Orlando Johnson Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Anthony, Denmon, Wizards

August 16th, 2014 at 12:27pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Carmelo Anthony has elected to take half of his $22.5MM salary this season up front, reports Marc Berman of the New York Post. Because his five-year, $124MM contract is structured similarly for future seasons, Anthony will receive a total of $62MM up front over the course of his deal, notes Berman. This won’t have any bearing on the Knicks‘ salary cap, but likely is among the largest immediate payouts in NBA history, Berman points out. League rules stipulate the maximum allowable advance is 50 percent of a player’s annual salary.

Here’s more from around the league:

Marcus Denmon has signed with Enel Brindisi of the Italian League, the team announced via their Facebook page (translation by Enea Trapani of Sportando). Denmon was a former second round pick of the Spurs. Enel Brindisi signed him after negotiations with Orlando Johnson fell through, notes Trapani.
34 players in the NBA currently have trade kickers in their contracts, and Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders runs down the list.
Although other teams have made more noise this summer, one team that has quietly improved itself is the Wizards, writes Jessica Camerato of Basketball Insiders. In the article, Camerato looks at the additions the team has made, and the impact they could have on Washington’s season.

Orlando Johnson To Play In Spain

August 13th, 2014 at 1:06pm CST by Chuck Myron

WEDNESDAY, 1:06pm: Johnson has switched gears and has agreed to play for Laboral Kuxta of Spain, reports David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter link). Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia confirms the news (on Twitter). The team is presumably the Spanish club that made the lucrative offer that Pick identified earlier.

5:45pm: David Pick of Eurobasket.com suggests (on Twitter) that Johnson had a more lucrative opportunity from a Spanish team, but that the wing’s representatives pushed him toward Enel Brindisi.

SATURDAY, 8:40am: Johnson and Enel Brindisi are finalizing the deal, reports Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Carchia notes that it’s a one-year pact.

FRIDAY, 12:30pm: Former Pacers and Kings swingman Orlando Johnson is leaning toward taking a deal with Enel Brindisi of Italy, Sportando’s Orazio Cauchi reports (Twitter link). The terms of a would-be deal aren’t immediately clear, but it would likely offer him more security than an NBA training camp invitation would.

Johnson spent a year and a half with the Pacers, who drafted him 36th overall in 2012, but Indiana waived him at the trade deadline when the acquisition of Evan Turner and Lavoy Allen for Danny Granger created a numbers crunch. The BDA Sports Management client latched on with Sacramento on a pair of 10-day contracts, and while it appeared as though the Kings were likely to keep him for the rest of the season once the second of those 10-day deals expired, the Kings went with Jared Cunningham instead.

There hasn’t been much NBA interest in Johnson since, as our rumors page for the 25-year-old shows, though Brose Baskets Bamberg of Germany eyed him in July, as Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia reported. Should he take the deal with Enel Brindisi, Johnson would join a group of 10 others who are heading overseas after appearing in the NBA last season, according to the Hoops Rumors Free Agent Tracker.

Draft Notes: Saric, Parker, Wiggins, Magic

May 10th, 2014 at 3:52pm CST by Charlie Adams

The 2014 draft is a little over a month away, and there’s no shortage of news and notes on this year’s deep class. Let’s round up the latest:

Dario Saric might be the most versatile offensive player in the 2014 draft, writes Jonathan Givony in his profile of the Croatian forward. However, Saric’s lack of a true position and perceived attitude issues might hinder his stock, says Givony.
Chad Ford and Kevin Pelton of ESPN.com debate whether Jabari Parker should be the number one overall pick in the draft. They both think Parker would be the safe first-overall selection, but that Andrew Wiggins has a higher ceiling (Insider link).
The Magic place a high value on character, and they will utilize the pre-draft interviews to evaluate whether or not a potential draftee is compatible with their team, reports Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel (subscribers only). Orlando GM Rob Hennigan was impressed with how Victor Oladipo performed in his interview last summer, writes Robbins.

Cray Allred contributed to this post.

Western Notes: Kobe, Mavs, Johnson

March 19th, 2014 at 7:22pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Kobe Bryant endorses the Knicks hiring of Phil Jackson despite his well-documented disappointment with the Lakers front office for not bringing Jackson back to Los Angeles. In an article by Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles, Bryant said, “I just think his mentorship shifts. I think it goes from having a direct influence on the players themselves to having a direct influence on the coaching staff, which he’s accustomed to doing because that’s how he coached as well. He really had a great rapport with his coaching staff and he was really a great mentor for them, and I’m sure he’ll do the same thing and it will just kind of trickle down from there. It’s really no different from what Pat [Riley] has been able to do in Miami with [Erik] Spoelstra.” According to the article, Bryant also believes that Jackson will be able to help Carmelo Anthony improve as a player. On what Phil can do for ‘Melo, Bryant said, “Phil will be able to provide that knowledge and he’ll learn more about the game and open up dimensions of the game that he never saw before. So, he’ll just continue to improve.”

Kings Sign Johnson To Second 10-Day Contract

March 8th, 2014 at 2:09pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Kings signed guard Orlando Johnson to a second 10-day contract, according to Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro (Press Release). After signing a 10-day contract with the team on February 26, Johnson appeared in five games and is averaging 1.8 PPG, 0.8 RPG, 0.6 APG in 9.0 minutes per game. This comes after rumors that the team might sign him for the remainder of the season. The Kings could still elect to do so after this second 10-day contract runs out.

Johnson averaged 2.4 PPG, 1.3 RPG, 0.4 APG and 9.0 minutes per game with the Pacers before being waived hours after the trade deadline. For the season, he is averaging 2.3 PPG , 1.3 RPG, 0.4 APG and 9.0 minutes per game in 43 appearances as a reserve with the Pacers and the Kings.

Originally drafted by the Kings in the second round (36th overall) of the 2012 NBA Draft, Johnson’s draft rights were traded to the Pacers for cash considerations that same night.

Kings Likely To Keep Orlando Johnson

March 6th, 2014 at 9:16am CST by Chuck Myron

Indications are the Kings will keep 10-day signee Orlando Johnson for the rest of the season, as Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee writes within a story about the team’s impending addition of Royce White. Johnson’s 10-day contract is set to expire at the end of Friday, though it’s unclear if the team intends to give him another 10-day contract before locking him up for the rest of 2013/14 or is simply planning to go ahead and sign him for the season.

Sacramento has only 13 guaranteed contracts, meaning there’s room for Johnson and White. Johnson joined the team shortly after the Pacers waived him to accommodate their deadline-day trade with the Sixers. The 24-year-old has seemingly had a rough go of it in a return to his native Northern California, scoring just nine points on 21.4% shooting in 39 total minutes with the Kings, spread out over four games. He’s averaged 2.4 points and 9.1 minutes per game overall this season, declines from his numbers in 2012/13, when he posted 4.0 PPG in 12.1 MPG with the Pacers.

The Kings plan to use the waning weeks of the season to evaluate young talent and sign players who could help the team down the road, Jones writes. That suggests that Sacramento may attach a non-guaranteed second year onto a deal that would retain Johnson for the rest of this season. Sacramento drafted the shooting guard out of UC-Santa Barbara with the 36th overall pick in 2012, trading him to the Pacers shortly thereafter, but the Kings were under different management at the time.

Eastern Notes: Sixers, Anthony, Johnson

February 27th, 2014 at 8:29pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Sixers wound up with only a second-round pick in return for Evan Turner, thanks to their buyout deal with Danny Granger, but a team offered GM Sam Hinkie a first-rounder for Turner at last year’s draft, according to Tom Moore of Calkins Media (Twitter link). With Granger now waived, the team came away with a significantly lower return for Turner at the trade deadline.

Kings Sign Orlando Johnson To 10-Day Pact

February 26th, 2014 at 1:47pm CST by Ryan Raroque

WEDNESDAY, 1:47pm: The team has officially announced the deal.

TUESDAY, 9:26pm: The Kings will sign guard Orlando Johnson to a 10-day contract tomorrow, according to Sean Cunningham of News10 Sacramento (Twitter link passed along from Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee). The 24-year-old Monterey native last played for the Pacers, averaging 2.4 PPG and 9.0 MPG in 38 games this season.

Coincidentally, Johnson had been selected by the Kings during the second round of the 2012 draft but was quickly sent to the Pacers for cash considerations on a draft day deal. Indiana waived the 6’5 guard last week in order to make their trade for Evan Turner work.

Pacers Waive Orlando Johnson

February 20th, 2014 at 9:21pm CST by Zachary Links

Within tonight’s press release welcoming Evan Turner to the organization, the Pacers announced that they have waived Orlando Johnson. Indiana had to cut someone loose in order to make the trade work.

Johnson, a second-year player out of California-Santa Barbara, was a draft-night acquisition in 2012. He was originally drafted by the Kings with the 36th overall pick in that draft. In 38 games for Indiana this season, Johnson averaged 2.4 PPG and 1.3 RPG in nine minutes per contest. He also saw a stint with the D-League’s Fort Wayne Mad Ants.

“Orlando is a great kid,” said Pacers President of Basketball Operations Larry Bird. “We appreciate everything he’s done for us and hope he has a long and successful career.”

Eastern Notes: Bynum, Bobcats, Woodson

February 6th, 2014 at 10:11pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Bobcats are going to be buyers at the trade deadline, according to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders.com. With the Bobcats having exceeded expectations this season, and with the overall weakness of the Eastern Conference, the team will try and bolster their roster for a playoff push. The team has been actively shopping Ben Gordon‘s expiring $13.2MM contract, and would be willing to part with a first-round pick for the right player. Charlotte will surrender their pick to the Bulls if it falls out of the top ten, but might still have two first-rounders in this year’s draft. They are owed the Pistons first-round pick (top-eight protected), as well as the Trail Blazers pick (top-12 protected). According to Kennedy, the Bobcats have already inquired about the Sixers Evan Turner, and the Bulls Taj Gibson.