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Jazz Waive Kevin Murphy, Dee Bost

October 10th, 2014 at 2:32pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Jazz have waived swingman Kevin Murphy and point guard Dee Bost, the team announced. The moves mean Utah will be stuck with $130K of dead money on its cap this season unless another team claims one of the players off waivers, since Bost and Murphy had identical $65K partial guarantees on the deals they signed this summer. Their departures leave the Jazz with 17 players on their roster.

Murphy, 24, appeared for five minutes in Tuesday’s preseason opener against the Blazers, scoring four points, but that’s the only action that either has seen in the team’s two exhibition games so far. It was Murphy’s second stint with Utah, which drafted him 47th overall in 2012 and gave him brief regular season playing time in his rookie season before shipping him to the Warriors in a three-team trade during the summer of 2013. Golden State waived him shortly thereafter, and he spent last season playing in France and for the Blazers D-League affiliate.

Bost, who turns 25 on Sunday, also has a Blazers connection, having spent training camp with Portland last autumn. Bost has made stops in Venezuela and Montenegro, and he, like Murphy, spent time last year with Portland’s D-League affiliate, the Idaho Stampede, who’ve switched their one-to-one affiliation to the Jazz for this season. The Jazz signed both with the idea that they’d end up playing for Idaho again this year, tweets Jody Genessy of the Deseret News, so it seems likely that Utah will retain the D-League rights to the pair.

The Jazz have 13 fully guaranteed contracts, plus two remaining partial guarantees on the books with Toure’ Murry and Jack Cooley. Brock Motum and veteran Dahntay Jones are without guaranteed salary.

Cavs Notes: LeBron, Irving, Deng, Crawford

September 27th, 2014 at 11:18pm CST by Chuck Myron

LeBron James reiterated his intentions to stay in Cleveland beyond his current contract during an interview that ran Friday on CNN’s “Unguarded with Rachel Nichols. “I plan on finishing my career back home,” James said, as Joe Vardon of the Northeast Ohio Media Group transcribes.
James called the two-year length of his contract a “business decision.” There’s more on the four-time MVP amid the latest on his new team:

James based 95% of his decision to return to Cleveland on his desire to return to his Northeast Ohio roots, but the chance to play with Kyrie Irving was “a huge part” of the other 5%, James said to reporters, including Michael Lee of The Washington Post (Twitter link).
James and Luol Deng traded places this summer, but Deng knows the Cavs got the better end of the de facto swap, as he told reporters, including Joseph Goodman of the Miami Herald. “I’ve been in the league 11 years and I’m still improving,” Deng said. “I would never try to replace anybody no matter if they’re better than me or I’m better than somebody. We all bring different things. The biggest mistake I would make is try to be LeBron. I’m not LeBron.”
The Cavs intended to re-sign Chris Crawford even as they waived him Thursday, according to Chris Haynes of the Plain Dealer. That suggests the Cavs also intended from the time they traded for Bogans that they would flip him to the Sixers or another club, and indeed, a league source told Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal that Cleveland was never keen on keeping the veteran guard.
Cleveland’s brass had wanted to use Kevin Murphy, John Lucas III and Malcolm Thomas to create a trade exception ever since acquiring the trio, even though it took two moves for the Cavs to come up with the $5,285,817 trade exception they extracted from today’s Bogans trade, as Lloyd writes in the same piece.

Arthur Hill contributed to this post.

Murphy, Bost To Join Jazz For Training Camp

August 27th, 2014 at 4:09pm CST by Zachary Links

AUGUST 27TH: Murphy’s deal is official, too, the team announced.

AUGUST 25TH: The team hasn’t announced Murphy’s signing, but it has occured according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter). Pincus reports that both players’ deals are partially guaranteed at $65K, and Murphy’s total salary is set at $840K. Bost’s total salary was already reported to be at the minimum for three seasons (none of which are fully guaranteed).

AUGUST 15TH: The Jazz officially announced the signing of Bost, tweets Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune.

AUGUST 14TH: Kevin Murphy and Dee Bost will join the Jazz for training camp, according to Gino Pilato of D-League Digest (on Twitter). Both players spent last season with the Idaho Stampede of the D-League.

Bost, 25 in October, signed a non-guaranteed deal with the Blazers last fall before being waived in October. The guard went undrafted out of Mississippi State in 2012 and spent the following season overseas with Budućnost Podgorica in Montenegro, averaging 8.3 PPG, 1.8 APG, and 1.3 turnovers in 21.5 minutes per contest. In 50 games for Idaho last season, Bost averaged 15.2 PPG and 6.1 RPG in 40.5 minutes per night.

Murphy auditioned for the 76ers in March in hopes of securing a 10-day deal and also worked out for the Nets earlier this offseason.

Nets To Work Out Ivan Johnson, Others

June 1st, 2014 at 10:12am CST by Chuck Myron

SUNDAY, 10:12am: According to his agent, French SF Yakhouba Diawara has been invited to the Nets mini-camp this Tuesday, reports David Pick of Eurobasket (Twitter link). Also attending will be Michael Snaer, reports Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. In 27 games with the Italian team Enel Brindisi, Snaer averaged 8.0 PPG, 2.4 RPG, and 1.1 APG.

3:28pm: NBA vets Ivan Johnson, Malcolm Lee, Kim English, Kevin Murphy and DaJuan Summers will join Liggins, Greene, Machado, Kennedy and others in working out for the club on Tuesday, the Nets announced. Lance Thomas will also participate, as Adam Zagoria of SNY reported earlier this week.

THURSDAY, 9:56am: Four free agents with NBA experience will visit with the Nets next week, according to Lenn Robbins of Nets.com, who says the team will see DeAndre Liggins, Donte Greene, Scott Machado and D.J. Kennedy (Twitter links; hat tip to Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv). The Nets are holding a mini-camp soon, so it seems like the foursome will be among those working out for the club.

Liggins has the most recent NBA experience among that group, having played in the NBA this past season on a pair of 10-day contracts with the Heat. The 26-year-old only appeared in one game for a single minute for Miami, but he made 39 appearances for the Thunder in 2012/13 and also saw playing time for the Magic the year before. He’s averaged 1.6 points in 7.1 minutes per game in the NBA since Orlando drafted him 53rd overall in 2011.

Greene, a former 28th overall pick, has the most extensive NBA experience, appearing in 253 games and making 82 starts for the Kings over four seasons, but he’s been out of the NBA since 2011/12, save for a late-season signing with the Grizzlies in 2012/13. He failed to get in a game during his time with Memphis. Machado, an undrafted former Iona standout, split this past season between France and the D-League after stints with the Rockets and Warriors in 2012/13. Kennedy, from St. John’s, has just two games with the Cavs in 2012/13 on his NBA resume, and he spent this past season playing in Israel and France.

Mini-camps at this time of year usually only help teams fill summer league rosters, but these four probably stand a chance at joining the Nets for preseason this fall, given their experience. The Nets, with a bloated payroll and limited flexibility, will have to do most of their free agent shopping with the minimum-salary exception.

Sixers To Audition Scott Suggs, Johnson-Odom

March 10th, 2014 at 2:32pm CST by Chuck Myron

2:32pm: Sixers coach Brett Brown is “thrilled” with Varnado and would like to keep him around, notes Dei Lynam of CSNPhilly.com, suggesting that it’s no certainty that anyone set to work out for the team will receive a contract. Brown has had a say in each of the moves the team has made since the start of the season, according to Lynam.

8:08am: The Sixers will bring in Scott Suggs and Darius Johnson-Odom on Tuesday to audition for the team, reports Shams Charania of RealGM. They also have workouts lined up for James Nunnally and Kevin Murphy, as we passed along Sunday night. Philadelphia has 14 guaranteed contracts and Jarvis Varnado on a 10-day deal, so their pursuit of another signee indicates that Varnado’s time in Philadelphia will be short. His deal expires at the end of the day today.

Suggs is a 6’6″ shooting guard who went undrafted out of Washington this past June. He’s been playing for the D-League affiliate of the Knicks, averaging 17.6 points and 41.4% three-point shooting in 36.0 minutes per game. He saw summer league action with the Bucks, but the 24-year-old wasn’t in camp with any NBA team. Johnson-Odom is a more familiar name, having seen four games of NBA action with the Lakers last season. He joined the Lakers again for camp in the fall and split the season between China and the Nets D-League affiliate. Jorge Gutierrez recently edged out Johnson-Odom for a 10-day contract with Brooklyn.

Sixers coach Brett Brown suggested late last month that the team would be cycling through several players at the end of the season, and it appears they’re indeed planning on giving at least a handful of guys a look. Varnado has scored 2.5 points and 3.8 rebounds on 12.5 minutes per game in his time with Philadelphia. If no one impresses during the workouts, it seems reasonable to think that the team would consider signing Varnado to a second 10-day contract.

And-Ones: Harris, Murphy, Edwin, Dirk

March 9th, 2014 at 9:23pm CST by Zachary Links

With the D-League trade deadline in the rear view mirror, Gino Pilato of D-League Digest looks back at the biggest transactions of the year. The L.A. D-Fenders’ acquisition of Manny Harris tops the list. The Lakers‘ affiliate got Harris from the Canton Charge in exchange for a 2014 second round draft pick and the guard currently leads the NBA D-League in scoring average and even earned a call-up after a month in L.A. Here’s more from around the Association..

The 76ers plan to workout D-League guard Kevin Murphy, an audition that could lead to 10-day deal, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). Murphy is averaging ~26 PPG for the Idaho Stampede.
James Nunnally will also get a workout with the 76ers, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Nunnally had two 10-day contracts earlier this season with the Hawks.
Seton Hall standout Fuquan Edwin hasn’t seen a whole lot of Ws during his collegiate career but he’s still happy with his time in South Orange, New Jersey. “It’s definitely been a pleasure playing at the university with the great coaching staff that we have,” Edwin told Yannis Koutroupis of Basketball Insiders. “I think coach helped me tremendously in developing my game. We haven’t really won games or got far in my career, but it has definitely been a blast overall playing these last four years.” Barring a surprise run in the Big East tournament, Edwin’s collegiate career is on the verge of coming to an end. The small forward is currently projected to be taken late in the second round by DraftExpress.
Stars who stick with one franchise are getting increasingly rare, but Mavericks
big man Dirk Nowitzki is an exception, writes Jodie Valade of The Plain Dealer. “I basically grew up in Dallas,” Dirk said. “I came over here at 19 or 20 and now I’m 35. I’ve spent half of my life here. It is important for me to be a Maverick because I have deep connections with this franchise. The fans supported me through disappointing playoff losses. They were always by my side as I grew as a player. I can’t see myself playing for another franchise.”
Suns coach Jeff Hornacek is targeting Wednesday’s game versus Washington for a return of injured guard Eric Bledsoe, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports. Bledsoe will initially be coming off of the bench.
Earl “The Pearl” Monroe threw his support behind former teammate Phil Jackson who could be taking over the Knicks front office, writes Marc Berman of the New York Post.

Odds & Ends: Arthur, Murphy, Mekel

March 4th, 2014 at 4:58pm CST by Chuck Myron

Darrell Arthur isn’t completely sold on exercising his player option for next season, worth more than $3.457MM, but he’s strongly leaning toward picking it up and remaining with the Nuggets, as Chris Dempsey of the Denver Post observes.

“I’m just going to wait until the season is over with and talk to (Nuggets GM) Tim (Connelly) and see what’s up and go from there,” Arthur said. “But I’m looking forward to coming back here. I like it here. I feel like when we’re healthy, we have a great team to build with, and I want to be a part of it.”

Here’s more from around the NBA:

Former Jazz swingman Kevin Murphy received multiple NBA training camp invitations this past offseason, but he didn’t think any of them gave him a fighting chance to make an opening night roster, as he tells Cameron Schott of RealGM. Murphy has instead split the season between a French team and the D-League, where he’s putting up impressive numbers for the Idaho Stampede.
The Mavericks have sent Gal Mekel to the D-League, the team announced. It’s a rehab assignment, notes Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The rookie point guard has missed the past 21 games for Dallas after having surgery on his right knee.
Bucks 10-day signee Tony Mitchell admits he has a “strange game,” but coach Larry Drew explains how it fits what the team was looking for. Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has the details.
Even if Canisius point guard Billy Baron goes undrafted, several NBA teams say they’d invite him to training camp for next season, as Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher writes.

Odds & Ends: Heat, Melo, Durant, Nuggets

February 2nd, 2014 at 11:28am CST by Eddie Scarito

If the Heat fall to the Pacers because of the Andrew Bynum signing, then the Heat weren’t going to win the title anyway, writes Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel. Bynum doesn’t figure to rise any higher in the Pacers rotation than the ninth or tenth man, and if that is the determining factor, then Miami has deeper issues with their roster than one player can change. Winderman believes the Heat tandem of Chris Bosh and Chris Andersen versus Roy Hibbert and Bynum should still be fine, as Andersen is a match for Bynum defensively. The Heat also tend to favor playing with smaller lineups, which won’t change their strategy against the Pacers.

Minor Moves: Diogu, Nogueira, Kennedy

December 10th, 2013 at 2:03pm CST by Chuck Myron

It’s been an active past couple of days in the Association, and there are plenty of rumblings on other circuits, too. Here’s the latest on players with NBA ties:

Knicks training camp invitee Ike Diogu will join the D-League, a source tells Gino Pilato of D-League Digest. Diogu, the ninth overall pick in the 2005 NBA draft, last appeared in an NBA regular season game with the Spurs in 2011/12, though the Knicks reportedly considered bringing him back last month after Tyson Chandler‘s injury.
Lucas Nogueira has exercised a provision in his contract with Spanish club Estudiantes to suspend the deal while he seeks outside medical opinion on his ailing knees, the team announced (translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). The Hawks retain the NBA rights to Nogueira, the 16th pick in the draft this June.
D.J. Kennedy has left Gravelines of France and is on the radar of Italy’s Reggio Emilia, reports Prima Pagina (translation via Carchia). The Italian team may view him as a replacement for Coby Karl, who appears to be on the outs with the club. Kennedy was in camp with the Mavs this fall.
Kevin Murphy and French team SIG Strasbourg are in negotiations about a split, according to a L’Équipe report passed along by Catch-and-Shoot (translation via Carchia). Murphy signed with the club in August, shortly after the Warriors let him go.

International Notes: Murphy, Lawal, Johnson

August 9th, 2013 at 8:45am CST by Luke Adams

So far today, the international rumor mill is a little busier than the NBA version, so let's round up a few of the latest reports on various teams overseas….

Emiliano Carchia of Sportando reports that unrestricted free agent Kevin Murphy will sign with France's SIG Strasbourg. Murphy was selected by the Jazz in the second round of last year's draft, and spent time in both Utah and Reno, with the D-League's Bighorns. The 23-year-old guard was included as the only outgoing piece from Utah to Golden State in the trade that landed the Jazz several expiring contracts and future draft picks, and was later waived by the Warriors.
6'9" forward Gani Lawal has signed with VEF Riga of Latvia, according to the team (hat tip to Sportando). After being selected in the second round of the 2010 draft by the Suns, Lawal appeared in just one regular-season game for Phoenix, but had reportedly been drawing NBA interest again this offseason.
Former Celtics big man JaJuan Johnson has signed with Italy's Giorgio Tesi Pistoia, the team announced (translation via Sportando). Johnson was drafted 27th overall in 2011 and spent the 2011/12 season in Boston before being included last summer in the three-way trade that sent Courtney Lee to the C's. After being cut by the Rockets, Johnson played for three D-League teams in '12/13.