contract he signed with San Antonio is still valid, since the Jazz claimed him off waivers this weekend. The deal includes a non-guaranteed season for 2014/15.

D-League Moves: Sixers, Spurs, Mavs

January 6th, 2014 at 11:55am CST by Luke Adams

It’s been a busy day so far for D-League transactions, with several teams either calling up or sending down young players. We heard earlier that the Nets re-assigned Tornike Shengelia and Tyshawn Taylor to the Springfield Armor. Now, let’s round up the rest of Monday’s moves:

The Sixers have recalled both Elliot Williams and Lorenzo Brown from the D-League, the team announced today in a press release. Williams was just assigned to the Delaware 87ers yesterday, while Brown had been with the Sixers’ D-League affiliate for the last week and a half.
Nando De Colo has been sent to the Austin Toros for the sixth time this season, the Spurs announced in a press release. De Colo’s assignments have each been brief, as he’s played just five total games during his time with Austin, averaging 24.6 PPG, 6.6 APG, and 6.2 RPG.
The Mavericks have recalled Ricky Ledo from the Texas Legends, according to a team release. Ledo was assigned back on November 30th, and appeared in 14 contests with the Legends, helping to lead the club to a 10-5 overall record.
C.J. McCollum has been informed by the Blazers that he’ll be active for Tuesday’s game, says Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com. McCollum hasn’t officially been recalled from the D-League’s Idaho Stampede yet, but it appears that will officially happen today or tomorrow, in advance of what could be McCollum’s NBA debut in Sacramento.

Eastern Notes: Butler, 76ers, Melo, Brand

January 5th, 2014 at 10:03pm CST by Zachary Links

Caron Butler seemed reasonably happy in Phoenix, but when Suns Assistant General Manager Pat Connelly approached him with the option of playing for the Bucks, the Wisconsin native was packed up and out of town within 48 hours, writes Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic. “I got an opportunity of a lifetime,” Butler said. “What man wouldn’t want to play in his home state and home city? I thought it was great for me.” More out of the East..

The 76ers announced that they have assigned guard Elliot Williams to the Delaware 87ers of the NBA Development League. Williams signed as a free agent with the Sixers on Nov. 20 and has appeared in 18 games with one start. To keep up with all of this year’s D-League assignments, check out Hoops Rumors’ running list.
Clippers coach Doc Rivers thought the talk of a Carmelo Anthony-for-Blake Griffin trade was “so stupid” and Melo agrees. “Everybody talks about it,’’ the Knicks star said of one day playing with Paul, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post. “Back to the USA team [in 2008]. Those three guys did it [LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh]. It happens. Everybody always says they want to play with this guy and that guy. But me and Chris have been rumored since he [came] to the NBA. There’s always been trade rumors trying to get us together. It never happened…it was stupid and silly.’’
The Bulls chased both Elton Brand and Marcus Camby hard in free agency last summer, hoping one would sign as a fifth big man, writes K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. When the Hawks offered a one-year, $4MM deal, Brand turned down the chance to return to where he started his career.

Sixers Sign Elliot Williams, Lorenzo Brown

November 20th, 2013 at 5:02pm CST by Zachary Links

After cutting Kwame Brown and Darius Morris earlier today, the 76ers announced that they have signed free agent guards Elliot Williams and Lorenzo Brown.

Williams received a camp invite from the Cavaliers this season but was waived prior to the start of this season. Williams was selected by the Trail Blazers 22nd overall in the 2010 NBA Draft but appeared in only 24 games for the team – all during the 2011/12 season – in which he averaged 6.2 MPG and 3.7 PPG. Williams is represented by Thad Foucher of Wasserman Media Group.

Brown was the Timberwolves’ second-round pick in this year’s draft but was cut and signed by the team’s D-League affiliate, the Iowa Energy, prior to the season. Brown played point guard for North Carolina State last year. Brown is represented by Andy Miller of ASM Sports.

It is 76ers team policy to not disclose the terms of these signings but it is assumed both will be for the minimum salary.

Jonathan Nehring contributed to this post.

Cavs Waive DeSagana Diop, Three Others

October 25th, 2013 at 12:19pm CST by Luke Adams

The Cavaliers appear to have finalized their roster for opening night, having released four players to reduce their roster count to 15 players. The team announced today in a press release that it has waived DeSagana Diop, Kenny Kadji, Jermaine Taylor, and Elliot Williams.

The roster decisions aren’t a huge surprise for the Cavs, who were expected to hang on to camp invitees Henry Sims and Matthew Dellavedova. Diop, Kadji, Taylor, and Williams were all believed to be on fully non-guaranteed contracts, so they won’t affect Cleveland’s books at all this season.

Elliot Williams To Join Cavs For Camp

September 29th, 2013 at 9:05pm CST by Chuck Myron

Elliot Williams has accepted an invitation to join the Cavaliers for training camp, giving him another chance to fulfill the promise that made him a 2010 first-round pick, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, who confirms that the deal is non-guaranteed. Williams missed all of 2012/13 for the Trail Blazers after tearing his left Achilles tendon, and he didn't play in his rookie year because of surgeries on both knees.

Portland took Williams 22nd in the 2010 draft, but he wound up only appearing in 24 games with the club, all of them in 2011/12. The shooting guard from Memphis averaged just 3.7 points in 6.2 minutes per game during his time with the Blazers, who declined the fourth-year option on his rookie deal before last season. Williams didn't take part in NBA summer league action this year.

Fellow NBA veteran Jermaine Taylor appears set to take part in Cavs camp as well, so Williams will bring Cleveland's roster to 17 players. Williams is a client of Wasserman Media Group agent Thad Foucher, as the Hoops Rumors Agency Database shows.