Fab Melo Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Mavericks Sign Melo, McConnell, Kennedy

September 10th, 2013 at 6:23pm CST by Michael Pina

According to the team, the Mavericks have officially signed Fab Melo, D.J. Kennedy, and Mickey McConnell, upping their roster total to 18 players.

Earlier today, ESPN.com's Marc Stein reported that Melo and Dallas had reached a deal. Kennedy made the 2013 NBA D-League All-Star game as a representative of the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the league's 2013 champions. He has experience with the Cavaliers.

McConnell spent last season playing for Tezenis VE in Italy, averaging 13.6 PPG, 3.5 RPG and 2.7 APG in 32 games.

Mavs Invite Fab Melo To Camp

September 10th, 2013 at 1:17pm CST by Luke Adams

1:17pm: The Mavs and Melo have reached a training camp deal, according to Stein.

11:11am: Having already been traded by the Celtics and released by the Grizzlies this offseason, free agent big man Fab Melo is set to join a new team, reports ESPN.com's Marc Stein. According to Stein (via Twitter), the Mavericks are planning to bring the 2012 first-rounder to camp this fall.

Melo, the 22nd overall pick in last year's draft, only appeared in six NBA games for the Celtics in 2012/13. The Syracuse product spent most of the season with Boston's D-League affiliate, averaging 9.8 PPG and 6.0 RPG in 33 contests for the Maine Red Claws. While he has plenty of raw upside, Melo is also viewed as a long-term project, and given his lack of significant progress in his rookie season, neither the Celtics or the Grizzlies were inclined to wait on him.

The Mavericks already have 15 players on guaranteed contracts, so there may not be room for Melo on the regular-season roster, and it's unlikely he'll receive a significant guarantee. However, assuming Dallas finalizes a camp deal with the young center, the team will retain his D-League rights, meaning he could end up starting the 2013/14 season with the Texas Legends.

A source told Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link) earlier today that Boston and Houston could be potential landing spots for Melo, but CBA rules prevent the C's from re-signing Melo until next summer.

Eastern Notes: Bobcats, Melo, Raptors, Celtics

September 2nd, 2013 at 2:47pm CST by Zachary Links

In today's look at NBA trade candidates, Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld examined the Bobcats and found that they could have some interesting trade chips for when February rolls around. The $13.2MM owed to Ben Gordon certainly isn't palatable to teams right now, but, if he's playing well, he could draw interest when roughly 70% of that has been paid off. Ramon Sessions, who will make $5MM, is in a similar position. Here's more out of the Eastern Conference..

In today's mailbag, a reader asks Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel if there's a chance that Fab Melo could return to South Florida with the Heat. Winderman sees it as unlikely given the way that the big man looked in front of Heat decision makers while playing for the Celtics' summer league team. Melo is a free agent after clearing waivers yesterday.
Someone in the know tells Doug Smith of the Toronto Star that he doesn't expect the Raptors to fill their remaining vacant roster spot. Toronto's roster dropped to 14 after cutting Quentin Richardson last week.
In a piece for Celtics Hub, Michael Pina weighs the pros and cons of the Celtics offering Avery Bradley an extension before November 1st.

Fab Melo Clears Waivers

September 1st, 2013 at 4:29pm CST by Zachary Links

Big man Fab Melo has cleared waivers after being cut loose by the Grizzlies late last week, a league source tells Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). The Syracuse product was set to earn $1.31MM in 2013/14.

Melo's stint in Memphis didn't last very long as he came over via trade from the Celtics in mid-August. It's still unclear if the Grizzlies intended all along to waive the center after giving up Donte Greene to get him. Ultimately, the move cost the Grizzlies a little bit of cap flexibility but netted them at least $300K in cash as the C's gave them $1.66MM in the swap.

Melo was the 22nd overall pick in the 2012 draft and only appeared in six NBA games for the Celtics in 2012/13. He spent the bulk of the season with Boston's D-League affiliate, averaging 9.8 PPG and 6.0 RPG in 33 games for the Maine Red Claws. Despite his lack of a real professional resume, it wasn't a given that Melo would clear waivers given his size and athleticism.

Grizzlies Waive Fab Melo

August 30th, 2013 at 4:08pm CST by Luke Adams

Just two weeks after acquiring him from the Celtics, the Grizzlies have released big man Fab Melo, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). It's not clear if that was Memphis' plan all along, or whether the team changed its opinion on Melo after trading for him, but either way, his stint with the Grizzlies didn't last long.

In the deal that sent Melo to Memphis and Donte Greene to Boston, the Grizzlies gave up a non-guaranteed salary of about $1.03MM to add a guaranteed $1.31MM salary. However, as Eric Pincus of HoopsWorld tweeted last week, the Celtics also included $1.66MM in cash in the swap. So even though the Grizzlies still take a cap hit for Melo, ownership technically saved a little money in the deal, at the expense of some flexibility.

Assuming Melo isn't claimed on waivers, he'll become an unrestricted free agent, free to sign with any team except the C's. Meanwhile, by cutting him prior to the August 31st deadline, the Grizzlies can use the stretch provision on Melo, allowing the club to stretch his salary payments and cap hit into three equal parts over the next three years.

Of course, it's no given that Melo will clear waivers. As Wojnarowski notes (via Twitter) it's possible that a team with cap space or a trade exception big enough to absorb his salary will take a flier on the young seven-footer, which would take the Grizzlies entirely off the hook for his contract.

Poll: Fab Melo Vs. Tony Wroten

August 23rd, 2013 at 4:51pm CST by Luke Adams

After a busy month of July in which we saw 13 different trades officially consummated, things have slowed down considerably in August, but we've still seen a pair of deals finalized: The Grizzlies acquired Fab Melo from the Celtics for Donte Greene's non-guaranteed contract and cash, then sent Tony Wroten to the Sixers in exchange for a future second-round pick.

Both Melo and Wroten were drafted a year ago, with Melo going 22nd overall and Wroten going three picks later at No. 25. Neither player contributed much in his rookie season, but not much was expected of either guy right away — Melo was considered a raw project, while Wroten entered the NBA at age 19.

Even so, after a year, both players are already on their second NBA teams. The Celtics had to include $1.66MM in cash to move Melo, though that was more a result of the team's proximity to the tax line than an indicator of the big man's worth. Meanwhile, the second-round pick the Grizzlies acquired in the Wroten deal is heavily protected and may never change hands. In other words, two players drafted in the first round were acquired for virtually nothing just one year later.

Of course, not all first-round picks develop into useful NBA rotation players, but it's probably too early to give up on either Melo or Wroten. So today's poll question is this: Which player would you rather roll the dice on? If your favorite team decided to take a flier on one of the two 2012 first-rounders, would you prefer the former Syracuse center or the ex-Washington guard?

Celtics, Grizzlies Swap Fab Melo, Donte Greene

August 15th, 2013 at 11:23am CST by Luke Adams

The Celtics have acquired Donte Greene from the Grizzlies in exchange for Fab Melo and cash considerations, the C's announced today in a press release. Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal first reported that the two sides were working on a deal involving Greene and Melo.

Melo, the 22nd overall pick in last year's draft, only appeared in six NBA games for the Celtics in 2012/13. The Syracuse product spent most of the season with Boston's D-League affiliate, averaging 9.8 PPG and 6.0 RPG in 33 contests for the Maine Red Claws. While he's considered a young big man with raw potential, he's also viewed as a long-term project, and given his lack of significant progress in his rookie season, it seems the Celtics didn't want to wait on him.

By moving Melo's guaranteed rookie-scale contract in exchange for Greene's non-guaranteed minimum salary deal, the Celtics immediately reduce team salary by about $300K, and could shave another $1MM or so off by releasing Greene. Considering Boston was above the tax line by about $780K before the deal, those savings could be crucial.

The Grizzlies should create a trade exception worth Greene's salary ($1,027,424) in the transaction by absorbing Melo using the rest of their Marreese Speights TPE. For Boston, Greene can't be absorbed using the minimum salary exception since he's on a three-year deal, so the C's create a small TPE worth the difference between Melo's salary and Greene's ($283,816).

Both the Grizzlies and Celtics now have 14 guaranteed contracts on their respective rosters. The Grizz will likely add a 15th when they officially announce the signing of Nick Calathes.

Grizzlies, Celtics Talking Fab Melo, Donte Greene

August 13th, 2013 at 9:19pm CST by Luke Adams

The Grizzlies are "working on" a trade that would send Fab Melo to Memphis and Donte Greene to Boston, according to Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal (via Twitter). It's not clear how close the two sides are to an agreement, or whether the deal would include additional pieces.

Melo was selected 22nd overall by the Celtics in 2012's draft, but only appeared in six NBA games in his rookie season. The Syracuse product spent most of the season with Boston's D-League affiliate, averaging 9.8 PPG and 6.0 RPG in 33 contests for the Maine Red Claws. Greene, meanwhile, signed a late-season contract with the Grizzlies that included a non-guaranteed 2013/14 salary. He didn't appear in a game for Memphis.

Melo's and Greene's salaries are close enough that a swap wouldn't require additional players. Under normal circustances, I'd expect Memphis to have to include cash and/or future draft considerations to land a young big like Melo. However, the 23-year-old's underwhelming rookie season, along with the Celtics' proximity to the tax line, should give the Grizz leverage.

If Boston were to move Melo's guaranteed deal, then release Greene's non-guaranteed contract, it would reduce team salary by about $1.3MM — for a rebuilding club currently above the tax threshold by about $78K, those savings could be worth parting with last year's first-round pick.

This post was first published on August 15th at 10:19am CST.

D-League Moves: Jones, Lamb, Liggins, Melo

April 15th, 2013 at 3:12pm CST by Luke Adams

Today's D-League assignments and recalls are listed here, with any additional moves added to the top of the page throughout the day. Our complete list of 2012/13 D-League assignments and recalls can be found right here….

The Thunder have recalled Perry Jones, Jeremy Lamb, and DeAndre Liggins from the Tulsa 66ers, the team announced today in a press release. Unlike Melo's Maine Red Claws, the 66ers won their first-round series in the D-League playoffs, topping the Canton Charge in three games. The OKC trio will rejoin the NBA squad for tonight's game, but perhaps they'll be headed back to Tulsa for the next round of the D-League postseason.

Earlier updates:

The Celtics have recalled rookie center Fab Melo from the D-League, the team announced today in a press release. Melo almost certainly won't be a part of Boston's postseason rotation, but he'll available if needed. The 22-year-old had been playing with the Maine Red Claws for the last several weeks. However, the club was eliminated from the D-League playoffs over the weekend, losing in the first round to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the Rockets' affiliate. Melo averaged 8.5 PPG and 7.5 RPG in Maine's two postseason losses.

Odds & Ends: Hunter, Smart, Larkin

March 21st, 2013 at 11:06pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Here are a few more odds and ends to round up the latest on the Association tonight:

Scott Bordow of AZ Central writes that the interim tag on Lindsey Hunter as the Suns head coach will remain for the rest of the season. GM Lon Babby says that the team will wait until the summer to determine Hunter's future.
Marcus Smart of Oklahoma State suffered a sprain in his right wrist during the team's exit from the NCAA tournament today, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo. Though Smart struggled during the game, one scout maintained that the 6'4" guard is a top 5 prospect and would be "crazy" to not declare for the draft this year (Twitter link). ESPN's Chad Ford tweeted that Smart is still not a lock to leave and is contemplating a return to school next year.
In an ESPN Insider article, Ford says that University of Miami guard Shane Larkin will not make a decision about his future until after the team's season is officially over.
Chris Forsberg of ESPN Boston talks about how rookie center Fab Melo has "come back to earth" a bit after posting up monster numbers in the D-League earlier this year. Though still raw, there is hope that the Celtics' center can use his time in the NBDL to improve his footwork and rebounding.
There are lingering questions about Richard Hamilton being able to return to action for the Bulls this season, notes Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. With regard to the veteran shooting guard's back problems, coach Tom Thibodeau told reporters: "It’s not clearing up right now, so we have to wait.’’
As for Derrick Rose, Sam Smith of Bulls.com says that the waiting game continues as the superstar point guard continues to fuel speculation about his return.
Former Suns front office GM Steve Kerr says that while a return to management is unlikely, he would consider returning to basketball as a college coach (Michael Hiestand of USA Today reports).