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Northwest Notes: Aldridge, Faried, Durant

September 29th, 2015 at 6:00pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Trail Blazers owner Paul Allen said that the team has moved on from the loss of LaMarcus Aldridge to the Spurs this summer, and that he is excited for what the future holds for the franchise, Joe Freeman of The Oregonian relays. When asked if he felt betrayed by Aldridge, Allen said, “No. I think LaMarcus had a lot of options. We went down to Dallas, [GM] Neil [Olshey] and I pitched him and he chose to go a different direction. We made it to his last few choices and he was good enough to call me up and explain his decision and all that. It’s tough for a franchise, because we were all thinking that we had a real shot at getting him back. But in the end, he chose to go a different direction and now it’s a new day. We’ve moved on and I think you can feel the excitement and the energy in the gym now.”

Allen said he enjoys the process of developing younger players, which makes the team’s current transitional period easier on him, Freeman adds. “It’s always a transition. I’m always trying to figure out how many times we’ve done a rebuild here. I think three. But you guys will probably correct me on that, I’m sure. I probably, more than a lot of owners, enjoy seeing young players develop. Always have. Always will. And that’s also been a hallmark of other teams like the Seahawks that I’ve been involved with. So seeing young players develop and I think if you watch some of the players that Neil has brought in here, we’ve been very lucky to be able to bring those in and be able to pivot from being a playoff team to being a team that’s going through a transition to hopefully being back in the playoffs before too long. So we’ll see.”

Here’s more from the Northwest Division:

The deals that Talib Zanna, Dez Wells, and Julyan Stone signed with the Thunder are all one-year, minimum salary arrangements that include no guaranteed salary, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets.
Omari Johnson‘s pact with the Blazers is a one year deal for the league minimum and includes no guaranteed salary, Pincus relays (via Twitter).
Difficulties between Kenneth Faried and former coach Brian Shaw negatively impacted the forward’s performance for the Nuggets last season, Mark Kiszla of The Denver Post writes. “If you don’t have a coach that believes in you, then what’s the point of going out there and playing?” Faried said. “If your coach doesn’t have faith in you and puts you out in the fire against all these great players, you’re going to get torched.“
Kevin Durant is a fan of new Thunder coach Billy Donovan, Anthony Slater of the Oklahoman tweets. Of Donovan, Durant said, “Great basketball mind, but more importantly, a better person. We’ve hit it off.” With Durant eligible to become an unrestricted free agent next summer, any added incentive for him to remain in Oklahoma City is certainly a boon for the franchise.
After a breakout season in 2014/15 for the Jazz, Gordon Hayward needs to become a better closer at the end of games in order to take his next step forward as a star player, Aaron Falk, Tony Jones and Steve Luhm of The Salt Lake Tribune write.

Northwest Notes: Mudiay, Nuggets, Aminu, Stone

September 27th, 2015 at 12:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

Rookie guard Emmanuel Mudiay will be in charge of the Nuggets‘ offense from the first day of training camp, according to Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. The Nuggets are counting on the 19-year-old Mudiay to usher in a new era after trading Ty Lawson over the summer. Veteran Jameer Nelson is still on hand to mentor Mudiay, who is expected to become the second rookie point guard in Nuggets history to start on opening night. “I’m just trying to learn from the old heads. Everything that they can feed off, I’m going to just take it in,” Mudiay said. “That’s just what I’m going to do because they’re going to help me be me, if that makes sense.”

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

After a summer of change, Nuggets GM Tim Connelly believes the franchise has a “fully committed locker room,” Dempsey writes in a separate story. Apart from drafting Mudiay and dealing Lawson, Denver brought in an all-new coaching staff and welcomed back executive Pete D’Alessandro. “I like the fact that we have a bunch of guys here that don’t just care about the team but care about the city,” Connelly said. “They’ve chosen to be here despite being coveted by other markets that might be painted bigger markets.”
Al-Farouq Aminu has the talent to develop into a double-double threat, according to Joe Freeman of The Oregonian. The Blazers signed Aminu over the summer to be their starting small forward after trading Nicolas Batum to Charlotte. Although Aminu doesn’t possess Batum’s shooting skills, Freeman believes his defensive ability and rebounding desire will make him a valuable part of Portland’s lineup.
The Thunder’s $981K minimum deal with Julyan Stone is a non-guaranteed summer contract, tweets Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders.

Thunder Officially Ink Three For Camp

September 25th, 2015 at 4:43pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Thunder officially announced the signings of Dez Wells, Julyan Stone, and Talib Zanna via a press release. Zanna’s deal is reportedly a one-year deal for the league minimum that includes no guaranteed salary. The length and terms of the deals for Wells and Stone have not been reported, but it would be surprising if the terms were different from Zanna’s. Oklahoma City enters training camp with a roster count of 18 players.

Wells had previously been extended a training camp invite by the Wizards, as well as by five other unnamed teams. He reportedly turned down Washington’s offer because they already possess 15 players on guaranteed pacts, and he wanted better odds at landing a regular season roster spot. In 28 appearances during his senior season with the Terrapins, Wells averaged 15.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 2.8 assists to go along with a slash line of .464/.510/.806.

Stone, 26, saw his last NBA action come during the 2013/14 campaign when he appeared in 21 contests for the Raptors and averaged 0.9 points in 5.7 minutes per game. His NBA career has also includes parts of two seasons spent with the Nuggets. Stone’s career NBA numbers overall are 1.3 PPG, 1.0 RPG, and 1.1 APG to go along with a slash line of .440/.211/.722. The 6’6″ guard spent the 2014/15 season playing for Umana Reyer Venezia of Italy.

Zanna, who turns 25 in October, split summer league between the Thunder and Cavs, putting up 6.0 points and an efficient 4.7 rebounds in 15.7 minutes per game. Indeed, at 6’9″, he showed a touch on the boards in the D-League this past year, pulling down 11.0 RPG to go with 13.3 PPG in 27.7 MPG. It’s a skill he didn’t show as much of in college, where he topped out at 8.6 RPG in 30.3 MPG as a senior.

Thunder To Sign Julyan Stone

September 23rd, 2015 at 7:49pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Thunder have agreed to a deal with unrestricted free agent shooting guard Julyan Stone, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports reports (Twitter link). The length and terms of the pact are unknown, though it’s likely a minimum salary training camp deal, but that is merely my speculation.

Stone, 26, saw his last NBA action come during the 2013/14 campaign when he appeared in 21 contests for the Raptors and averaged 0.9 points in 5.7 minutes per game. His NBA career has also includes parts of two seasons spent with the Nuggets. Stone’s career NBA numbers overall are 1.3 PPG, 1.0 RPG, and 1.1 APG to go along with a slash line of .440/.211/.722. The 6’6″ guard spent the 2014/15 season playing for Umana Reyer Venezia of Italy.

The addition of Stone will give the Thunder a roster count of 18 players, including 15 with fully guaranteed deals, thus making it a long shot for Stone to make the regular season roster. OKC may have designs on having him play for its D-League affiliate, though that is just speculation on my part.

Eastern Notes: Butler, Wizards, Maxiell, Inglis

October 24th, 2014 at 3:59pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Bulls and Jimmy Butler are “millions apart” in extension talks, according to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune, and while the precise gap is unclear, it’s not uncommon for sides to be as far apart as the Bulls and Butler are even a week before the extension deadline, Johnson writes. The team and Butler’s representatives at Relativity Sports this week had their first extensive talks in awhile, Johnson adds. Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:

The Wizards recently tried to pry Julyan Stone out of his contract with Reyer Venezia of Italy, reports Shams Charania of RealGM (on Twitter). The point guard has an escape clause in the pact, according to Charania, who suggests that Stone would be disinclined to leave the team since he’s seeing heavy playing time. It’s unclear if the Wizards maintain interest after signing John Lucas III earlier this week.
Jason Maxiell will remain with the Hornets on opening night in spite of his non-guaranteed contract, coach Steve Clifford confirmed today to reporters, including Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (Twitter link).
Bucks rookie Damien Inglis will miss at least another six weeks because the right foot he broke during a predraft workout for the Thunder has not healed, tweets Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The Bucks drafted Inglis 31st overall in June. His deal is guaranteed for this season.

Julyan Stone Signs To Play In Italy

September 12th, 2014 at 8:33am CST by Chuck Myron

Point guard Julyan Stone has signed with Reyer Venezia of Italy, the team announced (translation via Sportando’s Armando Caporaso). The news is surprising, since a half-dozen NBA teams had reportedly shown interest of late and Stone had apparently fielded a couple of lucrative offers from China. It’s possible that the Italian deal includes some sort of escape clause that would allow him to latch on somewhere else for camp, but that’s not immediately clear, and it seems most likely that the 25-year-old who’s spent the past three years in the NBA won’t be in the league when the 2014/15 season begins.

Reports have indicated that the Spurs, Lakers, Cavs, Clippers and Heat have all been on Stone’s workout agenda in the past couple of weeks, and the Kings looked like they were in the running for him, too. The Raptors cut Stone in July rather than guarantee his minimum salary for the season, though it appeared Toronto had interest in signing him to a new deal once he cleared waivers. He was reportedly in talks with the Sixers, Bucks and Kings around the same time, too, but chatter surrounding the Giovanni Funiciello client dried up until late August.

Raptors GM Masai Ujiri signed the former UTEP Miner to both of his NBA deals, the first coming when Ujiri was in charge of the Nuggets front office. Injury helped keep Stone from seeing much action the past three years, but when he has been available to play, his teams haven’t often called upon him, and he’s averaged just 1.3 points and 1.1 assists in 7.0 minutes per game across 47 appearances for his NBA career.

The addition of Stone makes up for Reyer Venezia’s loss of fellow NBA veteran Lorenzo Brown, whose deal with the team was voided after he failed his physical.

Cavs To Work Out Julyan Stone

September 6th, 2014 at 10:45am CST by Eddie Scarito

The Cavaliers are bringing in free agent Julyan Stone for workouts on Tuesday and Wednesday, Chris Haynes of the Plain Dealer reports (Twitter link). Stone has also worked out twice for the Lakers, and has drawn interest from the Clippers, Heat, and Kings, plus has reportedly received two offers to play in China. The market has recently taken shape for Stone, who’s been without a deal for roughly two months after the Raptors let him go in July, shortly before his minimum-salary contract was to have become fully guaranteed.

The Cavs currently have 17 players on their preseason roster, with twelve of those deals being guaranteed, assuming Shawn Marion‘s pact is one of them. If Stone is signed he will compete for minutes backing up Kyrie Irving with John Lucas III and Matthew Dellavedova.

The 6’6″, 25 year-old has been in the league for three seasons after going undrafted out of UTEP. Stone’s career averages are 1.3 PPG, 1.0 RPG, and 1.1 APG. His career slash line is .440/.211/.722.

Several NBA Teams Eye Julyan Stone

September 5th, 2014 at 11:06am CST by Chuck Myron

Free agent Julyan Stone has workouts scheduled with the Lakers, Cavs, Clippers and Heat, and the Kings are in the mix for the point guard as well, reports Shams Charania of RealGM. The Lakers audition will be his second with the team, Charania notes via Twitter. Stone had been set to work out for the Spurs, and he did so this week, while two Chinese teams have floated lucrative offers for the 25-year-old, as Charania details.

The market seems to have quickly accelerated for the Giovanni Funiciello client who’s been without a deal for nearly two months after the Raptors let him go in July, shortly before his minimum-salary contract was to have become fully guaranteed. It appeared at the time that there was a decent chance the Raptors would sign him back on a new deal, as Charania reported then, but Toronto doesn’t appear to be in the hunt at this point.

Each of the four clubs that Charania links to Stone in his most recent report appear to have the roster flexibility necessary to provide a clear path to the opening night roster. The Heat have only 11 fully guaranteed deals, and the Cavs do as well, although Shawn Marion will presumably have a full guarantee on his contract once he signs, and one of Cleveland’s partially guaranteed contracts belongs to Anderson Varejao. The Kings have 12 fully guaranteed deals, but they’ve agreed to trade Jason Terry, who has one of them, to the Rockets, likely for non-guaranteed salary in return. The Clippers and Lakers have 13 full guarantees apiece. The Spurs have 14 full guarantees and three partial guarantees, but they can offer more money than any of the other clubs, since they still have their $5.305MM non-taxpayer’s mid-level exception available. The Kings have their $2.077MM biannual exception, while Stone’s remaining suitors are limited to the minimum salary.

Spurs To Work Out Julyan Stone

August 27th, 2014 at 3:18pm CST by Chuck Myron

Free agent point guard Julyan Stone will be auditioning with the Spurs soon, reports Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). The 25-year-old Stone has been on the market since the Raptors cut him loose last month.

The Sixers, Bucks and Kings were discussing potential deals with Stone last month, as was Toronto, which envisioned bringing him back, as Charania reported then. The RealGM scribe reiterates today that Stone has engaged in talks with teams other than the Spurs, but it’s unclear if any of the clubs from last month are still in the mix. Stone has played sparingly over his three NBA seasons, never averaging more than the 8.1 minutes per game he saw as a rookie, but he appeared to be a favorite of Raptors GM Masai Ujiri, who brought Stone with him when he left the Nuggets for Toronto.

The Spurs have been active in their preparations for camp of late. This week the team signed Josh Davis, a power forward from San Diego State, and a report from last week indicated that Hakim Warrick was one of multiple free agents set to work out for the team. Summer leaguer Denzel Bowles is also apparently set to audition for San Antonio.

Raptors Waive Julyan Stone

July 9th, 2014 at 8:22pm CST by Chuck Myron

8:22pm: In addition to the new teams mentioned, the Raptors remain a possibility to sign Stone, per Charania.

WEDNESDAY, 5:53pm: Stone has cleared waivers and is now discussing a possible deal with the Sixers, Bucks, and Kings, a league source tells Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). Presumably, any deal would slot Stone on a team’s training camp roster and be partially or non-guaranteed, although that’s just my speculation at this point.

MONDAY, 2:49pm: The Raptors have waived point guard Julyan Stone, the team announced (on Twitter). Stone’s non-guaranteed minimum-salary contract was to have become fully guaranteed if he remained on the roster through today, so Toronto saves some cash and some room under the tax line with the move.

Stone’s relationship with Raptors GM Masai Ujiri dates to their time together with the Nuggets, with whom the 25-year-old spent the first two seasons of his career. Still, even news that fellow reserve guard Nando De Colo had turned down Toronto’s offer to accept a deal to play in Russia wasn’t enough to keep Stone on the roster as the Raptors seek to re-sign Greivis Vasquez and stay below the tax threshold.