Roger Mason Jr. Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Chris Paul Elected As NBPA President

August 21st, 2013 at 7:10pm CST by Alex Lee

Clippers point guard Chris Paul has been elected as the president of the NBA Players Association, the union announced via Twitter. The NBPA tweeted that Roger Mason Jr., who was also interested in the top position, has been named first vice president.

Liz Mullen of the Sports Business Journal first reported the surprising announcement via Twitter. The union was expected to announce their decision tonight according to Sean Deveney of the Sporting News, who tabbed Mason as Derek Fisher's probable successor. Mason announced his candidacy last week.

Paul, previously a union vice president, will be the first star player to head the players' union since Patrick Ewing, who held the position from 1997 to 2001, and the first "in-his-prime" president since fellow point guard Isiah Thomas. As LeBron James indicated when he was considering the position, a player of his or Paul's caliber would likely have a louder voice as president than their predecessors — something the union sorely needs after being shrouded in controversy in the late stages of Fisher's reign. Fisher served as the union's president until his term expired this summer. He was preceded by Antonio Davis and Michael Curry, who, like Fisher, were also role players. James decided he would not pursue the presidency early last week.

The union also tweeted that it will add Steve Blake and Anthony Tolliver as vice presidents and executive committee members. As USA Today's Jeff Zillgitt reports (via Twitter), Jerry Stackhouse has resigned as first vice president and will accept some sort of special advisory role within the NBPA. The league will also hire an executive director in the near future to replace Billy Hunter, who was ousted earlier this year. With Paul and a new executive director in place, it could be an interesting first year for commissioner Adam Silver.

Roger Mason Jr. To Run For NBPA President

August 15th, 2013 at 2:15pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA Player's Association is in need a new president, and the league's top player has indicated he won't run for the position. However, while LeBron James is no longer a candidate, one of the union's current vice presidents will be in the mix. Roger Mason Jr. announced today on his Twitter account that he'll officially be running for NBPA president.

Jerry Stackhouse, who is the NBPA's first vice president, has assumed a vocal leadership role in recent weeks, though he has yet to suggest he'll run for the president position himself. Players like Matt Bonner, James Jones, Chris Paul, Willie Green, Andre Iguodala, and Stephen Curry are also high-ranking members of the union, any of whom could decide to make a run at Derek Fisher's former position. Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com wrote earlier this week that LeBron may throw his support behind Jones if his Heat teammate is a candidate for the opening.

With Fisher's term having expired this summer and former executive director Billy Hunter ousted earlier this year, the NBPA is seeking a new executive director as well as a new president. By the time Adam Silver takes over for David Stern as the NBA's commissioner next February, there could be new leaders in top positions at both the league and the player's union, which will make future negotiations interesting.

Renounced Players: Wednesday

July 10th, 2013 at 9:58pm CST by Luke Adams

As teams clear cap space to finalize signings and trades, it may mean renouncing Early Bird or Bird rights to their own free agents, in order to remove cap holds from the books. Once a player is renounced, his previous team has no more claim to him that any other team — he could still be re-signed, but it would have to be done using cap space or an exception. Some of those decisions are more notable than others, but for completion's sake, we'll track the latest of these cap-clearing moves right here:

Mo Williams is the most prominent name among the several whose rights the Jazz renounced today, according to the RealGM transaction log. Al Jefferson, DeMarre Carroll and Earl Watson, who already have deals to join other teams, are also on the list, as are the long-retired Brevin Knight and Greg Ostertag.
Bobcats are set to re-sign Josh McRoberts, but they won't be using their Early Bird rights to do so, as they've renounced his rights, RealGM shows. The team also renounced their rights to Reggie Williams, who's heading to the Rockets, and it cut ties with DeSagana Diop, Byron Mullens and Jannero Pargo, too.
Golden State will sign Jermaine O'Neal, so the Suns have renounced his rights, as well as their rights to Wesley Johnson and Diante Garrett, as RealGM notes.

Earlier updates:

The Hawks have cleared out unwanted cap holds from their books, renouncing their rights to Hilton Armstrong, Erick Dampier, Devin Harris, Dahntay Jones, Randolph Morris, Zaza Pachulia, Johan Petro, Josh Smith, and Etan Thomas, according to RealGM.com's transactions log.
RealGM.com also has the Trail Blazers renouncing multiple players, including Luke Babbitt, J.J. Hickson, Eric Maynor, and Nolan Smith.
Most interestingly, according to RealGM.com, the Bucks have renounced their rights to Monta Ellis. That doesn't necessarily preclude a sign-and-trade, but it would mean the team would have to use cap space rather than Ellis' Bird rights to accommodate a deal.
The Pelicans have renounced their rights to Louis Amundson, Xavier Henry, and Roger Mason Jr., the team announced today in a press release.
In order to clear cap room for their signings, the Pistons renounced Will Bynum, Jose Calderon, Vernon Macklin, Corey Maggette, Jason Maxiell, and Ben Wallace, according to RealGM's transactions log. The Pistons plan to re-sign Bynum, but removing his $6MM+ cap hold and signing him to a smaller figure using cap space makes the most sense.
After renouncing their rights to Chauncey Billups and Lamar Odom, the Clippers have also renounced Bobby Simmons, according to RealGM.com's transactions log.

Hornets Notes: Williams, Forwards, Free Agents

April 2nd, 2013 at 10:03pm CST by Alex Lee

Sitting at 26-48, the Hornets head to Golden State tomorrow night to take on the Warriors. With only eight games remaining, it sounds like the team will have some decisions to make in the offseason. Let's round up all things New Orleans here on this Tuesday night:

Hornets coach Monty Williams does not foresee the Hornets (soon to be the Pelicans) having any problems attracting top talent this offseason, writes John Reid of The Times-Picayune. Along with the name change, the New Orleans franchise has a 55,000 square foot practice facility in the works as well as ample cap space to make a splash. Williams says that multiple free-agents-to-be have suggested to him during games that they'd love to play for him in New Orleans.
Williams addressed the idea of changes to the team's roster over the summer, notes Jim Eichenhofer of Hornets.com (Twitter link). "That’s just the nature of it. When you have a record like we have, you’re not going to settle for this production," Williams said.
Williams expressed his displeasure with the team's small forwards earlier this season, and Jeff Duncan of The Times-Picayune echoes that sentiment, imploring the team to prioritize an upgrade at the three this summer. As it stands now, the Hornets use Al-Farouq Aminu, Darius Miller and Lance Thomas at that spot, who barely combine for 12 points per night.
The Hornets could have as many as eight players become free agents when the season ends in two weeks, including the entire small forward trio mentioned above, Reid writes. Aminu will become a free agent, along with Xavier Henry, Roger Mason and Louis Amundson. The Hornets must decide whether to extend team options to Miller, Thomas and backup point guard Brian Roberts. Per Reid, this has resulted in an environment where the current players are desperate to make an impression. While Reid doesn't mention him, Terrel Harris has a non-guaranteed deal next season and could also become a free agent.

Southwest Notes: Rockets, Hornets, Mavericks

October 4th, 2012 at 10:36pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Here's a roundup of tonight's links from the Southwest division…

Jonathan Feigen of Ultimate Rockets gives an injury update from Houston, writing that the team is without Donatas Motiejunas (due to an infection) and Shaun Livingston (groin muscle injury). In another piece, Feigen pointed out how Carlos Delfino's veteran experience will significantly help the team's young core of players. Lastly, Jason Friedman of Rockets.com relayed his observations from the team's third day of camp, specifically highlighting Delfino, Kevin Martin, and Jeremy Lin.
Jim Eichenhofer of Hornets.com sheds light on New Orleans forward Hakim Warrick, who hopes to replicate the same success he had as a key reserve with the Grizzlies after recent subpar seasons in Phoenix. Separately, Eichenhofer writes about how Roger Mason will be relied on for his leadership and three-point shooting ability. John Reid of the Times-Picayune discusses his take on what will be expected from both Warrick and Mason this year.
Earl K. Sneed of NBA.com provided a brief rundown of the sixth official day at Mavericks camp as the team prepares for its first pre-season game in Berlin. Tim Cowlishaw of SportsDay DFW thinks that while the team will be fun to watch this year, they won't be in the discussion for title contention.
Ronald Tillery of The Memphis Edge notes his observations from the Grizzlies practice session today after an emotional Wednesday in which the team learned that VP of Basketball Operations Dana Davis had passed away.

Amick On Olympics, Martin, Mason, Harden

August 6th, 2012 at 11:38am CST by Chuck Myron

You might expect Thunder GM Sam Presti to fall in line behind Mavs owner Mark Cuban in calling for limits on the participation of NBA players in the Olympics, considering Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, James Harden and Serge Ibaka are all playing in London after a long postseason run this spring. Sam Amick of SI.com writes that while Presti is officially neutral on the issue, his enthusiasm for the benefits of international play is apparent, as he harked back to the growth he saw in Durant and Westbrook after the 2010 World Championships. "I think it's really helpful for them to play under different circumstances; it only rounds them out as players and makes them better," Presti said. "What we observed from the World Championship was just the mental endurance that it takes to go through an international competition and the training camp that leads up to it in medal-round play just to get there." The comments made by Presti, a product of the Spurs front office, seem to echo what Spurs GM R.C. Buford has said about the issue. Amick has plenty more in today's piece, and we've got the highlights here:

The market for remaining frontcourt players is being held up while teams wait for Kenyon Martin to sign, Amick hears. The Lakers and Nets are among teams he's considering, but the willingness of many others to settle for the minimum salary so far this summer has eroded Martin's leverage. Martin is reportedly uninterested in a deal for the minimum.
Amick takes a closer look at how NBA teams are being more cautious in handing out deals under the new CBA, along with the rise in minimum-salary deals. Luke Adams compiled a list of pacts for the minimum through August 1. The contract Roger Mason signed this weekend with the Hornets is another minimum deal, Amick reports. He also notes that players union president Derek Fisher and vice president Maurice Evans, two key figures in last year's lockout, remain unsigned.
Emptying his notebook, Amick passes along a James Harden quote from last month that gives indication he's confident about his prospects for an extension with the Thunder. "I'm pretty, a hundred percent, I'm pretty sure that I'm going to be in Oklahoma City," Harden said. "I'll let my agent and Mr. Presti and [Thunder owner Clay] Bennett discuss all that, so I'll let them handle that and stay out of it for right now and worry about the USA Olympics."

Roger Mason, Hornets Agree To Terms

August 4th, 2012 at 11:04am CST by Luke Adams

AUGUST 4, 11:04am: In a statement released by the team, the Hornets have officially signed Roger Mason.

AUGUST 1, 3:22pm: The Hornets have agreed to terms with Roger Mason on a contract, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). When Mason finalizes his deal, New Orleans will become the 31-year-old's sixth team in his ninth NBA season.

A week ago, we heard that Mason was drawing interest from the Hornets, Thunder, Bulls, and Lakers. The Wizards, Mason's most recent team, also had interest in bringing him back, but the veteran shooter was seeking more than a one-year, minimum-salary deal. Terms of his agreement with the Hornets aren't known, but perhaps he was able to land a multiyear deal or a salary a little above the minimum from the club.

From the Hornets' perspective, Mason provides a little more backcourt depth, joining Eric Gordon, Austin Rivers, and Xavier Henry as players that figure to earn shooting guard minutes this season. Rivers and Mason will likely also see time at the point, with last year's starter Jarrett Jack having been dealt to Golden State.

Free Agent Rumors: Landry, Thomas, Mason

July 24th, 2012 at 2:20pm CST by Luke Adams

A few more free agents have come off the board today, as A.J. Price and Pablo Prigioni finalized deals with the Wizards and Knicks respectively, while Ronnie Brewer was among the players to agree to a new contract, reaching a deal with the Knicks. With a number of available players still on the market though, here's a round-up of a few of the day's assorted free agent rumors:

The Hornets have renounced Carl Landry's Bird Rights, making a sign-and-trade difficult to work out, writes Eric Pincus of HoopsWorld. The Bobcats were interested in a sign-and-trade deal for Landry, but New Orleans would need to get back under the cap to have room to make it work.
Malcolm Thomas, who was named to the All-Summer League team, is drawing interest from a number of teams, including the Clippers, Bulls, Hawks, and Bobcats, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.
Former Lakers second-rounder Patrick Beverley is seeking an NBA job, having worked out for the Bulls, Cavs, and Rockets this offseason. Agent Kevin Bradbury tells Scott Powers of ESPNChicago.com that he thinks his client would be a good fit in Chicago: "He plays defense and does what’s asked of him. He fits the Bulls’ system. I think that’s intriguing for the Bulls. He really respects [Tom Thibodeau]."
The Wizards have interest in bringing back Roger Mason, but Mason isn't looking to sign a one-year, minimum-salary deal, says Michael Lee of the Washington Post. The veteran guard has also received interest from the Thunder, Hornets, Bulls, and Lakers.

Free Agent Rumors: Mavs, Dragic, Orton, Blazers

July 3rd, 2012 at 8:27pm CST by Luke Adams

Day 3 of NBA free agency is underway, and the July free agent period hasn't lacked for action so far. We'll use this space to track a number of updates on second- and third-tier free agents as the day continues. Here's the latest:

The Warriors, Lakers, and Bobcats are all interested in Antawn Jamison, tweets Yahoo! Sports columnist Marc J. Spears.
The Mavericks might clear cap space for next summer when Dwight Howard and Chris Paul are unrestricted free agents, tweets Yahoo! Sports columnist Adrian Wojnarowski.
Ersan Ilyasova's agent has said his client is seriously considering a "big offer" from a European club, according to HoopsHype.com.
The Timberwolves continued negotiation with Nicolas Batum, Greg Stiemsma, and Jordan Hill on Tuesday, but no deal was reached, writes TwinCities.com's Ray Richardson.

Earlier updates:

Danny Green, Roger Mason Interested In Jazz

July 1st, 2012 at 12:23am CST by Chuck Myron

The Jazz are expected to seek an outside shooting threat at the wing position in free agency this year, and two such players are interested in filling that role, reports Brian T. Smith of The Salt Lake Tribune. Danny Green and Roger Mason have interest in signing with Utah, Smith says, and a source close to Green says the Jazz could be a "perfect fit."