Manny Harris

Magic Sign Osby, Four Free Agents

SEPTEMBER 27TH: The Magic have officially announced their camp invitees in a press release. However, although Osby, Jones, Joseph, and Harris were confirmed, the team's announcement mentions big man Mickell Gladness rather than Micheal Eric.

It's not clear whether the name was originally misreported, or if an issue arose that led Orlando to bring in Gladness rather than Eric. For now though, it seems as if Eric isn't a part of the team's camp roster, while Gladness is.

SEPTEMBER 19TH: The Magic currently have 14 players on their roster, but will take advantage of increased offseason roster limits to bring five more players to camp, according to Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel. Schmitz reports (via Twitter) that Solomon Jones, Kris Joseph, Manny Harris, and Micheal Eric will be in camp with Orlando. The team is also bringing second-rounder Romero Osby to camp, though the two sides are still negotiating a contract, says Schmitz (Twitter link).

Although Jones and Joseph each saw NBA action in 2012/13, neither played extensive minutes. Jones, a big man who has spent time with five NBA teams, appeared in two games for the Knicks last season. Meanwhile, Joseph shuffled back and forth between the Nets and Celtics, and was included in the summer's Kevin Garnett/Paul Pierce blockbuster before he was waived by Boston. The 24-year-old forward was said to have a deal with a Chinese team, but it appears he'll try to earn an NBA roster spot before exploring options overseas.

Harris and Eric both have some history with the Cavaliers, though Harris is the only one of the two that has NBA experience. Harris, 23, appeared in 80 games for the Cavs from 2010 to 2012, averaging 6.2 PPG in 17.4 minutes per contest. He spent last season playing in the Ukraine, as our international tracker shows. As for Eric, he participated in camp with Cleveland last fall before joining the club's D-League affiliate in Canton.

While the five additions to the camp roster will bring Orlando's roster count to 19, only 12 players have fully guaranteed contracts. Kyle O'Quinn's deal won't become guaranteed until opening night, and Schmitz tweets that the club continues to negotiate a buyout with Hedo Turkoglu, whose $12MM salary is only 50% guaranteed. Assuming O'Quinn is ticketed for the regular-season roster and Turkoglu isn't, there should be one or two spots up for grabs in camp.

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Magic Inviting Five Players To Camp

The Magic currently have 14 players on their roster, but will take advantage of increased offseason roster limits to bring five more players to camp, according to Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel. Schmitz reports (via Twitter) that Solomon Jones, Kris Joseph, Manny Harris, and Micheal Eric will be in camp with Orlando. The team is also bringing second-rounder Romero Osby to camp, though the two sides are still negotiating a contract, says Schmitz (Twitter link).

Although Jones and Joseph each saw NBA action in 2012/13, neither played extensive minutes. Jones, a big man who has spent time with five NBA teams, appeared in two games for the Knicks last season. Meanwhile, Joseph shuffled back and forth between the Nets and Celtics, and was included in the summer's Kevin Garnett/Paul Pierce blockbuster before he was waived by Boston. The 24-year-old forward was said to have a deal with a Chinese team, but it appears he'll try to earn an NBA roster spot before exploring options overseas.

Harris and Eric both have some history with the Cavaliers, though Harris is the only one of the two that has NBA experience. Harris, 23, appeared in 80 games for the Cavs from 2010 to 2012, averaging 6.2 PPG in 17.4 minutes per contest. He spent last season playing in the Ukraine, as our international tracker shows. As for Eric, he participated in camp with Cleveland last fall before joining the club's D-League affiliate in Canton.

While the five additions to the camp roster will bring Orlando's roster count to 19, only 12 players have fully guaranteed contracts. Kyle O'Quinn's deal won't become guaranteed until opening night, and Schmitz tweets that the club continues to negotiate a buyout with Hedo Turkoglu, whose $12MM salary is only 50% guaranteed. Assuming O'Quinn is ticketed for the regular-season roster and Turkoglu isn't, there should be one or two spots up for grabs in camp.

Manny Harris Signs With Ukranian Team

After getting waived by the Cavaliers in early July, guard Manny Harris has signed on with BC Azovmash of the Ukranian League, according to the team's official website. Harris is only 22 years old, but averaged just 6.7 points on 40% shooting for the Cavs last season. 

An inability to play the point guard position combined with low shooting numbers was what probably signaled no major contract offers in the NBA for Harris this offseason. But given his age and the flashes of athleticism he's shown in limited time, if he can become a more efficient player overseas Harris' NBA career should be far from over. 

Cavaliers Waive Manny Harris

The Cavaliers have waived Manny Harris, the team announced today in a press release. Harris had a non-guaranteed contract for the coming season, so the Cavs won't be on the hook for any of his 2012/13 salary.

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Odds & Ends: Camby, Wallace, Barnes, Cavs

If you were looking forward to watching Kobe Bryant try to drop 38 points on Sacramento tonight to win the scoring title, you may want to make alternate plans. According to Sam Amick of SI.com (via Twitter), Lakers coach Mike Brown says Bryant won't play in tonight's game, meaning Kevin Durant will finish as the NBA's leading scorer for the third straight season. While it would've been fun to see Kobe gun for 38, we have to give props to Durant — at just 23 years old, he's the youngest player ever to win three scoring titles.

Here are a few more Thursday afternoon odds and ends from around the Association:

Central Notes: Lucas, Thibodeau, Hudson

The Bulls and Cavs are two teams heading in opposite directions of late, but there's some news coming out of both camps. Here's the latest:

  • The impending return of Derrick Rose will likely send John Lucas III back to the end of the Bulls bench, but Lucas believes his performance this season has proven his ability to play in the league, writes Neil Hayes of the Chicago Sun-Times. Lucas, averaging 7.0 PPG and 2.1 APG in 14 minutes a game this year, is on a minimum-salary deal expires at the end of the season.
  • It's no surprise, but Celtics coach Doc Rivers would like to see the Bulls extend the contract of coach Tom Thibodeau, a former assistant to Rivers in Boston, reports Melissa Isaacson of ESPNChicago.com. The Bulls have a team option on Thibodeau for next season.
  • Sam Smith of Bulls.com answers reader questions on the Bulls, free agency and the draft, among other topics.
  • Bob Finnan of The News-Herald examines the impact of guard Lester Hudson, who's with the Cavs on a 10-day contract. Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal recounts Hudson's long journey to Cleveland.
  • Both Manny Harris and Donald Sloan have non-guaranteed contracts for next season, according to the joint Twitter feed of Plain Dealer reporters Tom Reed and Mary Schmitt Boyer. Storytellers Contracts has the non-guaranteed contracts extending out another year, ending in 2014. Neither is slated to make as much as $1MM in any season.
  • Sloan and presumably Harris will play for the Cavs' summer league team in the offseason, Reed and Boyer also note, via Twitter.

 

Cavs Waive Kapono, Sign Harris

The Cavs have waived forward Jason Kapono and signed guard Manny Harris, the Associated Press confirms. The moves had been anticipated last night.

Harris returns to the team after signing a pair of 10-day contracts earlier this year. His contract, likely for the minimum salary, will be guaranteed for the rest of the season. Harris played 54 games with the Cavs last year and with the team in training camp before this season began, but was cut after suffering a bizarre freezer burn injury at Nike facilities in Oregon. The 6'5", 185-pound University of Michigan product has averaged 5.8 points, 1.5 assists and 2.5 rebounds in two seasons.

Kapono, acquired in the deal that sent Ramon Sessions to the Lakers, is a three-point specialist who's fallen on hard times. A career 43.4% three-point shooter, his long-distance accuracy has slipped to 25.7% over the last two seasons.

Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports first tweeted last night that Kapono would likely be waived. Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal reported via Twitter that Harris would replace him. Tom Reed of The Plain Dealer added detail.

Cavs To Waive Jason Kapono, Sign Manny Harris

9:01pm: Cleveland is expected to sign Manny Harris to replace Kapono on the roster, tweets Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal. The team had signed Harris to a pair of 10-day deals earlier this year, so his latest contract will be for the rest of the season. With signing of Donald Sloan earlier today, Harris would put the Cavs roster back at 15 players. 

7:12pm: The Cavs plan to waive small forward Jason Kapono, whom they acquired from the Lakers via trade yesterday, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Tom Reed of The Plain Dealer adds detail in a story.

Kapono is on a one-year minimum-salary deal, making $1,223,166. He counts for $854,389 against the cap, which the Cavs will still be on the hook for unless someone puts in a claim for him. Their post-trade payroll of $70.5MM is well over the cap, but because $18MM of that is a cap hold for the expired Wally Szczerbiak, they are nowhere near the luxury tax threshold. 

The 6'8", 213-pound Kapono's specialty has been the three-point shot, having made 43.4% of his long-range attempts throughout his nine-year career. This year, though, the 30-year-old's three-point percentage is only 29.6% in spot duty for the Lakers. He averaged 2.0 points in 10 minutes a game for L.A.

Cavaliers Do Not Re-Sign Manny Harris

Even in an inactive trade season, the trade deadline can offer plenty of activity on the fringes of rosters. Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal reported the Cavaliers will not pick up Manny Harris' contract, opting to keep their 15th and final roster spot open to maintain flexibility heading into the trade deadline.

Harris signed two 10-day contracts with the Cavaliers, so a third extension would have made his contract permanent through the rest of the season. The Cavaliers could always choose to bring Harris back after the trade deadline.

In the grand scheme of things, this is a small move in NBA terms. But it's always interesting to note what little things teams do headed into the trade deadline, from minor tweaks to their roster to make room for an incoming player, or a shift in playing time both before and after the deadline as teams audition players for the market.

Cavs Re-Sign Manny Harris

The Cavs have re-signed Manny Harris to a second 10-day contract, according to the team. Harris signed with the Cavs on February 21st, meaning his deal expired yesterday.

A good portion of Harris' first 10-day deal was chewed up by the All-Star break, and in the games the Cavs did play, Harris only saw six seconds of action (Tuesday against Boston). The 22-year-old had been averaging 21.4 PPG and 7.9 RPG for the D-League's Canton Charge this season, having twice been named the League's Performer of the Week.

Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal first reported Cleveland would re-sign Harris. If the Cavs want to keep the 6'5" guard past March 11th, they'd need to sign him for the remainder of the season.