Jamaal Franklin

Spurs Work Out Jamaal Franklin

Former Grizzlies shooting guard Jamaal Franklin has spent the last few days working out for the Spurs in San Antonio, reports Jabari Young of the San Antonio Express-News (Twitter link). The 41st overall pick from last year’s draft is tight with fellow former San Diego State standout Kawhi Leonard, who’s up for an extension to his rookie scale contract this fall, as Young points out in a second tweet.

Franklin became a free agent earlier this month after Memphis waived him and spread out his salary using the stretch provision. The 6’5″ shooting guard made nearly as many appearances in the D-League as a rookie as he did in the NBA, where he averaged 1.9 points in 7.7 minutes per game across 21 contests with Memphis. Still, he remains an intriguing prospect just one year removed from having been selected near the top of the second round.

San Antonio has reportedly been setting up workouts with several veterans of late, including Hakim Warrick and Julyan Stone, and they’ve also shown interest in Ray Allen, Gustavo Ayon and Ryan Hollins. They’re apparently open to sign-and-trade possibilities for restricted free agent Aron Baynes, though they seemed to maintain a level of interest throughout the summer in re-signing him. The Spurs have fully guaranteed deals with 14 players, as our roster counts show, leaving one open spot for the regular season roster.

Grizzlies Waive Jamaal Franklin

5:07pm: Franklin has been waived, the team confirmed via press release.

3:31pm: The Grizzlies waived Jamaal Franklin today using the stretch provision, Ronald Tillery of the Commercial Appeal reports (Twitter link). Franklin had two years remaining on his contract, with a salary of $816,482 for next season, and $947,276 for 2015/16 which was non-guaranteed. By using the stretch provision, Memphis can now spread his guaranteed salary for this coming season evenly over the next five years, as well as his cap hit.

The second-year guard out of San Diego State was the No. 41 overall pick by Memphis in the 2013 NBA Draft. In his rookie season, Franklin split time between the Grizzlies and the NBA D-League. In 21 NBA games, Franklin averaged 1.9 PPG, 1.1 RPG, and 0.3 APG. His slash line was .410/.455/1.000.

This move leaves the Grizzlies with 15 players on their preseason roster, 14 of whom have guaranteed contracts.  The Grizzlies needed to waive Franklin prior to September 1st or they would have been forced to pay him his full salary during the 2014/15 season.

Western Rumors: Jackson, Redick, Franklin

If the Clippers beat the Suns tonight, they will clinch the Pacific Division title. Here’s more from out west:

  • Marc Stein of ESPN.com writes that Warriors coach Mark Jackson has a uniquely loyal roster in Golden State, and that Warriors brass ought to be very convinced his weaknesses are insurmountable before choosing to part ways with the third-year coach. Stein believes that the most important factor for an NBA coach’s success, other than a talented roster, is player buy-in. Star point guard Steph Curry is adamant that he supports Jackson, and Stein warns that there’s no guarantee a new coach with a winning pedigree could earn the same level of commitment from the Warriors locker room.
  • The Grizzlies have recalled Jamaal Franklin from their D-League affiliate per a team release. The rookie has been sent back and forth between the NBA and D-League a handful of times this season, averaging 1.5 points and 1.1 rebounds in 7.9 minutes per contest in his 19 games with Memphis.
  • J.J. Redick is planning on returning for one of the Clippers next three home games, sources tell Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com (Twitter link). Redick has been out with a bulging disc long enough to raise the question of whether he could miss the rest of the season.
  • Rockets coach Kevin McHale told reporters including Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle that Houston’s staff will miss Kelvin Sampson. “He’s had success wherever he’s been. We’ll all miss him. He’s been a great addition,” said McHale. Sampson was hired by the University of Houston and will leave the Rockets after tonight’s game. Sampson himself had no comment on his departure.

Southwest Notes: Granger, Grizzlies, Spurs

The Southwest Division, where four out of five teams could make the playoffs, is abuzz today. The Rockets and Spurs are jostling at the top of the Western standings, and have both been linked to Danny Granger, who could be the biggest buyout prize this year. The Mavs are also rumored to be in on Granger, and they’re bumping shoulders at the bottom of playoff contention with the Grizzlies, who claimed Beno Udrih off waivers today. Here’s some more from what should remain one of the more interesting divisions this year:

  • Ramona Shelburne of ESPN Los Angeles seconded earlier reports that the Spurs, Rockets, and Mavs all have a shot at Granger (Twitter link).
  • Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger told reporters before tonight’s game, including Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal, that he won’t address newly acquired Udrih until tomorrow (Twitter link).
  • The Grizzlies are a game and a half out of the playoffs this season after former coach Lionel Hollins took them to the Western Conference Finals last year, but CEO Jason Levien has no regrets about hiring new coach Dave Joerger. Levien made his comments in an appearance on Sports 56 WHBQ radio in Memphis, as Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal notes (Twitter link). “I feel better about the decision today than I did in June or July,” Levien said. “He’s been terrific.”
  • The Grizzlies have assigned Jamaal Franklin D-League, the team announced. The 41st pick in the draft this past June hasn’t started in any of his three appearances with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, an affiliate Memphis shares with five other NBA teams.
  • Spurs coach Gregg Popovich tells Jeff McDonald of San Antonio Express-News that the team hasn’t yet been active in the buyout market, but is ready when the opportunity arrives: “Like everyone else we’re looking at all the names. If we see there’s a body there we think can help us we’ll try to do it, but we haven’t done anything to this point.” The Spurs are reportedly one of the front-runners for Danny Granger’s services once the short-timer Sixers guard clears waivers.
  • Metta World Peace is one player in the buyout market the Spurs are not interested in, according to Jeff McDonald of San Antonio Express-News (Twitter link). The former Ron Artest was reportedly interested in San Antonio as a landing spot, but the interest apparently isn’t mutual.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

D-League Notes: De Colo, Franklin, McCallum

A look at today’s D-League assignments and recalls..

  • Nando De Colo was recalled from the Austin Toros, the Spurs announced.  The guard, who has been assigned to Austin five times this season, has appeared in eight D-League contests, averaging 23.3 points, 6.1 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 2.75 steals in 37.1 minutes. He has appeared in 12 games this season for the Spurs, averaging 1.8 points, 1.3 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 7.0 minutes.
  • The Grizzlies announced they have recalled guard Jamaal Franklin from theirD-League affiliate, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants.  Franklin has averaged 10.3 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 24.3 minutes in three games through two assignments with Fort Wayne.
  • Kings rookie guard Ray McCallum may have set a new record for quickest D-League assignment and recall.  After being assigned to the Reno Bighorns this afternoon, he’s already back up and available for Sacramento’s game tonight against the Cavs.
  • The Thunder announced that Andre Roberson has been recalled from the Tulsa 66ers.  Roberson was sent down on Friday after he put up five points and six boards against the Nuggets the night before.

D-League Moves: Fesenko, Hairston, Nedovic

The Sixers recalled Lorenzo Brown from the D-League this morning, about 24 hours after assigning him to the Delaware 87ers, and that was just the first of several notable D-League transactions today. Let’s round up a few more….

  • Former NBA veteran Kyrylo Fesenko has been claimed by those Delaware 87ers, the team announced (Twitter link). Fesenko hasn’t played in the NBA since appearing in a few games with the Pacers in 2011/12, having caught on with multiple teams overseas since then. Gino Pilato of D-League Digest first reported last weekend that the ex-Jazz center had entered the D-League player pool.
  • Former North Carolina guard P.J. Hairston has filed the paperwork to join the D-League, as he tells Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. Hairston’s NCAA basketball career ended when UNC decided not to seek his reinstatement following an investigation into potential rule violations. Hairston will be eligible for the 2014 draft, so no NBA teams will be able to call him up this season.
  • The Warriors have recalled Nemanja Nedovic from the Santa Cruz Warriors, according to a press release from Golden State. Nedovic, on his fourth assignment of the season, was sent to Santa Cruz nearly two weeks ago, but didn’t play much this time around after tweaking his hamstring last weekend.
  • Andre Roberson will head to the Tulsa 66ers on his second D-League assignment of the season, the Thunder announced today in a release. The assignment comes on the heels of perhaps the strongest showing of Roberson’s young NBA career — he scored five points and grabbed six boards in Denver last night.
  • The Grizzlies have re-assigned Jamaal Franklin to the D-League, the team announced today in a press release. Franklin played one game for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants during his last assignment, recording 15 points and four steals.

Western Notes: Pelicans, Harris, Franklin

Ryan Anderson will be out indefinitely with a herniated disk, the Pelicans announced today (link via Jim Eichenhofer of Pelicans.com). Anderson has been mentioned in a few trade rumors, but didn’t seem likely to be moved this season. Still, if he’s expected to miss a significant amount of time, it could have an impact on New Orleans’ roster decisions before the trade deadline. The team is currently carrying 14 players, leaving one opening available.

Here’s more from the NBA’s better half:

  • After indicating last night that the Thunder were researching D-League standout Manny Harris, Sam Amick of USA Today follows up by tweeting that Harris had an interview with members of OKC’s front office this week, as the team does its due diligence.
  • The Grizzlies have recalled Jamaal Franklin from the D-League, the team announced today in a press release. Franklin was assigned to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants on Sunday, and played with the team yesterday in Reno as part of the 2014 D-League Showcase.
  • Dewayne Dedmon was released by the Warriors earlier this season, but Golden State still has interest in bringing him back, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports, adding that Dedmon is meeting with three NBA clubs in Reno today.

Odds & Ends: Gasol, Muhammad, Burke

Pau Gasol has been in trade rumors for years, and he’s once more bracing for the possibility that the Lakers could ship him away, as he tells Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News.

“I’m ready for it,” Gasol said. “I can’t control what they’re going to do as a team. But I’m going to try to play as well as I can for as long as I’m here. If I’m somewhere else, I’ll try to continue to do that.”

We figure to have at least some resolution to the latest Gasol saga today, and in the meantime, here’s more from around the league:

  • With Shabazz Muhammad headed to the D-League and Trey Burke of the Jazz the reigning Western Conference Rookie of the Month, Timberwolves boss Flip Saunders says it’s still too early to judge the result of their draft night swap. The Wolves officially sent Shabazz Muhammad to the Iowa Energy today, according to a press release. Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune originally reported the move Friday.
  • Matt Moore of CBSSports.com breaks down the game of potential No. 1 pick Joel Embiid.
  • D.J. Kennedy is headed to Israel to play for Hapoel Holon, Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia reports. The swingman was in camp with the Mavs this fall and played with Gravelines in France earlier this season. Italy’s Reggio Emilia was also reportedly interested.
  • The Grizzlies have assigned Jamaal Franklin to the D-League, the team announced. The 41st overall pick this past June has averaged just 9.2 minutes in 14 games for Memphis this year. I identified him earlier this week as a player who could see time in the D-League.

Odds & Ends: Trades, Bucks, Pelicans, Grizzlies, Kings

With the young NBA season already containing two trades; it appears many more will be on the way in the near future. A few notes regarding potential trades and other league notes:

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Contract Details: Jennings, Grizzlies, Henderson

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