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Wolves Waive Jeff Adrien

January 7th, 2015 at 4:05pm CST by Chuck Myron

4:05pm: Adrien has officially been waived, the team announced via Twitter.

2:04pm: The Timberwolves are set to release Jeff Adrien, reports Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link). Adrien is on a non-guaranteed contract, but if Minnesota fails to waive him by 4:00pm Central today, that minimum-salary deal becomes guaranteed for the balance of the season. He’s the only member of the Timberwolves without at least a partial guarantee, and the team has been carrying 15 players, as our roster counts show.

This move would free up a roster spot for Miroslav Raduljica, whom some reports say has a deal with Minnesota, and Wolfson suggests the team has Raduljica in mind as it prepares to cut ties with Adrien (Twitter link).

In 17 games with the Wolves this season, Adrien has averaged 3.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 0.9 assists while logging 12.6 minutes per contest. His career averages are 4.6 PPG, 4.3 RPG, and 0.7 APG. His career slash line is .474/.000/.628.

Western Notes: Wolves, Brewer, Lakers, Pelicans

December 11th, 2014 at 11:08am CST by Chuck Myron

Corey Brewer, a trade candidate, admits that he’s not enamored with the idea of going through a youth-focused rebuild with the Timberwolves, as Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune writes. Brewer can become a free agent at season’s end if he turns down a $4.703MM player option, and the Cavs, Rockets, Clippers and Heat have reportedly held interest in trading for him this season.

“It’s tough for me, I’m not going to lie,” Brewer said. “When I came back here, I wasn’t expecting this, to rebuild again. It comes with the territory. It’s business. It’s basketball. It’s what I love to do. So I wake up every day and I come to work.”

Still, the Wolves are relying heavily on Brewer for now, as we detail amid the latest from around the Western Conference:

The NBA has granted the Wolves a second 10-day period to keep a 16th roster spot via hardship, reports Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune. Minnesota is holding on to Jeff Adrien, whom it signed to fill that spot the first time around, even though the team has a need a point guard, too, where Brewer, a swingman, is playing as the backup. “Let’s face the facts: Corey’s not the ideal point guard,” coach/executive Flip Saunders said. “But if something, heaven forbid, happened to Gorgui [Dieng], we have no center on our roster at all.”
The Lakers are still considering the addition of a wing player to the roster, and they’re still keeping a close eye on Roscoe Smith, according to Shams Charania of RealGM. Smith, who’s playing for the Lakers D-League affiliate, was one of several players whom the Lakers worked out last month.
The Pelicans have once more assigned Russ Smith to the D-League, the team announced via press release. It’s the second time this season that the team has sent Smith to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. His first assignment was a three-day stint that ended Monday.

Wolves Sign Jeff Adrien

November 29th, 2014 at 3:33pm CST by Eddie Scarito

3:33pm: The signing is official, the team announced.

2:36pm: The Timberwolves have signed free agent forward Jeff Adrien, Shams Charania of RealGM reports. Minnesota is inking Adrien using a hardship exception, notes Charania. It had previously been reported that Minnesota president Flip Saunders was considering filing for the hardship exception, and if Adrien is being brought on board, then it’s likely the team has received approval from the league to temporarily add a 16th player to its roster. Terms of the deal were not released, but it is most likely a minimum-salary arrangement.

Minnesota has lost the services of Ricky Rubio, Kevin Martin, Nikola Pekovic, and Ronny Turiaf to injuries. Martin is out six to eight weeks after having wrist surgery, and Rubio isn’t likely to return until January at the earliest after injuring his ankle. Both Pekovic and Turiaf will both be reevaluated next week.

The 28-year-old Adrien has appeared in 136 career games, averaging 4.8 points and 4.3 rebounds per contest. He was in training camp with the Rockets this year prior to being waived, after appearing in 25 games for the Hornets last season.

Rockets Waive Jeff Adrien, Ish Smith

October 27th, 2014 at 10:02am CST by Chuck Myron

The Rockets have waived Jeff Adrien and Ish Smith, the team announced via press release. Shams Charania of RealGM reported overnight that the team would do so with Adrien (Twitter link), adding that Houston was considering Smith or Francisco Garcia for the final cut necessary to take the team’s roster down to the regular season limit of 15. That appears to put rookie Tarik Black on the opening-night roster, as Charania noted, in spite of the lack of a full guarantee on his contract. Adrien and Smith both signed fully guaranteed one-year contracts for the minimum salary with Houston this summer, and the team will be on the hook for them providing they clear waivers.

Smith had held the lead earlier this preseason on fellow point guard Isaiah Canaan, who remains on the roster, but Canaan made a strong push in the past two weeks and the Rockets always felt he had higher long-term potential, tweets Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. Smith has bounced around to six teams in his four NBA seasons, spending last year with the Suns, where he averaged a career-high 14.4 minutes per game.

Adrien is another journeyman coming off perhaps his finest season, one in which he averaged 10.9 points and 7.8 rebounds in 25.2 mintues per game over 28 appearances with the Bucks after they brought him to Milwaukee in a deadline-day trade with Charlotte. It wouldn’t be surprising to see a team claim the power forward off waivers, though that’s just my speculation.

The moves leave the Rockets with 13 fully guaranteed deals plus Black and the non-guaranteed contract of Patrick Beverley. Charania indicated that Black’s contract would be partially guaranteed when he agreed to his deal, though Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders lists the pact as non-guaranteed.

Rockets Sign Jeff Adrien

July 18th, 2014 at 8:43pm CST by Chuck Myron

FRIDAY, 8:43pm: Houston has officially announced the signing (H/T Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle).

TUESDAY, 12:16pm: The Rockets and Jeff Adrien have agreed to a one-year, minimum-salary deal, reports Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle (on Twitter). The 28-year-old power forward split last season between the Hornets and Bucks.

The Aaron Mintz client appeared in eight games for the Rockets during the 2011/12 season, so he joins Joey Dorsey as one-time Rockets returning to the team today. Milwaukee showcased Adrien down the stretch after acquiring him in a deadline trade, and he responded with 10.9 points and 7.8 rebounds in 25.2 minutes per game over 28 appearances down the stretch. Still, there didn’t appear to be that much interest in the 28-year-old who’d otherwise been a bit player during his four-year career.

Adrien would be undersized at center and has never made a three-pointer in his NBA career, so it’s tough to see where he’ll fit in with the Rockets, who like to feature shooters around a single big man. Still, it’s a fairly low-risk signing at the minimum salary for Houston, which receives a player who showed this past season that he has more upside than previously thought.

Southeast Notes: Chalmers, Oden, Hornets

June 11th, 2014 at 6:00pm CST by Charlie Adams

Mario Chalmers has struggled mightily for the Heat lately, but he doesn’t attribute his on-court woes to his looming free agency, reports Sean Deveney of Sporting News. “I am not even thinking about that,” Chalmers said today. “Whatever happens this summer, happens.” Here’s more on Miami and the Southeast:

The Heat are expected to work out Kyle Anderson, C.J. Wilcox, Joe Harris, Jordan Bachynski and Markel Brown, a source tells Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops (Twitter link).
Greg Oden admits he was disappointed at his lack of playing time for the Heat this season, but it won’t discourage him from signing a new contract this summer, be it with Miami or another club, passes along Chris Haynes of Comcast Sportsnet.
Jeff Adrien, whom Charlotte dealt to the Bucks at the trade deadline this year, joined several Hornets veterans for a workout in Charlotte today, notes Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (Twitter link). Adrien becomes an unrestricted free agent in July.
Shabazz Napier and Elfrid Payton auditioned for the Magic today, according to Scotto (Twitter link). Isaiah Sykes also worked out for the club, as Sykes revealed via Twitter (hat tip to Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel).
The Wizards will bring in Billy Baron, Jerrelle Benimon, Justin Cobbs, Josh Huestis, Lamar Patterson, and Davon Usher, the team announced.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Bobcats Acquire Gary Neal

February 20th, 2014 at 4:37pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Bobcats announced that they have acquired Gary Neal and Luke Ridnour from the Bucks in exchange for Ramon Sessions and Jeff Adrien. Marc Stein of ESPN.com (via Twitter) first reported the agreement. NBA: Orlando Magic at Milwaukee Bucks

“We are excited to add a pair of quality players to our backcourt,” Bobcats president Rod Higgins said. “Gary is an exceptional shooter and Luke is a veteran point guard who can help us off the bench. They both have significant postseason experience so they know how to get where we’re trying to go. We look forward to adding them to our rotation. We also want to thank Ramon and Jeff for their contributions and professionalism and wish them the best of luck.”

Charlotte was attempting to talk Milwaukee into the idea that taking Sessions would make it easier for the Bucks to trade Ridnour, and apparently they agreed, simply deciding to fold Ridnour into this deal.

An earlier report suggested Caron Butler and Ben Gordon could be involved in the deal, but that wasn’t the case. The Suns, Kings, Wolves and Thunder were among the teams in the mix for Neal this week, but Charlotte emerged as the most serious suitor today.

Ridnour, a free agent at season’s end, makes $4.42MM, while Neal earns $3.25MM this season and gets the same pay next year. Sessions is on a $5MM expiring deal while Adrien makes the minimum.

Zach Links contributed to this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Players Whose Contracts Will Be Guaranteed

January 7th, 2014 at 3:25pm CST by Luke Adams

As we outlined earlier today, players on non-guaranteed contracts who aren’t released by 4:00pm central time will have their full 2013/14 salaries guaranteed. We’ll be keeping tabs in this post on players who have been informed they’ll remain on their respective teams’ rosters, with new updates added to the top of the list throughout the afternoon:

Barring an unexpected development, the Pacers will guarantee Rasual Butler‘s contract today, tweets Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star.

Earlier updates:

The Timberwolves don’t intend to make any roster moves today, which means the contracts for A.J. Price and Robbie Hummel should become guaranteed, tweets Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune.
As anticipated, the Lakers plan to keep Ryan Kelly, Xavier Henry, and Kendall Marshall, according to Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News (via Twitter).
Ronnie Brewer‘s contract will be guaranteed for the remainder of the season by the Rockets, says Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter).
The Bobcats will retain Jeff Adrien beyond today, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter).
Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com reports (via Twitter) that Chris Douglas-Roberts‘ contract will become guaranteed, as the Bobcats won’t cut him today.
Kent Bazemore is also safe, with the Warriors informing him he’ll remain on the roster, tweets Haynes.
The Spurs have informed Malcolm Thomas that he won’t be waived, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.

Odds & Ends: New York, Hayward, Ellis, Adrien

November 21st, 2013 at 11:06pm CST by Charlie Adams

It’s been a busy day for New York basketball. Fans of both the Nets and Knicks are concerned about the slow starts of their favorite squads, but despite the rumors, we’ve heard that neither Jason Kidd nor Mike Woodson is in danger of getting fired. Justin Terranova of the New York Post sat down with NBA TV’s Greg Anthony and discussed the state of both teams, and while Anthony believes the Nets are in bigger trouble than the Knicks, there’s still plenty of time for both teams to turn their season around.

Here are some miscellaneous notes from Thursday night:

An unnamed GM suspects the Suns will do everything in their power to pry Gordon Hayward away from the Jazz this offseason, tweets NBA TV’s Peter Vecsey. Hayward and the Jazz failed to reach a rookie contract extension before the deadline. The fourth year forward currently earns $3.5MM but should see a big pay raise once he hits restricted free agency this summer.
Dwain Price of the Star Telegram details how the Mavericks’ offseason signing of Monta Ellis has been a critical part of the team’s early season success. Through 12 games, Ellis has been an excellent fit in Dallas’ system, posting a career high 19.5 PER. Coach Rick Carlisle spoke on how impressed he was with the veteran guard: “I thought he was going to be a hard worker and I thought that he was going to be a very talented guy, and he’s been all those things. The thing I really love is how well he continues to adapt to our system and our personnel.“
Jeff Adrien‘s contract is non-guaranteed, but Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer details how the undersized post player is proving in Al Jefferson‘s absence that he might be worthy of a spot on the Bobcats roster.
In a league where sharpshooting big men are becoming increasingly valuable, Michael Kaskey-Blomain of Philly.com discusses why Spencer Hawes‘ impressive skill set fits the 76ers uptempo offense perfectly. Tom Moore of the Burlington County Times reveals how much Brett Brown values Hawes. The seventh-year center’s contract expires at the end of the season.
In his nightly roundup of the NBA, Yannis Koutroupis of HOOPSWORLD examines how Terrence Jones‘ experience in the D-League helped the stretch four develop into a Rockets starter this year. Jones is playing 21 MPG and shooting an impressive 53% on 64 attempts this year.

Players Still Ineligible To Be Traded

January 15th, 2013 at 8:49am CST by Luke Adams

Today is January 15th, which means that a number of players who had been ineligible to be traded until this point are now free to be moved by their respective teams. As Chuck Myron of Hoops Rumors outlined last month, Eric Gordon, Brook Lopez, Kris Humphries, Ersan Ilyasova, and Jeff Green are among the players who weren't eligible to be dealt until today.

However, in addition to rules that keeps players from being traded until December 15th or January 15th, the CBA also includes a stipulation that a team must have a player on its roster for three months before being able to trade him. That means guys who have signed contracts since October 15th are still ineligible to be dealt.

Here are the players who can't be traded quite yet, along with the dates they'll become trade-eligible:

Leandro Barbosa (Celtics): January 18th
Daniel Orton (Thunder): January 31st
Shaun Livingston (Cavaliers): February 15th

Because the trade deadline arrives on February 21st, players signed after November 21st won't become trade-eligible until after the season. Here are the guys who fit that description:

Jeff Adrien (Bobcats)
James Anderson (Rockets)
Patrick Beverley (Rockets)
Daequan Cook (Bulls)
Kevin Jones (Cavaliers)
Mickael Pietrus (Raptors)
Garrett Temple (Wizards)

In addition to recent signees, players who were claimed off amnesty waivers last July are also ineligible to be traded until July 2013. Some amnesty victims, like Andray Blatche, cleared waivers without being claimed and signed new contracts, so they're trade-eligible now, but the following players can't be moved this season:

Elton Brand (Mavericks)
Brendan Haywood (Bobcats)
Luis Scola (Suns)

Finally, players on 10-day contracts, such as Dominic McGuire, Maalik Wayns, and Josh Harrellson, also won't be trade-eligible at any point this season, even if they eventually receive rest-of-season contracts.