Patric Young

Patric Young Signs To Play In Turkey

11:30am: The deal is official, the team announced (Twitter link; hat tip to Carchia).

8:27am: Former Pelicans big man Patric Young has agreed to sign with Galatasaray of Turkey, reports Ismail Senol of NTV Spor (Twitter links; translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). It’s not clear what Young will make on the deal, but it’s a quick turnaround for the first-year pro, who just cleared waivers Tuesday after New Orleans waived him Sunday.

Young didn’t appear in a regular season game for the Pelicans, who signed him in July, shortly after he turned in an impressive summer league despite going undrafted out of the University of Florida the month before. The 22-year-old averaged 7.4 points and 8.0 rebounds in 25.2 minutes per game for the summer Pelicans coming off a season at Florida in which he was named SEC Defensive Player of the Year.

New Orleans guaranteed the Jim Tanner client‘s rookie minimum salary for $55K, though he had already earned more than $100K by virtue of remaining on the roster through the first month of the season, putting him on a de facto non-guaranteed contract. The Pelicans reportedly worked out free agent Dante Cunningham, but it was nonetheless curious to see them release Young without bringing in someone to fill his roster spot. Young’s quick deal with Galatasaray seems a hint that he might have asked the Pelicans to waive him now so that he could capitalize on interest from the Turkish team, though that’s just my speculation.

And-Ones: Rookies, Nets, Cavs, Pelicans

The vaunted 2014 draft class hasn’t performed up to par quite yet, notes Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio. K.J. McDaniels of the Sixers is the third-leading rookie scorer, as Amico points out, but he’s averaging only 10.2 points per game and was the 32nd overall pick. There’s plenty of time for others to fulfill their promise, but this year’s crop of first-year players isn’t exactly revolutionizing the game. Here’s more from around the NBA as the league gets set to tip off a four-game night:

  • Nets GM Billy King told reporters that he’s considering “tweaks” to the roster as he works the phones, but he offered only a “we’ll see” when asked whether the team’s core of Deron Williams, Brook Lopez and Joe Johnson was still viable. Devin Kharpertian of The Brooklyn Game has the details.
  • Pelicans coach Monty Williams felt as though he’d given Darius Miller an opportunity to show what he can do after putting him in the starting lineup last week, but he admits that Patric Young still may have had the potential to help the team, observes Jimmy Smith of The Times-Picayune. The Pelicans waived both on Sunday.
  • The Cavs have recalled Alex Kirk from the D-League, the team announced. The center had 16 points and six rebounds in 29 minutes for Cleveland’s affiliate Sunday on a one-day assignment.

Pelicans Waive Darius Miller, Patric Young

4:50pm: The Pelicans are being aggressive in trade talks around the league and Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter links) wouldn’t be surprised if there is a forthcoming move after New Orleans freed two roster spots.  He adds that many around the league expect a move to happen.

4:18pm: The Pelicans announced that they have waived Darius Miller and Patric Young.  Both players were on minimum salary deals with only partial guarantees on the first season.

Miller, a 2012 draft pick of New Orleans, was not extended his $1.15MM qualifying offer in June. However, in July, the Pelicans worked out a deal could pay him as much as $1.897MM over two years.  The first year of the deal was only guaranteed for $400K, however, while the second year was completely non-guaranteed.  Miller averaged 3.3 points in 14.6 minutes per contest over his first two seasons in New Orleans but he has played sparingly in year three.  So far this season, the small forward has seen just 43 minutes of action across five games.

Young, a former Florida standout, went undrafted in 2014 before hooking on with the Pelicans in July.  In four seasons with the Gators, the big man averaged 8.7 PPG, 5.7 RPG, and 1.1 BPG while playing 24.3 minutes per contest.

With today’s moves, New Orleans’ roster now stands at 13.

Contract Details: Clarkson, Young, Powell

Eric Pincus has once more updated his Basketball Insiders salary pages, and included in his changes are a few tidbits of previously unreported news on players who’ve signed this summer. We’ll pass along those items here:

  • The two-year deal that Jerrelle Benimon signed with the Nuggets is for the minimum salary and is partially guaranteed for $35K this season, while his 2015/16 salary is non-guaranteed, Pincus reports (Twitter link).
  • The Blazers gave Diante Garrett a $30K guarantee in the first year of his two-year minimum salary deal, but the second year is non-guaranteed, Pincus notes on Twitter.
  • Patric Young‘s two-year deal with the Pelicans is a minimum-salary arrangement that’s partially guaranteed for $55K this season, but it’s otherwise non-guaranteed, Pincus notes (Twitter link). Darius Miller‘s deal with the team is partially guaranteed for $400K this year but otherwise non-guaranteed, Pincus adds.
  • Both Will Cherry‘s and Jordan Hamilton‘s salaries are guaranteed for $25K for the 2014/15 season, Pincus tweets, adding that Hamilton’s pact is for the minimum. The Raptors signed Cherry to a two-year minimum salary deal, and Hamilton to a one-year arrangement. Cherry’s salary for 2015/16 is non-guaranteed, Pincus adds.
  • Dwight Powell‘s deal with the Cavaliers is fully guaranteed for the first season, with the second year non-guaranteed, Pincus reports (Twitter link). The contract covers just those two seasons, as Pincus notes.
  • The Spurs‘ two-year deal with JaMychal Green is for the minimum salary and has a $60K guarantee for this coming season, Pincus reports (Twitter link). It’s non-guaranteed for 2015/16, according to Pincus.
  • Sim Bhullar‘s deal is for one year and comes with a guarantee of $35K, while Eric Moreland‘s three-year contract is guaranteed for $200K this coming season and is otherwise non-guaranteed, Pincus notes (Twitter link). Both players are with the Kings, and, according to Pincus, make the minimum.
  • The two-year, minimum-salary deal that Jordan Clarkson signed with the Lakers is fully guaranteed for this coming season, but the 2015/16 season is non-guaranteed, Pincus reports (Twitter link).

Pelicans Sign Patric Young

THURSDAY, 5:42pm: The signing has been officially announced by New Orleans in a team release.

SUNDAY, 8:38am: The Pelicans have signed rookie free agent Patric Young to a two-year deal, reports Adam Silverstein of OnlyGators.com. The signing was confirmed by Young via his Twitter account. In the tweet, Young wrote, “It’s a blessing to announce that I signed a contract with the New Orleans Pelicans. Thank you to everyone that supported me!!!” The terms of the deal were not disclosed but it is likely for the NBA rookie minimum. Young joins a crowded frontcourt in New Orleans that already features Anthony Davis, Ryan Anderson, Omer Asik, and Jeff Withey.

The 6’9″ power forward/center went undrafted out of Florida this year and impressed over the last two weeks in the Las Vegas Summer League, averaging 7.4 PPG and 8.0 RPG in five games.

In four seasons with the Gators, Young averaged 8.7 PPG, 5.7 RPG, and 1.1 BPG while playing 24.3 minutes per contest. His career slash line was .577/.000/.569.

Contract Details: LeBron, Deng, Carter, Gasol

The idea that the Cavs would trade LeBron James sometime during his two-year contract is outlandish, but just in case it happens, the deal includes a 15% trade kicker, according to Mark Deeks of ShamSports. Deeks has updated his salary database with plenty of new information on deals signed within the past few weeks, so we’ll pass along some of his noteworthy findings. All links to go the relevant salary page at ShamSports.

  • Luol Deng, LeBron’s replacement with the Heat, also has a 15% trade kicker, as do new Grizzlies swingman Vince Carter and Knicks signee Jason Smith.
  • The last year of Pau Gasol‘s three-year deal with the Bulls is a player option.
  • The final season of the contract Joe Harris signed with the Cavs is non-guaranteed.
  • Eric Griffin‘s three-year, minimum-salary contract with the Mavs is non-guaranteed, with the exception of a $150K partial guarantee for this coming season.
  • Jodie Meeks‘ deal with the Pistons was originally reported to be more than $19MM, but it actually checks in at $18.81MM.
  • Damjan Rudez will make $3.449MM over the life of his three-year deal with the Pacers, which includes a team option for the final season. Shayne Whittington‘s partial guarantee with the team this year is worth $25K.
  • Russ Smith‘s deal with the Pelicans runs three years at the minimum salary, but only the first season is fully guaranteed. Fellow Pelicans rookie Patric Young‘s two-year deal is non-guaranteed, save for a $55K partial guarantee this year.

Western Notes: Miller, Bosh, Tucker, Mavs

The Rockets and the Mavericks are interested in Mike Miller, reports Mark Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The Nuggets have the best financial offer on the table for Miller, but Dallas, Houston, and the Cavaliers offer him a better chance to play for a winner, tweets Stein.

More from out west:

  • The Pelicans extended a two-year contract offer to undrafted free agent center Patric Young, reports David Pick of Eurobasket (Twitter link).
  •  In addition to the Rockets and Heat, Chris Bosh was also being pursued by the Nuggets, Suns, and Lakers, notes Tom Haberstroh of ESPN.com. On why he chose to re-sign with Miami, Bosh said, “There were very enticing offers. There was some surprising advances made in everything, but I ultimately decided to stay in Miami. I think it was the right choice. I benefit from it, the team will benefit from it, from here. My heart was in Miami. I wanted to be there and keep my family there and build relationships and really keep building on something special.
  • It was a long road for P.J. Tucker, but the hard work paid off with his new contract with the Suns, writes Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic.
  • Mavericks‘ president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson would like to re-sign free agent center Bernard James, tweets Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Nelson said, “We love to be able to have Sarge [James] back because of his shot blocking.” James averaged 0.3 BPG in 30 games last season for Dallas.
  • Mavs owner Mark Cuban suggested that Chandler Parsons was the team’s top free agent target all along, writes Bryan Gutierrez of ESPNDallas.com. Cuban said, “I looked at all the main guys that were young that we thought would be available and we loved his game. We liked him the best of all the free agents and that was point one.” In the article Cuban also said that if he was in the Rockets position, he would have matched their offer sheet on Parsons.

Draft Notes: Payton, Embiid, Knicks

In Jeff Goodman’s latest mock draft for ESPN (Insiders only), Elfrid Payton gets selected by the Timberwolves at No. 13. In response to that projection, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN said that Minnesota doesn’t have any interest in drafting the former Louisiana Lafayette guard with that pick. It probably won’t matter anyway, as Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe hears that Payton has been greatly impressive in workouts and won’t slip past the top 10 on draft night (Twitter links).

With that aside, we’ll keep tabs on this evening’s draft-related news here:

  • Add Sweden’s Viktor Gaddefors to the list of players that Memphis is bringing in for a second workout on Wednesday, notes Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal.
  • The Hornets appear primed to add at least one big man with either the 24th or 45th pick in this year’s draft, and Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer lists Mitch McGary and Johnny O’Bryant as potential targets.
  • Former Florida big man Patric Young is on Phil Jackson’s draft wish list, writes Marc Berman of the New York Post. Berman also points out that the Knicks worked out Jahii Carson recently.
  • Following up Andy Katz’s earlier ESPN report that the Kings have three deals in place regarding their No. 8 pick, ESPN’s Marc Stein identified the Celtics, Suns, and 76ers as the potential trading partners.

Earlier updates:

  • The Pelicans are making a concerted effort to acquire a first-round pick, tweets NBA.com’s David Aldridge.
  • According to Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress, Joel Embiid is strongly in play for the 76ers at No. 3 and the Magic at No. 4; the worst-case scenario is that Embiid won’t fall past the Kings at No. 8 (Twitter link).
  • The Knicks remain confident that they’ll land a first-round pick and/or a second-round pick in Thursday’s draft, tweets Frank Isola of the New York Daily News.
  • The Pistons are without a first-round pick this year, but team president/head coach Stan Van Gundy says that one team picking between No. 26 and No. 30 is open to shedding their pick for the best offer. There’s one team that’s saying “give us your best deal for (our) pick” (Twitter link via Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News). 
  • The Bucks made an unsuccessful attempt to bring in Cleanthony Early for a workout, tweets Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times.
  • In another piece, Woelfel notes that the Spurs, Pacers, and Pistons are among the list of teams that brought second-round hopeful Jamil Wilson in for a workout.
  • The Grizzlies are trying to put together a last minute workout for Glenn Robinson III, Jordan Adams, Joe Harris, and Geron Johnson tomorrow, tweets Chad Ford of ESPN.
  • Former Duke swingman Rodney Hood participated in a second workout for the Suns, notes Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (Twitter link).

Draft Notes: Clippers, Vonleh, Hornets, Hairston

The Clippers are interested in trading up from pick No. 28, reports Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Shelburne’s piece centers on a profile of former University of Colorado guard Spencer Dinwiddie, who can’t work out because he’s still recovering from a torn ACL. Dinwiddie’s nonetheless had meetings with the Bucks, Wizards, Bulls and Celtics, and he’s scheduled interviews and physicals with the Clippers, Heat, Hawks and Thunder, according to Shelburne. The ESPN scribe also says that he’ll interview and take a physical for the Jazz, advancing an earlier report that he was set to interview with the team. Here’s more on the draft:

  • Julius Randle is set to work out for the Jazz tomorrow, tweets Utah’s radio announcer David Locke.
  • Marcus Smart and Elfrid Payton are expected to work out for the Lakers on Friday for the second time, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports Spears advises his readers to “keep an eye” on Payton (via Twitter) in light of the second workout.
  • Nik Stauskas is expected in for his first workout with the Lakers, who have struggled to get Stauskas in, tweets Eric Pincus of The Los Angeles Times.
  • Rodney Hood had to sit out most of his Hornets workout today due to illness, reports Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer.
  • Gary Harris and Zach LaVine will work out for the Hornets tomorrow, tweets Bonnell, who adds Charlotte’s other new workout appointees in a separate tweet: Rion Brown; Ronald Roberts Jr.; and Markel Brown, who missed an earlier workout due to travel issues.
  • The Rockets worked out Shabazz Napier, Xavier Thames, Patric Young, Nick Russell, and Kadeem Coleby, tweets Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops.
  • Sim Bhullar, Earnest Ross, Ian Chiles, Cameron Clark, Philipp Neumann, and Jordan Bachynski will work out for the Wizards tomorrow, tweets J. Michael of CSNWashington.com.

Earlier updates:

  • Noah Vonleh will work out for the Sixers on Thursday, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).
  • Elfrid Payton, Josh Huestis, James Bell and Jordan Clarkson are the previously unreported prospects performing for the Hornets today, as Chris Littmann of The Sporting News tweets.
  • P.J. Hairston will audition for the Hawks, as he tells Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer, who also reports that Hairston will show off for the Grizzlies, Lakers and Bulls (Twitter links).
  • Kyle Anderson will work out for the Suns, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports, as well as the Grizzlies, according to Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (Twitter links). A previous report indicated that the Suns were set to audition Anderson a week ago, so this appears to be his second workout with Phoenix.
  • Anderson will also perform for the Bulls, as will Clint Capela and DeAndre Daniels, Zagoria tweets.
  • Jordan Adams, Devyn Marble, Sean Kilpatrick, C.J. Wilcox and Jarnell Stokes are working out for the Raptors today, the team announced. A report from last month indicated that Stokes had already worked out for Toronto, but given that the dispatch came in the middle of the draft combine, I wouldn’t be surprised if that was actually an interview between Stokes and the club, rather than a workout.
  • The Wizards are auditioning Semaj Christon, Nick Johnson, Deonte Burton, Alec Brown and Khem Birch today, according to Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops (on Twitter).

Draft Notes: Cobbs, Rockets, Gordon, Jazz

We rounded up the draft news this morning and this afternoon, but there’s plenty of new info still coming out. Here’s the latest:

  • Justin Cobbs had a workout with Warriors today, tweets Diamond Leung of Bay Area News.
  • The Rockets brought in Iona guard Tre Bowman for a workout, reveals Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (on Twitter).
  • Aaron Gordon will work out for the Celtics, tweets Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe. Boston is reportedly “locked in” to big man with the No. 6 pick.
  • Patric Young, Jordan Adams, T.J. Bray, Alec Brown, and Jabari Brown will work out for the Jazz, the team announced (on Twitter).
  • The Hornets’ workouts tomorrow will include Jordan Bachynski, Justin Jackson, Alex Kirk, Daniel Miller, Dwight Powell, and D.J. Shelton, according to Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (Twitter links).
  • Jordan Clarkson made a strong impression during his workout for the Suns, observes Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic (on Twitter).