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Jazz To Keep Ian Clark

August 1st, 2014 at 8:36pm CST by Alex Lee

The Jazz will guarantee the 2014/15 contract of second year shooting guard Ian Clark, reports Jody Genessy of the Deseret News. GM Dennis Lindsey indicated earlier today that the team would address the contract situation of the Belmont product, who signed a two-year deal with the Jazz last July that wasn’t guaranteed for the upcoming season. Aaron Falk of the Salt Lake Tribune confirms Genessy’s report (via Twitter). Clark’s salary was set to become fully guaranteed for $816,482 if he wasn’t waived by the end of today, as shown in our schedule of contract guarantee dates.

The Bill Duffy client played in 23 games for the Jazz in his rookie season, averaging three points in 7.5 minutes per game. Clark shuttled between Utah and the D-League for much of the year, where he averaged 12.4 points and 5.6 assists in eight games for the Bakersfield Jam. While he’s only 23, Clark’s minutes figure to remain limited with the Jazz due to a crowded backcourt that already includes Dante Exum, Trey Burke, Gordon Hayward and Alec Burks.

As Genessy reminds us, the Jazz now have 13 players on guaranteed deals entering this season and speculates that they could add one more. In addition to adding Exum and Rodney Hood in the draft, Utah has traded for Steve Novak and signed Trevor Booker this summer. Their most significant move, of course, was retaining highly sought after Hayward, who was a restricted free agent.

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Western Notes: Grizz, Pleiss, Clark, Kings

August 1st, 2014 at 7:56pm CST by Alex Lee

Grizzlies owner Robert Pera indicated that the decision to keep Chris Wallace in charge of the team’s basketball operations had to do with more than just on-court matters, as Pera said today before assembled media, including The Associated Press.

“When you are looking at this team in Memphis, I think you’ve for to look at the general manager in two respects,” Pera said. “One is the basketball performance. The other I’ve learned with Memphis the past couple of years is this idea of community involvement. And everybody loves Chris in Memphis. He is a special person for the Memphis community.”

Here is what else is going on out West:

  • The Thunder made an attempt this summer to bring seven foot German Tibor Pleiss, a 2010 draft-and-stash selection, to the NBA this season but the price of the buyout was ultimately prohibitive, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Oklahoma City will again try to bring the 31st selection of the 2010 draft to the states for the 2015/16 season, a possibility Woj calls “likely”, but the big man will play for FC Barcelona this year. (Twitter links)
  • Making his weekly radio appearance, Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey said that the team has a few things to take care of before deciding on the contract of shooting guard Ian Clark, tweets Jody Genessy of the Deseret News. Clark played 23 games in Utah as a rookie last season after signing a two-year deal with the Jazz last July. His salary for the upcoming season is not guaranteed.
  • After years of frustration, construction finally began Friday on the Kings new arena in Sacramento, writes Dale Kasler of the Sacramento Bee. The agreement on the arena site, facilitated by new owner Vivek Ranadive, was a critical factor in the NBA rejecting the franchise’s relocation to Seattle. The $477MM structure is scheduled to be ready for the 2016/17 season.
  • Back in Sacramento this week, Suns guard Isaiah Thomas provided plenty of juicy quotes to Blake Ellington of Sactown Royalty, indicating that he knew he probably wouldn’t be returning to the Kings when he saw his former team had inked fellow point guard Darren Collison. “When they did that, I knew I wasn’t coming back,” Thomas said. “If you bring in somebody, a draft pick or somebody that’s just not better than me I feel like it is disrespectful. When they picked Darren Collison, I felt like it was time for me to move on.”

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

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Western Notes: Jazz, Warriors, Evans

March 8th, 2014 at 9:15pm CST by Cray Allred

Tim Kawakami of The Bay Area News Group provides an update on the Oakland stadium project that could affect the future of the Warriors. The stadium plans could link Golden State’s fate to that of the NFL’s Raiders and MLB’s Athletics, and Raiders owner Mark Davis is growing frustrated with the city’s slowness in moving them along. Here’s more from around the Western Conference:

  • Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin is planning on opening up playing time for some rarely-used youngsters to see where they are developmentally, per Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune. This is good news for Malcolm Thomas and Ian Clark. Both have rarely been used, and are working on multi-year contracts that aren’t guaranteed beyond this season.
  • Thomas, who has only played in four games with Utah this season, tells Falk that he’s more than ready for the opportunity. “Very anxious,” the power forward said of awaiting his time on the court. “I’ve been working hard on just staying positive and waiting for my turn. It seems like it’s coming now. I just have to be ready when my name is called.”
  • Clark hasn’t seen much more burn than Thomas, averaging 7.9 MPG in 12 appearances. “It’s difficult,” the shooting guard said. “Anybody who’s been in my position would say the same thing. You just find ways to deal with it. My way is to not worry about it and just keep working.”
  • Falk later tweeted that he envisions the two players alternating active spots in the lineup from here on out. Tonight, Thomas was inactive while Clark received a DNP-Coach’s Decision.
  • Former Nets forward Reggie Evans isn’t upset about getting traded away from a playoff contender to the 22-40 Kings, he tells Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. Instead, he’s embracing his role as a veteran mentor for a young team. “At the end of the day, I’m still living out my dream,” Evans said. “We’ve got a good coaching staff that allows me to do my best to bring some leadership in here. I was in that position when I first got in the league where Rashard (Lewis), Gary Payton and Elden Campbell had to be that leader for me. Now it’s like they’ve passed that torch, and now I can be a leader on a young team. I’m the oldest by age and the oldest by years, and they kind of look for that leadership.”
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Western Notes: Cuban, Fredette, J.R. Smith

January 12th, 2014 at 1:00pm CST by Eddie Scarito

With just 39 days left until the trade deadline, the Mavericks say they are cool on the idea of signing Andrew Bynum, writes Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News. It’s not a financial issue, but rather that the team doesn’t need an upgrade at center in the light of the recent play of Samuel Dalembert. That could change if Dalembert cannot maintain consistent production. Team owner Mark Cuban also says the team will be exploring other deals, but he adds that they are restricted by the financial constraints of the collective bargaining agreement. When asked if that meant the “Bank of Cuban” is open, he said: “It’s always been open. Even on Saturdays and Sundays,” and, “We’re always wide-open. We’ll do the deal that we need to do to accomplish what we need to accomplish.”

Some more notes from around the Western Conference:

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D-League Notes: Gobert, Clark, Shengelia

January 11th, 2014 at 4:09pm CST by Charlie Adams

Here are a few points pertaining to the NBA’s D-League:

  • The Jazz are expected to recall rookies Rudy Gobert and Ian Clark from the D-League this weekend, tweets Jody Genessy of Deseret News. The duo spent time playing for the Bakersfield Jam but should rejoin the Jazz sometime today or tomorrow.
  • Tornike Shengelia has been recalled by the Nets, the team announced. Shengelia, who had been playing with the Springfield Armor, has played sparingly throughout his career after being selected late in the 2012 draft by the 76ers. So far for this season, Shengelia has averaged 8.4 MPG in 15 contests for Brooklyn.
  • Benjamin Hoffman of the New York Times takes a look at how a couple of former D-League players, Jon Leuer and Ed Davis, have been able to be productive for the Grizzlies. With Marc Gasol sidelined, the two big men have gained valuable experience by playing more minutes than they would have otherwise.
  • Earlier today, we passed along that the Hawks had officially signed James Nunnally to a 10-day contract. Nunnally caught Atlanta’s attention after a strong showing in this year’s D-League Showcase where he earned a spot as a member of the All-Showcase Second Team.
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D-League Notes: Gobert, Clark, T’Wolves

January 4th, 2014 at 10:58am CST by Zachary Links

Today’s look at the D-League..

  • The Spurs announced that they have recalled guard Nando De Colo from the Austin Toros of the D-League.  De Colo made his fifth appearance for the Toros this season Friday evening helping Austin to a 122-97 home victory over the Texas Legends finishing with 21 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds and 4 steals.  For now, teammate Malcolm Thomas remains in Austin.
  • Jazz players Rudy Gobert and Ian Clark will be staying in L.A. following last night’s game against the Lakers because they’re both being assigned to the D-League once more, tweets Jody Genessy of the Deseret News.
  • The T’Wolves are giving some thought to purchasing a D-League team, writes Andy Greder of the Pioneer Press.  “Eventually that might be something that we want to do, where we have a team where we can send (players) back and forth,” president of basketball operations Flip Saunders said.  The Wolves plan on sending Shabazz Muhammad to their shared affiliate in Des Moines, Iowa.  It’ll be their first D-League assignment since 2011/12.
  • Brandon Parker of the Washington Post wonders what kind of impact it will have on the D-League if Celtics star Rajon Rondo is sent down to rehab from injury.  Having household names rehab on a farm team would increase the D-League’s exposure and attendance.  It also, of course, would give NBA players a great way to ease back into regular action.
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D-League Moves: Jazz, Spurs, Nets

December 21st, 2013 at 3:58pm CST by Chuck Myron

Today marks the end of the first month of the D-League season, and so far 13 NBA teams have sent players on assignment, as our tracker shows. Four of those 13 made moves involving seven players today, as we detail:

  • Ian Clark and Rudy Gobert are back from their D-League assignments, the Jazz announced. Utah sent both to the Bakersfield Jam a week ago, and Gobert had the more impressive performance, averaging 14.0 points, 13.0 rebounds and 4.3 blocks over three games.
  • The Spurs have sent Nando De Colo and Malcolm Thomas to the D-League, according to the team. De Colo is making his third trek to the Austin Toros this season, while Thomas, whom the Spurs signed less than three weeks ago, heads to Austin for the second time.
  • Tyshawn Taylor and Tornike Shengelia are back on D-League assignment, the Nets announced. Both second-year players are familiar with the Springfield Armor, having spent time there last season and during training camp this year.
  • The Warriors recalled Nemanja Nedovic from the D-League today, as we noted earlier.
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Odds & Ends: Thibodeau, Lowry, Jazz, Bobcats

December 14th, 2013 at 7:35pm CST by Zachary Links

Despite some speculation to the contrary, Joe Cowley of the Sun-Times insists that Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau isn’t going anywhere. It was recently reported that the Knicks could make a run at the defensively-minded coach.  More from around the Association..

  • With the Nets unwilling to give up a first-round pick for Kyle Lowry and the Knicks saying they won’t part with a first rounder or Tim Hardaway Jr., Al Iannazone of Newsday (on Twitter) wonders if the Knicks will wind up caving.
  • The Jazz announced that they have assigned rookie guard Ian Clark and rookie center Rudy Gobert to its D-League affiliate, the Bakersfield Jam. Gobert, a 7’1″ rookie center has made 17 appearances for the Jazz in a reserve role, averaging 2.2 points, 4.6 rebounds and 0.82 blocks in 10.7 minutes. Clark, 22, has appeared in eight games as a reserve for the Jazz, averaging 2.8 points in 8.8 minutes.
  • The accountability of first-year coach Steve Clifford sets a good tone for the Bobcats, writes Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer.
  • Blazers forward Dorell Wright doesn’t sound terribly upset about the Sixers‘ decision to not re-sign him.  “You see what direction they were going in. That was not in my plan at all,” said Wright, according to Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer (via Twitter).
  • Magic officials have challenged Andrew Nicholson to become more physical since taking him with the 19th overall pick in the 2012 draft and he’s finally responding, writes Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel.
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Western Rumors: Evans, Jazz, Nuggets

October 5th, 2013 at 9:53pm CST by Spencer Lund

New Pelicans wing Tyreke Evans landed hard on his left ankle tonight during their preseason game against the Rockets. John Reid of Times-Picayune reports that he was helped off the court. 

Fellow Times-Picayune beat reporter Jimmy Smith tweets that X-Rays were negative on Evans' left ankle. But the team will do an MRI later tonight to be sure there's no structural damage. Evans signed with the Pelicans after a three-team trade involving the Blazers and Kings in July.

Here's more from around the West as preseason games started today…

  • Bill Oram of the Salt Lake Tribune tweets that Jazz guard Ian Clark has been underwhelming in training camp. The undrafted rookie performed spectacularly for the Heat and Warriors in summer league, winning the summer league championship MVP in Vegas.
  • The Jazz signed Clark to a partially guaranteed two-year minimum deal with the Jazz. Still, he's been pressing, Oram adds in a tweet. Though the Salt Lake Tribune scribe doesn't believe he'll be waived (Twitter).
  • Oram continued to update on the Jazz training camp roster tonight, tweeting that with Marvin Williams and Brandon Rush hurt, many believe the Jazz will keep 15 on their roster with Scott Machado or Lester Hudson likely to claim one of the remaining spots for opening night.
  • JaVale McGee and Kenneth Faried must improve their one-on-one defense as stressed by new Nuggets coach Brian Shaw, writes Benjamin Hochman in his mailbag column for the Denver Post.

Read more

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Contract Details: Jennings, Grizzlies, Henderson

August 3rd, 2013 at 3:28pm CST by Chuck Myron

Details are often scarce when free agents agree to sign with NBA teams, leaving reporters to gather many of the contract specifics later. That's what HoopsWorld's Eric Pincus has done throughout the summer, and last night he passed along information on a handful of players, as we detail below. All links go to HoopsWorld team salary pages. 

  • Brandon Jennings will make precisely $24MM in the sign-and-trade deal that sent him to the Pistons, with a starting salary of $7,655,503.
  • The Grizzlies gave Mike Miller a one-year deal for the veteran's minimum, while their second-round pick, Jamaal Franklin, is making slightly more than the rookie minimum this season on his three-year contract. Pincus also has the figures for Jon Leuer's three-year deal.
  • Gerald Henderson will make $6MM in each season of his three-year, $18MM deal with the Bobcats.
  • Timofey Mozgov's starting salary on his new three-year deal is $4.4MM, with raises in subsequent seasons.
  • Bucks second-round pick Nate Wolters, the 38th overall selection, gets a little more than the minimum salary as part of his three-year deal. The first two seasons are fully guaranteed.
  • The Jazz gave summer league sensation Ian Clark a two-year, partially guaranteed deal for the minimum salary. 
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