Lance Thomas Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pelicans Re-Sign Lance Thomas

August 22nd, 2013 at 1:08pm CST by Alex Lee

THURSDAY, 1:08pm: The Pelicans have officially re-signed Thomas, the team announced today in a press release.

WEDNESDAY, 8:10pm: Thomas' deal with New Orleans is partially guaranteed for the first season, reports Shams Charania of Real GM who cites a league source.

6:53pm: The Pelicans have re-signed Lance Thomas to a two-year contract for the minimum salary, tweets Jared Zwerling of ESPN New York. New Orleans holds a team option for the second year of the deal. A few weeks ago, rumors swirled that Thomas and the Pelicans were moving towards a deal a month or so after the team waived him in July.

Thomas, a 6-foot-8 forward out of Duke, has spent the first two years of his NBA career with New Orleans. After he averaged 4.0 points in 17 minutes per game as a rookie, his playing time was slashed to 10.9 minutes per contest last season, though he did connect on 50 percent of his field goals as compared to 45.2 in 2011/12.

Lance Thomas, Pelicans Moving Toward Deal

August 8th, 2013 at 4:17pm CST by Luke Adams

Less than a month after being released by the Pelicans, Lance Thomas is working toward a new deal with the team, according to Shams Charania of RealGM.com. Charania reports that it looks likely the two sides will work something out, though the Pacers have also expressed interest in Thomas.

Thomas, 25, initially joined the Pelicans when they were the Hornets, inking a pair of 10-day contracts before signing a rest-of-season deal in 2011/12. The former Duke forward spent the 2012/13 season with the team as well, and had a non-guaranteed salary for the coming season. However, he was cut when the Pelicans cleared the cap room to bring Tyreke Evans aboard.

In his 101 games with the Pelicans, Thomas averaged 3.1 PPG and 2.4 RPG in 12.6 minutes per contest. He also recorded an identical PER of 10.1 in each of his two seasons.

If Thomas reaches an agreement with the Pelicans it will likely be for the minimum salary, since the team is capped out. New Orleans also has its $2.65MM room exception available, but I'd be surprised to see the club use any of it on Thomas.

Pelicans Waive Lance Thomas

July 10th, 2013 at 9:56am CST by Luke Adams

The Pelicans have officially released Lance Thomas, the team announced today in a press release. Thomas had been on a non-guaranteed minimum-salary contract with New Orleans.

Thomas, 25, has appeared in 101 games for New Orleans over the last two seasons, including 59 in 2012/13. The 6'8" forward wasn't owed any guaranteed money yet for the coming season, so the Pelicans won't take a cap hit for releasing him. His contract would have become fully guaranteed if he had not been waived on or before September 1st.

For the Pelicans, waiving Thomas looks like a cap-clearing move, as the team prepares to make its deals for Tyreke Evans and others official.

Odds & Ends: Pierce, Jackson, Fortson

May 2nd, 2013 at 9:25pm CST by Michael Pina

The NBA has announced that Warriors head coach Mark Jackson has been fined $25K by for influencing officials with recent postgame comments, reports Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post.

Here are a few more notes from around the league.

D-League guard Courtney Fortson will not be playing in the D-League next year, according to RidiculousUpside.com's Keith Schlosser. His options for next season, as he told the site, are the NBA, Europe, or China.
Nola.com's Jimmy Smith takes a look at Pelicans forward Lance Thomas, who has a team option on his contract next season for less than $1MM. Smith focuses on what Thomas needs to do to make him worth keeping on the roster.
Celtics general manager Danny Ainge says dealing with Paul Pierce's contract this offseason will be difficult. Ainge and the C's have an option to buy out Pierce for $5MM, which would save the team more than $10MM, according to CSNNE.com's A. Sherrod Blakely.
Philadelphia Inquirer reporter John Mitchell reports that the Sixers will look to interview Jeff Hornacek, Michael Curry, Mike Malone and Brian Shaw for their open head coaching position.

Hornets Notes: Williams, Forwards, Free Agents

April 2nd, 2013 at 10:03pm CST by Alex Lee

Sitting at 26-48, the Hornets head to Golden State tomorrow night to take on the Warriors. With only eight games remaining, it sounds like the team will have some decisions to make in the offseason. Let's round up all things New Orleans here on this Tuesday night:

Hornets coach Monty Williams does not foresee the Hornets (soon to be the Pelicans) having any problems attracting top talent this offseason, writes John Reid of The Times-Picayune. Along with the name change, the New Orleans franchise has a 55,000 square foot practice facility in the works as well as ample cap space to make a splash. Williams says that multiple free-agents-to-be have suggested to him during games that they'd love to play for him in New Orleans.
Williams addressed the idea of changes to the team's roster over the summer, notes Jim Eichenhofer of Hornets.com (Twitter link). "That’s just the nature of it. When you have a record like we have, you’re not going to settle for this production," Williams said.
Williams expressed his displeasure with the team's small forwards earlier this season, and Jeff Duncan of The Times-Picayune echoes that sentiment, imploring the team to prioritize an upgrade at the three this summer. As it stands now, the Hornets use Al-Farouq Aminu, Darius Miller and Lance Thomas at that spot, who barely combine for 12 points per night.
The Hornets could have as many as eight players become free agents when the season ends in two weeks, including the entire small forward trio mentioned above, Reid writes. Aminu will become a free agent, along with Xavier Henry, Roger Mason and Louis Amundson. The Hornets must decide whether to extend team options to Miller, Thomas and backup point guard Brian Roberts. Per Reid, this has resulted in an environment where the current players are desperate to make an impression. While Reid doesn't mention him, Terrel Harris has a non-guaranteed deal next season and could also become a free agent.

Odds & Ends: Calathes, Rockets, U.S. Select Team

June 6th, 2012 at 12:41pm CST by Daniel Seco

The Thunder have an opportunity to make it four wins in a row tonight against the Spurs as the series heads back to Oklahoma City for Game 6. A victory would send Kevin Durant and company to the NBA Finals and further validate general manager Sam Presti's experiment in which the team has generally been constructed through NBA lottery picks like Russell Westbrook and James Harden. Let's check in around the league to catch up on the latest news and stories making headlines on this Wednesday afternoon…

Hornets Re-Sign Lance Thomas, Solomon Jones

February 28th, 2012 at 8:25am CST by Luke Adams

The Hornets have re-signed Lance Thomas and Solomon Jones, the team announced last night. Thomas, who had already received two 10-day contracts, will be signed for the remainder of the season, while Jones received his second 10-day deal.

Thomas, who signed the league's first 10-day contract this season, also becomes the first player to have his contract guaranteed for the remainder of the season following two 10-day deals. As we outlined earlier this month in our 10-day contract primer, teams are only permitted to sign players to two 10-day contracts (not necessarily consecutively) before being required to sign them for the rest of the season or part ways.

Thomas has appeared in 11 games for the Hornets, averaging 2.3 points and 3.0 rebounds in 9.1 minutes per game. Jones, meanwhile, has played in five games, posting 3.4 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 0.8 blocks in just under 15 minutes per contest.

John Reid of the New Orleans Times-Picayune first reported that both frontcourt players were expected to be re-signed.

Odds & Ends: Thomas, Jones, Miles, Howard

February 26th, 2012 at 6:12pm CST by Alex Lee

With the All-Star Game about to kick off in Orlando, here are some other things going on around the league:

After signing Lance Thomas to a couple of 10-day contracts, league sources have confirmed that the New Orleans Hornets will now sign the forward for the remainder of the season, according to John Reid at the Times Picayune.
Reid also indicates that the Hornets will offer big man Solomon Jones his second 10-day contract this year. Both of these moves will be announced later this week.
Utah Jazz forward C.J. Miles discussed his upcoming free agent status with Brian Smith of the Salt Lake Tribune. Miles indicates that while he will explore his options, he is definitely open to re-signing with the Jazz.
Smith also talked to Jazz forward Josh Howard, who like Miles, will also consider re-signing with Utah.

Hornets Re-Sign Lance Thomas

February 16th, 2012 at 11:12am CST by Luke Adams

The Hornets have re-signed Lance Thomas to a second 10-day contract, the team announced today in a release. New Orleans initially signed Thomas when the 10-day contract period began last Monday.

Thomas, 23, made his NBA debut with the Hornets earlier this season, appearing briefly in two games. He saw more frequent action during his last week and a half in New Orleans, averaging 2.6 PPG, 3.4 RPG, and 8.8 MPG in five contests.

NBA teams are permitted to sign players to two 10-day contracts during the season. If the Hornets want to retain Thomas when his second 10-day deal expires, they'll need to sign him for the remainder of the season. For more information on 10-day contracts, check out our primer.

Hornets Sign Lance Thomas To 10-Day Contract

February 6th, 2012 at 11:41am CST by Michael Pina

The Hornets have officially signed Lance Thomas to a 10-day contract, the team announced today. The 23-year-old Thomas participated in New Orleans' training camp earlier this year, and was waived on December 31st.

Jimmy Smith of the New Orleans Times-Picayune first reported that the team would sign Thomas to serve as a replacement for Carl Landry, who announced Sunday that he's suffered a Grade 2 MCL sprain. Landry's injury could have a significant impact on the Hornets going forward, as Sean Highkin of Hoops Rumors wrote yesterday.

Today marks the first day of the season that teams can sign players to 10-day contracts. For an idea of what other players could sign 10-day contracts in the near future, and a refresher on how these deals work, check out our 10-day contract primer.