Jimmer Fredette

And-Ones: Players Association, Campazzo, Fredette, Neal

Several NBA players and coaches (including Steve Kerr, Stan Van Gundy, Kyle Lowry, and Luol Denghave launched criticisms of President Trump’s executive order banning entry to the U.S. of all refugees. Most recently, the NBA Players Association lent their voice to the conversation, releasing the following statement to members of the press:

“Anything that might compromise our players’ freedom as members of the global basketball community is a cause of concern for the NBPA,” relayed USA Today reporter Jeff Zillgitt. “With that in mind, we have been working diligently to gather all available information regarding the recent executive order on immigration and its potential affects on our players. We’ve also been in regular contact with the players who could be impacted, and we will continue to monitor the situation very closely.”

More from around the league:

  • Facu Campazzo, a 25-year-old star of Liga ACB, plans on transitioning to the NBA, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports. A skilled point guard, Campazzo had a strong 2016 Olympics alongside Manu Ginobili, Wojnarowski notes. Campazzo initially voiced his interest in making the leap to the NBA in September of last year.
  • Former BYU star Jimmer Fredette is thriving for the Shanghai Sharks, regularly tallying 40+ point performances in the CBA. According to Les Carpenter of The Vertical, Fredette had never been to China prior to signing with the Sharks in August of last year. “Obviously, I’m from the USA and the NBA is the greatest league in the world, and if I have the opportunity to play in the NBA that’s where I would love to play,” Fredette said. “But China is a great opportunity. The fans have been great to me, more than I can imagine, especially in such a short amount of time. It’s a good league over there, and there are some changes coming, good changes for the league, and I think there’s an amazing opportunity to make a great living, to make a lot of money.”
  • Gary Neal, whose 10-day contract with Atlanta expired on Friday, has been acquired by Sacramento’s D-League affiliate, the Reno Bighorns, according to Chris Reichert of The Step Back. The Texas Legends acquired Reno’s 2017 4th round draft pick in exchange for the 32-year-old veteran. Neal, who averaged 20.2 MPG in 40 games with the Wizards last season, has appeared in just two NBA games in 2016/17.

And-Ones: Fredette, Alexander, Hunter

Jimmer Fredette, who signed a one-year deal to play for the Shanghai Sharks in China, is disappointed he isn’t playing in the NBA this season, but looks at his overseas trek as the next chapter in his career, Dick Harmon of The Deseret News writes. “I’m anxious to get it started,” Fredette said. “It is very similar to an NBA style of play with the Sharks,” Fredette said. “And in a city three times the size of New York City, it will be a lot of fun. I can’t imagine a city that size after being in New York last year.

The guard hopes his experience overseas will make him a better player and help him land another NBA shot in the future, Harmon relays. “I just want to get better. My goal is to improve everything I do,” Fredette said. “As an American, they want you to go over there and score the basketball, to be free and play your game and try to produce. That’s my game, to be aggressive, to score, make the right play. I think it will continue to grow my confidence and get me prepared for my future.

Here’s more from around the league:

  • Magic training camp signee Cliff Alexander is a decent pick-and-roll player, has good hands and is physical around the rim and in the paint area, NBA.com’s Josh Cohen opines in his analysis of the player. The 20-year-old will compete for one of the remaining two regular season roster spots in Orlando during the preseason.
  • LeBron James, James Jones and Chris Paul have been served with notices of deposition in former NBA players’ union executive director Billy Hunter’s wrongful termination lawsuit against the NBPA, Ethan Sherwood Strauss of ESPN.com reports. Paul is the union president, James serves as vice president and Jones as secretary treasurer. Hunter is suing the NBPA for $10.5 million in addition to attorney’s fees, for compensation he allegedly did not receive after his ouster in February 2013, Strauss notes.
  • The Bulls, who completely overhauled their roster this offseason, could struggle mightily this season if the team is unable to get consistent production from its reserves, Bobby Marks of The Vertical opines in his look back at Chicago’s summer.

Jimmer Fredette To Play In China

6:21pm: Fredette’s deal is for one year and will pay him in excess of $1MM, Ian Begley of ESPN.com tweets.

2:20pm: Five years after being selected 10th overall in the 2011 draft, Jimmer Fredette appears set to take his talents overseas. According to international basketball journalist David Pick (Twitter link), Fredette has agreed to sign with the Shanghai Sharks, the Chinese team owned by former NBA star Yao Ming.

While Fredette’s deal with the Sharks is not yet official, it doesn’t come at a surprise that he has decided to explore international opportunities. After averaging 18.6 minutes per game in his rookie season with the Kings in 2011/12, Fredette has seen his playing time steadily decline since then, as he bounced around from Sacramento to Chicago to New Orleans to New York.

Last season, the former BYU star appeared in just six total games for the Pelicans and Knicks, playing a total of 18 minutes. By heading overseas, Fredette will have a chance to take on a more significant role for a club, rather than battling for a back-end roster spot with an NBA team.

In 235 career NBA games, Fredette has averaged 6.0 PPG and 1.4 APG, shooting a respectable 38.1% on three-point attempts.

Western Notes: Conley, Bogdanovic, Jazz Arena

There is growing concern in the Grizzlies‘ front office that point guard Mike Conley might leave the team in free agency this summer, posts Ian Begley on ESPN Now. The 28-year-old will be the top point guard on the market after spending nine years in Memphis. Begley says Grizzlies part-owner Justin Timberlake will appear in a video presentation trying to convince Conley to remain with the team. Begley presents the item as possible good news for the Knicks, but it’s equally positive for all the teams planning to pursue Conley, and very negative for Memphis, which is hoping to keep the core of its perennial playoff team together. The Grizzlies still have the advantage of being able to offer Conley a five-year contract worth about $124MM, while other teams are limited to four years in the neighborhood of $92MM.

There’s more news from the Western Conference:

  • The Suns will negotiate with 2014 first-round pick Bogdan Bogdanovic now that his Turkish League season is over, according to Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic. This is the last season that Bogdanovic would be required to sign a rookie contract that would give him a salary of about $5.7MM over four years. If he waits until next offseason, Bogdanovic is free to negotiate any amount, starting with his draft year’s rookie salary scale.
  •  A request for $22.7MM in public funding for renovations to Utah’s Vivant Arena was approved today by the Redevelopment Agency of Salt Lake City, writes Jasen Lee of The Deseret News. The money, which will be awarded though tax increment financing over the next 25 years, makes up 18% of the total cost of the proposed $125MM project. It will include safety and security improvements, heating and air conditioning upgrades, a new solar panel system and plaza, concession, seating and premium suite improvements.
  • The Mavericks are planning a free agent camp June 22nd with Arnett Moultrie, Bobby Brown, Dominic McGuire and Nick Minnerath among the players invited, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. Thanasis Antetokounmpo, who played two games for the Knicks this season, also received an invitation but has not confirmed that he will attend the camp (Twitter link).
  • The Spurs will hold a free agent camp Wednesday, Kennedy tweets, with Chris Copeland, Adonis Thomas, Victor Rudd, Scott Suggs, J.J. O’Brien and Darius Adams among those expected to attend.
  • The Timberwolves have had workouts for several veteran free agents, including Jimmer Fredette, Phil Pressey, Marquis Teague, Ryan Boatright, Mike James, Ra’shad James, Mark Lyons and Aaron Craft, tweets international journalist David Pick.

Atlantic Notes: Kilpatrick, Fredette, Schröder

Sean Kilpatrick has impressed since joining the Nets on a 10-day contract and NetsDaily envisions the shooting guard re-signing once his deal expires Tuesday night. The team could opt to sign Kilpatrick to multiyear deal given the 26-year-old’s play during over the last four games, the NetsDaily scribe adds. Kilpatrick is averaging 9.8 points per game while shooting 50% from behind the arc in four games with Brooklyn this season.

Recently hired GM Sean Marks previously expressed his desire to find players for next season via 10-day contracts. The Nets have an open roster spot after agreeing to a buyout with Joe Johnson last week, so signing Kilpatrick would not hinder the team’s ability to add more talent via 10-day deals.

Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Atlantic Notes: Bennett, Fredette, Jackson

Anthony Bennett‘s camp thought the Raptors never gave him the opportunity to develop and feels coach Dwane Casey doesn’t trust young players, Sportsnet’s Michael Grange writes. GM Masai Ujiri acknowledged Bennett didn’t get as much of a chance in Toronto as the Raptors thought he would, and Casey admitted he probably could have done a better job of finding minutes for the former No. 1 overall pick, as Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun notes. Still, Grange contends minutes were available for Bennett had he shown he deserved them and believes that while Bennett went on four D-League assignments, he could have approached them more vigorously. See more from the Atlantic Division, with Bennett poised to come off waivers from Toronto at 4pm Central today:

  • Jimmer Fredette is expected to rejoin the Knicks D-League affiliate now that his 10-day contract with New York is up, reports Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com. The Knicks reportedly have no intention of re-signing the former BYU star to the NBA roster.
  • Knicks team president Phil Jackson hasn’t given any indication that he wants to leave the team, interim coach Kurt Rambis said to reporters, including Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPNNewYork.com (ESPN Now link).
  • Nets GM Sean Marks insists owner Mikhail Prokhorov is on board with a slow rebuild, with Marks telling Brian Lewis of the New York Post that Prokhorov’s willingness to take a patient approach with the roster was clear while he was interviewing for the GM job. The owner reportedly believed as of a few weeks ago that the team could quickly return to contention this summer and said in January that, “I’m sure for the next season, we’ll be, I hope, [a] championship contender.”
  • Marks also spoke of a desire to find players for next season via 10-day deals the rest of the way this year and said that while he’s open to hiring a coach who runs a system unfamiliar to him, he’ll insist on someone he already has a relationship with, as Lewis relays in the same piece.
  • The Celtics assigned rookie R.J. Hunter to the D-League today, the team announced (Twitter link). That’s trip No. 3 for last year’s No. 28 pick.

Latest On Knicks Targets

10:41am: The team won’t re-sign Fredette, league sources told Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com (Twitter link), not long after Berman heard the Knicks weren’t expected to bring him back (Twitter link).

12:20am: The Knicks appear unlikely to re-sign Jimmer Fredette after his 10-day contract expires at the end of Wednesday, and they’ve decided to take a pass on signing Ty Lawson, who’s poised to become a free agent in the wake of his buyout from the Rockets, reports Marc Berman of the New York Post. Lawson is nonetheless one of the team’s “possibilities” for summer free agency, Berman writes.

New York is meanwhile eyeing Ray McCallum, who’s on waivers until 4pm Central time Wednesday following his release from the Spurs, Berman adds, lending some clarity to earlier reports. The Knicks recently met with free agent Tony Wroten, as Frank Isola of the New York Daily News heard.

Fredette scored four points in a brief three-minute cameo Tuesday, just his second appearance for New York since signing February 22nd. The team has a specific interest in young players, coach Kurt Rambis said, so that would help explain the appeal of Wroten, 22, and McCallum, 24, as opposed to the 27-year-old Fredette and 28-year-old Lawson. The Knicks reportedly spoke with the Rockets about trading for Lawson before last month’s deadline, but New York’s playoff hopes have faded as they’ve lost 15 of their last 18 games. The expiration of Fredette’s deal will create a lone open roster spot, with 14 other Knicks signed through season’s end. New York has only the minimum salary to give out to free agents.

Atlantic Notes: Hinkie, Horford, Fredette

One source told Tom Moore of Calkins Media that he believes the Sixers will hire someone new to run day-to-day basketball operations under chairman of basketball ops Jerry Colangelo, bumping GM Sam Hinkie into an analytics-only role, perhaps before the regular season is over. Moore speculates that the new day-to-day front office voice might be Bryan Colangelo, Jerry’s son, and the scribe hears conflicting rumors of whether or not Danny Ferry is a candidate to join the Sixers. Jerry Colangelo recently expressed interest in adding to the team’s front office. While we wait to see the fate of “The Process” in Philly, see more from the Atlantic Division:

  • Part of the reason why the Celtics didn’t make the sort of overwhelming trade offer for Al Horford that the Hawks were reportedly looking for is that the C’s feel they have a legitimate chance to sign him in free agency this summer, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports says in a video report. Chris Mannix of The Vertical earlier identified Atlanta’s interest in the big man.
  • The Knicks are keeping an eye on the players that hit waivers as Tuesday’s de facto buyout deadline nears, with a specific interest in younger players, coach Kurt Rambis said today, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post (Twitter link). Tuesday is the last day players can hit waivers while retaining postseason eligibility. Rambis praised Jimmer Fredette and suggested he’s open to seeing him return on a second 10-day deal, notes Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com (on Twitter), but the coach said that decision rests with management and acknowledged it will be tough for Fredette to see minutes. He’s only played two minutes so far on the 10-day deal that expires after Wednesday.
  • The Celtics have recalled James Young from the D-League, the team announced (Twitter link). He averaged 10.7 points and 4.7 rebounds in three games on his latest D-League stint, which began Thursday.

Atlantic Notes: Stevens, Brown, Smith, Fredette

The Celtics haven’t had any discussions about filling their open roster spot, coach Brad Stevens said Monday night, according to MassLive’s Jay King. Boston is in no rush to sign anyone to fill the vacancy created when team worked a buyout with David Lee, the coach added, but Stevens nonetheless has an idea of what he’d want in a 15th man.

“I think that we’ll continue to look for versatility,” Stevens said. “And we’ll continue to look for shooting if the right people become available, if we feel like it’s a great fit for our team or if we need them based on injuries or whatever the case may be.”

Boston is reportedly eyeing Reggie Evans, though that appears to be a long shot, at best, and he wouldn’t fit the criteria Stevens laid out, as King notes. See more from the Atlantic Division:

  • Tony Brown knows he’s not going to win much as Nets interim coach, but he thinks that if he can make strides in developing the team’s young players, an effort he believes he can achieve in part through a faster tempo, it’ll help his case for his next job, as Brian Lewis of the New York Post relays. It’s unclear whether Brown has a legitimate chance at staying in the Nets head coaching gig beyond this season. “This is not just an audition for [new Nets GM] Sean [Marks]. A lot of teams are looking to see how I’m doing in this position. It’s a résumé-type deal here,” Brown said.
  • Evaluating whether soon-to-be free agent Ish Smith is worth keeping as the starting point guard is one of the key tasks the Sixers face down the stretch of the season, argues Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News, who heard from one rival executive who doubts Smith is any sort of game-changing force.
  • Knicks interim coach Kurt Rambis doesn’t seem enthusiastic about the team’s addition of Jimmer Fredette on a 10-day contract, observes Marc Berman of the New York Post.

Eastern Rumors: Frye, Evans, Fredette

Channing Frye realizes he may not get much playing time with the Cavaliers, Chris Fedor of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer reports. The power forward was acquired in a deadline deal and made his Cleveland debut Monday night, playing nine minutes. “I don’t think they need anything,” Frye told reporters prior to the game. “I think I’m just another option. I like to space the floor and I think I can give guys an opportunity not to get double-teamed. … I know there are All-Stars playing ahead of me so I’m going to have to earn my minutes whenever possible and just be ready.”

In other news around the Eastern Conference:

  • Veteran power forward Reggie Evans will not be joining the Celtics, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com opines (Video link here). The Celtics were reportedly one of the teams interested in signing Evans, who has not played in the league this season. Blakely said that Celtics won’t be filling their open roster spot, created by the release of power forward David Lee, with the 35-year-old Evans. “If you’re thinking you’re going to get that guy, not going to happen,” Blakely said during the team’s pregame broadcast on Monday.
  • Point guard Brandon Jennings admits he’s still not all the way back from the Achilles tendon tear that he suffered last January, according to Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. Jennings, who will be an unrestricted free agent after this season, was traded to the Magic last week along with power forward Ersan Ilyasova while forward Tobias Harris was shipped to the Pistons. “My goal was to get back to that level again — and it still is,” Jennings told Robbins. “So, it’s been a challenging year. Coming off the bench, of course, has been challenging for me. It’s the first time I’ve done it in my career. But I took on the challenge. I’ve accepted it.” The Magic brought in the duo to provide some veteran help to a young nucleus as part of a playoff push, Robbins adds.
  • Interim Knicks coach Kurt Rambis said shooting guard Jimmer Fredette will have to outplay someone over the next 10 days to stay on the roster, Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN New York tweets. Fredette signed a 10-day contract on Monday and played two minutes in the Knicks’ loss to the Raptors on Monday night.