Pierre Jackson Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Atlantic Notes: Johnson, Russell, Scariolo

June 16th, 2015 at 6:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Nets lost the two likeliest spots to deal veteran Joe Johnson after the recent trades made by the Pistons and Bucks, Robert Windrem of NetsDaily writes. There were reports that both franchises were interested in acquiring Johnson and his player-friendly salary of $24,894,863 this past season. Unloading Johnson for non-guaranteed deals like those the Bucks acquired in Caron Butler and Shawne Williams would appear to be the ideal way for the Nets to shake up their roster, Windrem adds. But with both Charlotte and Detroit seemingly out of the running, Brooklyn may need to pursue a trade for a player like Wilson Chandler or Randy Foye of the Nuggets, or perhaps the Cavs’ Brendan Haywood, if it truly wishes to part ways with Johnson this summer, Windrem opines.

Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

The Sixers have a pre-draft workout scheduled with Ohio State playmaker D’Angelo Russell for Wednesday, Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops tweets. Russell had cancelled a previous workout with the team due to illness.
Despite being waived by the franchise last September, Pierre Jackson says that he would like to play for the Sixers next season, Tom Moore of Calkins Media relays (Twitter link). “There’s a little bit of loyalty here. I want to play in Philadelphia, man,” Jackson said. Jackson, who is coming off a ruptured right Achilles’ tendon, was cleared to resume basketball activities back in April.
Spanish national team head coach Sergio Scariolo was offered a position as an assistant on Raptors coach Dwane Casey‘s staff, which Scariolo declined, David Pick of Eurobasket.com reports (Twitter link).
In his latest mock draft, Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders has Duke forward Justise Winslow as the Knicks‘ “leader in the clubhouse” to be nabbed with the No. 4 overall pick if the team doesn’t trade down.
The Knicks have a workout scheduled on Thursday for Kentucky big man Trey Lyles, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports tweets.

And-Ones: Salary Tiers, Deng, Jackson

April 13th, 2015 at 10:43pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The maximum salary tiers will rise dramatically over the next two years when the league’s new TV contract takes effect, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reports. Currently, players with up to six years of experience can receive a maximum of $14.7MM in the first year of a contract, $17.7MM if they have seven to nine years of experience and $20.6MM if they have at least 10 years of experience. By the 2016/17 season, those maximum salary tiers will rise to approximately $21.0MM, $25.3MM and $29.5MM, Pincus calculates. That will encourage free agents this summer to sign contracts with an opt-out clause for the second year, allowing them to take advantage of the bump in salaries, Pincus continues. LaMarcus Aldridge, Rajon Rondo and Paul Millsap are some of the free agents this summer who could elevate into the top tier in salary in 2016/17 by signing one-year contracts or contracts with an opt-out clause, Pincus adds.

In other news around the league:

Draft prospects Montrezl Harrell of Louisville and Trey Lyles of Kentucky have signed with LeBron James‘ agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports tweets. Sam Dekker of Wisconsin has chosen Mark Bartelstein and Priority Sports to represent him, according to Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com. (Twitter link). Chad Ford of ESPN.com has all three rated as first-round prospects, with Dekker ranked No. 15 overall, Lyles at No. 17 and Harrell at No. 24. Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress also has all three among his first-round prospects, with Dekker 15th overall, Lyles 19th and Harrell 23rd.
Luol Deng has not yet decided whether he will exercise his player option of approximately $10.15MM for next season, Jason Lieser of Palm Beach Post tweets. The Heat forward is optimistic about the team’s future and has enjoyed playing for the organization this season, Lieser adds.
Pierre Jackson, who ruptured his right Achilles’ tendon playing for the Sixers’ summer-league team last year, has been cleared to resume all basketball activities, according to Spears (Twitter link). Jackson was part of the Nerlens Noel trade between Philadelphia and the Pelicans after the Sixers selected him in the second round in 2013. New Orleans traded Jackson back to the Sixers last year in exchange for Russ Smith‘s draft rights. Jackson is a free agent after the Sixers waived him in September.

Sixers Sign K.J. McDaniels, Jerami Grant

October 1st, 2014 at 9:47am CST by Chuck Myron

9:47am: McDaniels will make the minimum salary this year, as Wojnarowski reveals in his full story, one that suggests that the small forward simply signed the required tender that teams must make in order to retain the rights to their second-round picks. He rejected a long-term offer with terms similar to what Grant has in his contract, as agent Mark Bartelstein explains to Wojnarowski.

“The 76ers have a philosophy that they’re adhering to, and we totally respect that, but it doesn’t fit for K.J. and us,” Bartelstein said. “I just totally disagree with the idea of doing a four-year deal that includes a structure of two non-guaranteed years. We think K.J. is going to be a good player, and it came down to doing a one-year deal and letting the market determine his value. There’s no hard feelings. The Sixers’ philosophy has worked for them. It just doesn’t work for us.”

WEDNESDAY, 8:51am: McDaniels is getting a one-year, non-guaranteed deal, setting himself up for restricted free agency next summer, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).

TUESDAY, 9:10pm: McDaniels hasn’t signed his contract as of this afternoon and didn’t report to training camp Tuesday, reports Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Pompey implies that McDaniels isn’t happy with the team’s offer, but adds that the Sixers do expect him to sign it soon.

MONDAY, 4:22pm: The Sixers have signed K.J. McDaniels and Jerami Grant, two of the team’s second-round picks from June, the team acknowledged as it released its training camp roster via press release. The team has plenty of cap space, but it’s not immediately clear how much of it goes to McDaniels and Grant, nor is it known whether their deals are guaranteed. The roster also serves as an official announcement of previously reported deals with No. 3 overall pick Joel Embiid, Ronald Roberts Jr. and JaKarr Sampson. Absent from the roster are Malcolm Lee, Drew Gordon and Pierre Jackson, whom offseason reports indicated the Sixers had agreed to sign, so presumably those deals are off.

McDaniels, the 32nd overall pick, is a small forward who’s a heady player with a strong motor who seems poised to outperform his draft position, as Eddie Scarito of Hoops Rumors wrote when he examined the former Clemson Tiger’s prospect profile. Grant, a combo forward from Syracuse, carries plenty of athleticism but plenty of unknowns, too, though he appears to be a strong value as a second-rounder, as Eddie’s profile of the No. 39 overall pick reads. Vasilije Micic and Jordan McRae, the team’s other second-round picks, are playing overseas, as our list of draft pick signings shows.

Philadelphia is bringing 20 players to camp, though only eight are known to have fully guaranteed salary. Roberts, Sampson and Jarvis Varnado have partially guaranteed deals, but it’s seemingly an otherwise wide-open competition for opening-night roster spots.

Sixers Waive Pierre Jackson

September 30th, 2014 at 4:50pm CST by Alex Lee

The Sixers have waived Pierre Jackson today, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (via Twitter). This move comes as no surprise after Jackson didn’t show up on the team’s training camp roster yesterday. Philly traded for Jackson in June and then curiously signed him to a partially-guaranteed deal a month later after he ruptured his Achilles tendon in summer league. Jackson starred last season for the D-League’s Idaho Stampede, averaging 29.1 points and 6.2 assists in 41.5 minutes per contest.

As Stein suggests in a separate tweet, it now appears that the $400K that the Sixers guaranteed to Jackson, who will undoubtedly miss the entire upcoming season rehabbing his injury, might have been intended to encourage the Baylor product to rejoin the team next summer. Philly, of course, loses the rights to Jackson by waiving him.

It was actually the Sixers who drafted Jackson out of Baylor in 2013 second round before dealing him to New Orleans. He joined the Pelicans for summer league but went unsigned through the fall before being selected in the D-League draft. Once he emerged as a force for Idaho, New Orleans allowed Jackson to reach out to other teams to see if they’d be interested in trading for his rights. After nothing materialized, he signed with European powerhouse Fenerbahce Ulker before the Sixers acquired his rights in June.

Sixers Sign Pierre Jackson

July 24th, 2014 at 6:28pm CST by Chuck Myron

6:28pm: Jackson has announced his signing on his personal Instagram account (H/T Dwain Price of Fort Worth Star-Telegram via Twitter).

4:50pm: Jackson’s rookie minimum salary of $507,336 is guaranteed for $400K, Deeks tweets.

3:23pm: The Sixers have signed point guard Pierre Jackson to a partially guaranteed one-year deal, reports Mark Deeks of ShamSports (All Twitter links). It completes an unusual odyssey to an NBA contract for last year’s 42nd overall pick, who put on a dazzling performance in the D-League but failed to come to terms with the Pelicans, the team that held his NBA rights until trading them to Philadelphia last month.

Jackson, 22, averaged 29.1 points, 6.2 assists and 4.0 turnovers in 41.5 minutes per game for the D-League’s Idaho Stampede last season after he went unsigned through last summer. The numbers helped drive up his value, and once it became clear the Pelicans and agent Colin Bryant couldn’t agree on an NBA deal, New Orleans allowed Bryant to reach out to other teams to see if they’d be interested in trading for Jackson’s NBA rights. The Wizards, Cavs and Nuggets were among those who were reportedly in the mix, but Jackson fled to Turkey after no deal materialized, signing with European powerhouse Fenerbahce Ulker.

The overseas experiment didn’t go so well, as the 5’10” Jackson averaged just 4.3 points in 10.3 minutes for Fenerbahce. Jackson joined the Sixers for summer league after the trade, but he ruptured his achilles tendon, an injury that threatens to knock him out for the entire season. It’s therefore somewhat odd that the Sixers would sign him to a one-year deal. It’s conceivable that Jackson merely signed the required one-year tender that Philadelphia had to make to keep his draft rights, but the fact that the deal is partially guaranteed makes that a remote possibility, as Deeks notes.

Sixers Trade For Pierre Jackson

June 27th, 2014 at 1:53pm CST by Chuck Myron

1:53pm: The trade is official, the Pelicans have announced.

FRIDAY, 12:30pm: There’s still no official announcement, but Sixers GM Sam Hinkie confirmed the swap to reporters, including Tom Moore of Calkins Media (Twitter link). Hinkie also expects that Jackson will sign with the Sixers for next season.

THURSDAY, 10:43pm: The Sixers will send 47th overall pick Russ Smith to the Pelicans in exchange for the rights to Pierre Jackson, last year’s No. 42 pick who became a D-League sensation this past season, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Jackson never signed with New Orleans, heading overseas after he and the team couldn’t strike a deal following his high-scoring showing in the D-League.

And-Ones: Draft, Celtics, Pistons

May 25th, 2014 at 12:19pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Joel Embiid‘s medical worries make it a risk for the Sixers to select the talented Kansas big man with the third pick, opines Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Pompey acknowledges that if healthy, Embiid might turn out to be the best player in the draft, but Philadelphia would be safer selecting Julius Randle or Noah Vonleh if Embiid is still available when they pick.

Pelicans GM On Jackson, Smith, Morrow

April 18th, 2014 at 9:59am CST by Chuck Myron

The Pelicans endured a nightmare season, losing Jrue Holiday, Ryan Anderson and a host of others for significant time because of injury. They finished 34-48, far outside the playoff race but with little chance of moving up in the lottery to keep their first-round pick from going to the Sixers. GM Dell Demps said this week that he likes the team’s core and wants to see more of it at full health. He had plenty more to say in his season-ending press conference, and John Reid of The Times Picayune transcribes his remarks. His entire piece is worth a look, especially for Pelicans fans, but we’ll pass along Demps’ most relevant quotes here:

On Jason Smith, an unrestricted free agent this summer:

”It hurt when we lost Jason [to a knee injury]. But obviously we want to continue getting better. [We] like what he brings to the core, like his ability to shoot, his energy and he’s a good guy in the locker room. [But] you also look at how you improve your roster. We’ll look at that, but we can do both.”

On Pierre Jackson:

”He’s an interesting one. He played really good in the D-League. I think he was the leading scorer. We’ve followed him and been in contact with him. When we made the trade last year, we knew we were giving up our draft pick and we kind of looked at him as our draft pick for this year. So we have his draft rights and he’s going to be experienced, a little bit older. Can I promise Pierre Jackson is going to be on our team next year? I can’t say that right now. But he’s definitely an asset. I want to make sure I say that. He’s done everything and exceeded expectations.”

On whether Anthony Morrow will exercise his roughly $1.15MM player option for 2014/15:

”You’ll have to talk to Anthony about that. Obviously, Anthony has a player option at the end of this season. I think he had a very good year for us. I think he’s helped us win some games. We like Anthony and there are some things we can’t talk about right now because of certain rules. But we do love Anthony.”

Southwest Rumors: Dwight, Jackson, Rockets

April 9th, 2014 at 4:29pm CST by Chuck Myron

Dirk Nowitzki moved into 10th place among the NBA’s all-time leading scorers Tuesday, but it wasn’t until the Mavs let Steve Nash go that he finally realized he was his team’s No. 1 option, as Tim McMahon of ESPN.com notes in an oral history of Nowitzki’s career. Nash made history of his own Tuesday, taking over third place for most assists in league history. Nowitzki’s upcoming free agency isn’t inspiring nearly the volume of rumors as that of another Texas star, whom we hear from amid the latest from around the Southwest Division:

Dwight Howard tells Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck that as he endured criticism for leaving the Magic and Lakers, he kept LeBron James‘ move from Cleveland to Miami in mind. “I watched it closely,” Howard said. “Because people don’t understand how tough it is, how tough it was for both of us to make the decisions that we made. And for me having to do it twice in the span of two years, very tough. Because you don’t want to hurt people. And I don’t think LeBron wanted to hurt anybody. And we have that same type of personality, to where we enjoy the fans. We want to be liked. So It’s very hard for both of us to deal with it.”
Pierre Jackson is parting ways with Fenerbahce Ulker of Turkey, according to Tolga Yenigün of Hurriyet.com.tr (translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). Jackson signed with the club shortly before the trade deadline, and the deal was supposed to run through June. The guard spent the first half of the season as a dominant force in the D-League, but he and the Pelicans, who own his NBA rights, were unable to come to terms.
The Rockets have recalled Robert Covington and Troy Daniels from the D-League, the team announced (Twitter link). The rookies spent the majority of the season with Houston’s D-League affiliate and have combined to play just 26 minutes for the big club.

And-Ones: Jackson, Draft, Parker

March 17th, 2014 at 9:07pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Agents aren’t pleased with the notion of raising the NBA’s minimum age, as Sean Deveney of The Sporting News examines. They feel shut out of the union’s search for a new executive director and they’re worried that whomever the union picks will be hurried to the bargaining table to discuss the age issue, Deveney writes.