Mobile Menu
HEADLINES

Lance Thomas

And-Ones: Maxiell, Clippers, Thunder, Brooks

October 2nd, 2014 at 2:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

Jason Maxiell agreed to join the Hornets knowing that the team envisions him in a capacity more similar to the reduced role he played for the Magic last year than to the 71-start campaign he had with the Pistons in 2012/13, as Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer examines.

“It’s both maturing in life and maturing in basketball,” Maxiell said. “Respect your coach, your owner and your teammates, and help the other guys to understand this is a career. It’s not just playing basketball, it’s getting to a place where you can do other things after basketball.”

The pressure’s on the 31-year-old to make an impression this month, since he has a non-guaranteed deal. Here’s more from around the league:

  • Doc Rivers admits that the Clippers have a greater need at point guard, a position that Jared Cunningham can play, than at the forwards, Joe Ingles‘ positions, but Rivers insists that he won’t necessarily make a decision on the final regular season roster based on that. Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times has the details.
  • The contracts of Thunder camp invitees Lance Thomas, Michael Jenkins, Richard Solomon and Talib Zanna are all non-guaranteed for the minimum salary and cover just one season, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). All four fit the criteria for Exhibit 9 Contracts that would keep the Thunder from paying them if they’re injured during camp, but it’s unclear whether any of them agreed to such a deal.
  • Championship dreams led Aaron Brooks to sign for just the minimum salary when he joined the Bulls, as he tells Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders. Former Bulls and fellow Seattle natives Nate Robinson and Jamal Crawford gave Brooks full-throated endorsements of the organization, as Brooks says to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune (Twitter link).
  • Agent Charles Briscoe is joining forces with NFL agent Joby Branion to form Vanguard Sports Group, tweets Shams Charania of RealGM. Our Agency Database shows that Briscoe, who formerly operated through Briscoe Sports Management, represents Archie Goodwin and Joe Jackson of the Suns, Xavier Silas of the Wizards, and Junior Cadougan, who was briefly with the Bucks last fall.
Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Thunder Sign Richard Solomon, Talib Zanna

September 29th, 2014 at 11:53am CST by Chuck Myron

The Thunder have signed power forwards Richard Solomon and Talib Zanna, the team announced via press release. Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman was the first to report the deals (Twitter links). The team also confirms previously reported agreements with Lance Thomas and Michael Jenkins. The team has the capacity to give more than the minimum to Solomon and Talib, both of whom went undrafted this past June, but it’s unlikely the Thunder did so. It’s not clear whether there’s any guaranteed money on their respective deals.

Solomon averaged a double-double as a senior this past season at Cal, notching 11.0 points and 10.2 rebounds in 29.2 minutes per game. Zanna came fairly close as a Pittsburgh senior, with 13.0 PPG and 8.6 RPG in 30.3 MPG, before joining the Sixers for summer league in July.

The moves will give Oklahoma City 18 players for camp. The Thunder have 14 fully guaranteed pacts, leaving Zanna and Solomon to fight with Thomas and Jenkins for the final regular season roster spot, presuming the team carries the NBA-maximum 15 players on opening night.

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Thunder Sign Lance Thomas

August 14th, 2014 at 9:13pm CST by Ryan Raroque

SEPTEMBER 29TH: The deal is official, the team announced via press release.

AUGUST 14TH: The Thunder have reached an agreement to sign Lance Thomas to a training camp deal, sources tell Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). Oklahoma City currently has 14 guaranteed contracts on the books for next season and will have until September 1st to decide on Hasheem Thabeet‘s contract, which becomes fully guaranteed for 2014/15 if he isn’t waived by then.

Thomas spent his first two seasons in the league with the Pelicans and was waived after five games into the start of his third year. Over 106 games and 19 starts in New Orleans, the 26-year-old forward averaged 3.0 PPG, 2.3 RPG, and 46.5% shooting from the field in 12.4 MPG. Last December, Thomas headed overseas to play for the Foshan Dralions of the Chinese Basketball Association.

The former Blue Devil reportedly drew interest from the Nets in June but would later drop out of a scheduled workout. In July, Thomas joined the Bulls for summer league play in Las Vegas, posting 7.6 PPG, 4.4 RPG, and 58.3% shooting from the field in 21.8 MPG over a span of five games.

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Eastern Notes: Cavs, Bucks, Sixers, Temple

June 2nd, 2014 at 9:00am CST by Chuck Myron

Another team with a top-three pick has inquired with the Cavs about trading up for the first overall pick, reports Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio. That means either the Bucks, currently picking second, or Sixers, at No. 3, would like to see if they can improve their respective draft positions. Here’s more from the Eastern Conference, home to the teams with five of the top six selections in the draft:

  • Soon-to-be free agent Garrett Temple says he’ll consider teams that offer an expanded role for him, but he nonetheless adds that he’d “love” to be back with the Wizards, as Ben Standig of CSNWashington.com observes.
  • NBA veteran Lance Thomas has dropped out of this week’s Nets workout, tweets Tim Bontemps of the New York Post.
  • Semaj Christon, Bryce Cotton, Deonte Burton, Russ Smith, Kendrick Perry, Kyle Casey, Reger Dowell and Tim Frazier are the previously unreported players working out for the Celtics today. Baxter Holmes of The Boston Globe passes along the list on Twitter.
Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

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.

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

And-Ones: Draft, Yao, LeBron

May 27th, 2014 at 10:44pm CST by Cray Allred

James McAdoo, Roscoe Smith, James Bell, Chris Fouch, Luke Hancock, and Niels Giffey all worked out for the Sixers today, reports Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. All project to be selected in the second round at best, where Philadelphia owns five draft picks. Here’s a roundup of the night’s news, including plenty from the draft:

  • The Bucks are having some difficulty scheduling pre-draft workouts with Joel Embiid, Andrew Wiggins, and Jabari Parker, director of scouting Billy McKinney tells Charles F. Gardner of The Journal Sentinel. “I still think there’s a lot of thinking on their agents’ part of, ‘Hey, he’s not going to be there [at No. 2].'” McKinney said. “We’re going to have to be a little creative…which you have to do certain times to go out and get your private discussion and workouts in. That’s all part of it.”
  • C.J. Fair will workout for the Bucks and Hornets this week, tweets Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv.
  • Wally Judge will work out for the Jazz, tweets Zagoria.
  • A front office executive tells Gino Pilato of D-League Digest that P.J. Hairston is expected to go either late in the first round, or early in the second.
  • Former Pelicans forward Lance Thomas will be among players participating in a mini-camp at the Nets facility next week, Zagoria reports (via Twitter).
  • Yao Ming earlier denied reports that he was assembling an investment group to purchase the Clippers, but told news outlets including ChinaDaily USA that he won’t rule out the possibility he will. “I know there are a lot of rumors, but I don’t think I have time to clarify the rumors one by one,” Yao said. “Nowadays, sports are globalized, and anything is possible, but so far, there is nothing substantial.”
  • In the case that LeBron James decides to opt out and leave the Heat in the offseason, Dwyane Wade doesn’t want the blame to be laid on his performance or health issues, he told Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. “Just don’t solely put it on me,” Wade said, laughing. “That’s what I’m saying. Don’t put the X on me… There’s a lot that goes into [the decision], so just don’t say, ‘If Dwyane Wade doesn’t have the year that we’re accustomed to, it’s over.'”

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Western Notes: Wolves, Nuggets, Thomas, Scola

May 27th, 2014 at 10:03pm CST by Cray Allred

The Kings haven’t yet made a trade offer to the Wolves for Kevin Love, reports Charley Walters of St. Paul Pioneer Press. Walters writes that Minnesota is still operating as if Love will be on the roster next season. Here’s a roundup for the Western Conference, including more notes from Walters’ piece:

  • Fred Hoiberg is not a candidate for the Wolves coaching job, but president of basketball operations Flip Saunders could still be in the running to become the next coach in Minnesota, according to Walters.
  • The Wolves are receiving calls on the availability of Ricky Rubio and Nikola Pekovic, in addition to Love, Walters reports.
  • Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities would be “mildly surprised” if Sam Mitchell won the Wolves head coaching job, and says that Minnesota remains focused on candidates with head coaching experience (Twitter links).
  • Nuggets GM Tim Connelly tells Nicki Jhabvala of The Denver Post that he has ownership’s blessing to make a major move to upgrade Denver’s roster. “We’ve got a lot of things at our disposal,” Connelly said. “We have the 11th pick, obviously, we have our picks going forward, we have a pretty big trade exception (worth $9.8MM), and I think we have a bunch of players who are well thought of outside our locker room, and they’re on contracts that — if we deem them movable guys — it’s not hard to move them.”
  • Connelly tells Jhabvala that he doesn’t expect to find a player who can immediately contribute with the team’s No. 11 draft pick, if the Nuggets keep it. “The 11th pick on a team that should be in the playoffs generally doesn’t have a huge impact from day one. Very few rookies had any impact this year on playoff teams,” Connelly said. “As our roster is presently constituted, who knows how we’re going to look after the draft. I think it’s unfair to put too much emphasis on the 11th pick.”
  • Rockets GM Daryl Morey tells Zach Lowe of Grantland that coach Kevin McHale is so high on Luis Scola that he still asks if Houston can reacquire the forward. Since the Rockets amnestied Scola, they cannot reacquire him until his contract, which is partially guaranteed through next year, is up.
Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Pelicans Waive Lance Thomas, Arinze Onuaku

November 12th, 2013 at 1:17pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pelicans have officially waived two players on non-guaranteed contracts, Lance Thomas and Arinze Onuaku, according to a press release from the team. The cuts clear two roster spots for the team to sign Josh Childress and Louis Amundson, who have now formally been added to the roster.

While Thomas’ contract had included a $15K guarantee, that partial guarantee was so small that the 25-year-old had already earned more than that. The Pelicans will be on the hook for about two weeks’ worth of salary for both Thomas and Onuaku. Terms of the team’s agreements haven’t been reported yet — we can assume they’re both minimum salary contracts, but it’s unclear whether or not they’re partially or fully guaranteed.

Neither Thomas nor Onuaku had played a significant role so far for the Pelicans. Thomas had appeared in five games, while Onuaku had played in three, and both players averaged just over eight minutes per contest. I imagine New Orleans will be expecting more consistent production off the bench from veterans Childress and Amundson, as the club looks to contend for a playoff spot.

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Odds & Ends: Miller, Kennedy, Lighty, Pau

October 27th, 2013 at 10:36pm CST by Luke Adams

Quincy Miller is one of a handful of players whose contract will become guaranteed by virtue of earning a spot on his team’s opening day roster, as our schedule of guarantee dates shows. Now that he’s breathing a little easier, Miller can focus on contributing to the Nuggets, particularly with players ahead of him in the rotation sidelined with injuries, writes Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post.

Here are a few more Sunday odds and ends:

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Contract Details: Warriors, Lakers, Davies, Lockett

September 12th, 2013 at 12:29pm CST by Luke Adams

Most of the contracts being signed these days are non-guaranteed and worth the minimum salary, essentially amounting to make-good deals for camp. However, a few players who recently joined NBA clubs received modest guarantees, ensuring they'll make some money whether or not they earn a roster spot. Mark Deeks of ShamSports.com has the details, so let's round them up….

  • The Warriors will pay partial guarantees to two recent signees, Seth Curry and DeWayne Dedmon. Both players inked one-year rookie minimum contracts, but Curry received the larger guarantee — $75K to Dedmon's $25K.
  • The Lakers guaranteed $100K of Shawne Williams' one-year, minimum-salary deal.
  • Brandon Davies' two-year deal with the Clippers is partially guaranteed for $50K in 2013/14.
  • Trent Lockett's two-year contract with the Kings is currently guaranteed for $35K, but he can increase that amount by earning a spot on the team's regular-season roster. Lockett's guarantee will become $100K if he's not waived by opening night, and if he keeps a roster spot all year, his 2014/15 salary will become guaranteed for $100K on the last day of the '13/14 season.
  • The Pelicans cut Lance Thomas in July to clear cap space for their new additions, then re-signed him to a new deal. Thomas received a guarantee of $15K for his trouble — his previous contract had been fully non-guaranteed.
Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0
Load More Posts