Terrence Jones

Terrence Jones To Play In China

2:28pm: Jones’ one-year deal with Qingdao will be worth $2MM, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

10:27am: Free agent big man Terrence Jones appears set to open the 2017/18 season in China. According to international basketball reporter David Pick (Twitter link), Jones has reached an agreement with the Qingdao Eagles on “one of the largest single-season deals” in CBA history.

The 18th overall pick in the 2012 draft, Jones emerged as Houston’s starting power forward in his second NBA season, averaging 12.1 PPG and 6.9 RPG in 76 games in 2013/14. However, he has not matched or exceeded those numbers in subsequent years.

Jones did provide solid part-time production for the Pelicans in 2016/17, averaging 11.5 PPG and 5.9 RPG in 51 games for New Orleans. However, the 25-year-old was waived in February after the club’s acquisition of DeMarcus Cousins, and while he caught on quickly with the Bucks, Jones didn’t play much in Milwaukee and was waived again in April.

According to Sam Amico of Amico Hoops, Jones received interest from a handful of NBA clubs, but wasn’t interested in signing a minimum salary deal. It sounds like the contract he received from Qingdao will represent a larger payday, along with the opportunity for a much more substantial role.

Hornets Targeting Jordan Hill

The Hornets could be the next team for journeyman center Jordan Hill, writes Sean Deveney of The Sporting News.

Hill, who has played for five franchises in his eight-year career, was waived by the Timberwolves in late June before his 2017/18 contract became guaranteed. A free agent addition last summer, Hill played in just seven games for Minnesota.

Charlotte is a little more than $2MM below the luxury-tax line with 14 players under contract. A source told The Sporting News the team would like to add one more low-cost, veteran big man to its roster. Deveney lists Ersan Ilyasova, Terrence Jones and Willie Reed as other possibilities.

Hill played for Hornets coach Steve Clifford in 2012/13 when Clifford was an assistant with the Lakers. The eighth pick of the 2009 draft by the Knicks, Hill has also spent time with the Rockets and Pacers. If he does sign with Charlotte, Hill will serve as a backup to Dwight Howard, who was acquired from the Hawks in a trade last month.

Bucks Request Waivers On Terrence Jones

The Bucks have requested waivers on Terrence Jones, the team announced on their official website (link). Jones was inked to a contract on March 3, appearing in just three games as a Buck.

Jones, 25, had been waived by the Pelicans in late February to (presumably) sign with a playoff-bound team looking for depth. While Milwaukee is poised to enter the postseason, Jones was never able to crack Jason Kidd‘s rotation, accumulating 12 DNPs in the month of March.

While his bid to join a contender has gone awry, Jones will surely generate interest as a free agent over the summer. Jones was efficient over 51 games with the Pelicans in 2016/17, averaging 11.5 points with 5.9 rebounds. As a non-playoff eligible free agent, Jones currently holds little value on the open market.

Bucks Release Toupane, Formally Sign Jones

The Bucks have officially signed forward Terrence Jones and released Axel Toupane from his 10-day contract, the team reports in a press release on its website. Milwaukee’s roster now sits once again at 15.

Toupane, whose 10-day deal was set to expire today anyway, will presumably return to the Raptors 905 of the D-League as Chris Reichert of The Step Back speculated earlier today. He saw action in two games with the Bucks during his NBA stint but had a negligible impact in the 6 minutes he saw on the floor.

In Jones the Bucks get an intriguing 25-year-old big man who’s flashed potential with both the Rockets and Pelicans previously. Jones averaged 11.5 points and 5.9 rebounds per game in 51 games with New Orleans this season but was released when the club added DeMarcus Cousins.

Jones – who has been signed for the remainder of the season – will wear No. 6 for the Bucks, according to the press release.

Terrence Jones Agrees To Sign With Bucks

Free agent forward Terrence Jones has agreed to sign with the Bucks for the remainder of the season, Shams Charania of The Vertical tweets. ESPN.com’s Marc Stein and Justin Verrier also tweet that Jones is poised to sign with Milwaukee.

The Pelicans waived him last Thursday after they were unable to deal him prior to the trade deadline. Jones appeared in 51 games, including 12 starts, for New Orleans and was averaging 11.5 PPG and 5.9 RPG in 24.8 MPG. He became expendable when the club acquired DeMarcus Cousins in a blockbuster trade with the Kings.

Jones spent the first four years of his career with the Rockets. He could quickly become a rotation piece for the Bucks, who have been seeking frontcourt help since Jabari Parker suffered a season-ending knee injury. Michael Beasley has received the bulk of the minutes at power forward since Parker was injured but is also out at least three games with a hyperextended knee.

Milwaukee is still in the playoff hunt, currently two games behind the Pistons, who hold the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Jones’ representatives reportedly contacted the Celtics after he cleared waivers but ultimately passed on him, as they already had 15 players with guaranteed deals.

Celtics Rumors: Bogut, T. Jones, Sullinger

The Celtics had been in the running to sign veteran center Andrew Bogut, but with the former No. 1 pick opting to sign instead with the rival Cavaliers, Boston doesn’t exactly have a Plan B in place, writes Mark Murphy of The Boston Herald.

A source tells Murphy that, while the two sides were reportedly in touch, Terrence Jones doesn’t appear to be a target for the Celtics. However, team management hasn’t ruled out the possibility of a reunion with Jared Sullinger “somewhere down the line if it is needed.” As Murphy suggests, Sullinger has battled conditioning and health issues, and he hasn’t been himself this season, but the Ohio State product – who turns 25 this Saturday – has made the Celtics a better rebounding team in the past.

Here’s more from out of Boston:

  • Although the Celtics haven’t closed the door on re-adding Sullinger, a reunion is “highly unlikely,” says A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com.
  • A source tells Murphy that the Celtics may simply decide to rely on in-house options as they try to improve their rebounding, though they’ll keep an eye out for potential upgrades. “There’s nothing imminent; (the Celtics) will continue looking and see what happens,” the source said. Chris Mannix of The Vertical also hears that the C’s are likely to stand pat with their current roster.
  • According to a separate source, the Celtics had internally debated the value Bogut would have in the lineup, Murphy writes. Due to concerns about Bogut’s health and uncertainty about whose minutes he would take, members of the Celtics had “mixed reviews” on whether or not the veteran center would be a good addition, Murphy’s source said.

Free Agent Notes: T. Jones, Celtics, Butler, Hawks

Having cleared waivers and reached free agency, Terrence Jones had interest in joining the Celtics, and his camp initiated talks with the club, writes Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. However, according to Himmelsbach, the former Pelicans big man is unlikely to land with the Cs.

While Jones is one of the more appealing options available on the buyout market, a source tells Himmelsbach that the 25-year-old is hoping to find a team that would allow him to play significant minutes. The Celtics could use a big man, but they have a fairly deep rotation and are carrying 15 players on guaranteed contracts, so Jones may not get the opportunity he’s seeking in Boston.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the NBA related to free agency:

  • Caron Butler hasn’t played on an NBA team this season, but the veteran forward hasn’t opted for retirement yet, according to Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com, who tweets that Butler is interested in catching on with a playoff team.
  • In a conversation with TNT’s David Aldridge, free agent center Larry Sanders says that he believes he’s more mature and mentally stronger now than he was during his last stint in the NBA. According to Aldridge, Sanders has told NBA teams that he’s willing to play in the D-League if they want him to go there first.
  • The Hawks are in no hurry to sign a free agent to fill the open spot on their roster, as Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal Constitution details. “We will probably take a few days and see what happens over the next few days and maybe more,” Budenholzer said. “It’s good to have that flexibility to figure out what we want to do. We won’t rush to do anything in the next day or two.”

And-Ones: Jones, Thornton, Suns, Raptors

The Pelicans waived Terrence Jones on Thursday after being unable to find a trade partner for him and the Nets waived Marcus Thornton after acquiring him in the Bojan Bogdanovic trade. Both players have cleared waivers and are free to sign with any team, Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link).

Jones should have no problem finding a new home. He’s a productive 25-year-old big man who was averaging 11.5 points per game in New Orleans while sporting a 16.2 player efficient rating.

Thornton may have to wait slightly longer to find a new club, but he should be able to help a team fill out the back end of its rotation.

Here’s more from around the league:

  • The Hawks sent $500K to the Suns as part of the Mike Scott trade, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reports (Twitter link). In addition to the cash considerations, Phoenix received the draft rights to Cenk Akyol for taking on Scott’s contract, while Atlanta received a protected second-round pick.
  • As part of the P.J. Tucker deal, the Raptors sent the Suns cash considerations of $1MM, Pincus tweets. Phoenix also received Jared Sullinger and two second-round picks in the deal. The Suns waived Sullinger on Friday.
  • The Santa Cruz Warriors, Golden State’s D-League affiliate, has traded Cameron Jones to the Canton Charge, leagues sources tell Adam Johnson of D-League Digest (Twitter link).

Southwest Notes: Noel, Grizzlies, Rockets, Pelicans

After acquiring Nerlens Noel from the Sixers on Thursday, Donnie Nelson repeatedly compared the young center to a former Dallas big man, suggesting that Noel has a lot in common with Tyson Chandler. Acknowledging that Andrew Bogut never really meshed well with the Mavericks‘ system and roster, Nelson expressed optimism about how Noel will fit, referring to the former Sixer as a “Tyson starter kit,” as Adam Grosbard of The Dallas Morning News writes.

“He gives us an element we haven’t had here since Tyson Chandler,” the Mavericks GM said. “Shot blocking, rebounding, energy, big steals guy as well. He’s able to get out in the court and guard the pick and roll, which is a big asset these days, to be able to keep the smaller guy in front of you. So it gives us a dimension that we haven’t had here in a long time so we’re really more than ecstatic and excited about him.”

Head coach Rick Carlisle was bullish on the acquisition as well, telling reporters that the Mavericks like Noel “a lot” and had been talking all season to the Sixers about a trade (Twitter link via Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com).

Here’s more from out of the Southwest division:

  • The Grizzlies had a quiet trade deadline, forgoing any trades in favor of re-signing Toney Douglas to a two-year deal. That’s fine with head coach David Fizdale, who told Ronald Tillery of The Memphis Commercial Appeal (Twitter link) before the signing was official that locking up Douglas “is like a trade.”
  • The Rockets‘ trade of K.J. McDaniels was essentially a salary dump, so it comes as no surprise that the Nets gave the Rockets $75K just in the deal, per Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. That’s the least amount of cash a team can send in a trade.
  • It has been more than a year since Jarrett Jack appeared in an NBA game, so he’s excited about the “tremendous” opportunity he has in New Orleans, as William Guillory of The Times-Picayune details. Jack signed a 10-day contract today with the Pelicans.
  • After adding DeMarcus Cousins to their frontcourt, the Pelicans knew there wouldn’t be many minutes for Terrence Jones going forward, which is why they granted him his release on Thursday, per head coach Alvin Gentry (link via Guillory). “He wants to play,” Gentry said. “Obviously, he’s going to be a guy in a contract year and things like that, so we thought it was best to let him go.”

Celtics Rumors: Deadline Talks, Jones, Yabusele

Although the Celtics were frequently linked to Jimmy Butler and Paul George in the days and hours leading up to Thursday’s trade deadline, ESPN’s Zach Lowe hears that talks never got really “serious” with the Bulls, who didn’t seem overly motivated to trigger a rebuild by moving Butler. Meanwhile, appearing on CSNNE, Chris Mannix of The Vertical suggests that the Celtics probably weren’t close to getting George either, having drawn “a line in the sand that they weren’t going to cross.”

There were conflicting reports on whether the Celtics made one or both of their Nets picks available, but Mannix suggests that Danny Ainge was willing to discuss both the 2017 and 2018 selections, while sources tell Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald that the C’s made those picks available “separately” in trade offers. However, according to Bulpett, in their discussions with the Bulls, the Celtics wanted protections on that 2017 pick.

Mannix adds that Boston was also reluctant to package multiple players like Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown with its picks. As Lowe explains, Ainge and the Celtics weren’t able to find a package that left them feeling comfortable about both their present and its future, so they decided to hang onto their assets for now and revisit trade scenarios down the road.

Here’s more on the Celtics:

  • In Bulpett’s piece (linked above), The Herald reporter notes multiple times that the ability to be a major player for a max free agent this summer seemed to be a high priority for Ainge and the Celtics as they considered potential trades.
  • If Boston had the chance to acquire an impact player in a favorable deal at the deadline, the team certainly would have been willing to give up that chance at max space, but Bulpett says the team has projected a “seemingly odd confidence” about its opportunities this summer, given the inherent uncertainty in free agency and the draft. “The fact (Ainge) was so comfortable waiting for the draft and summer scares the (expletive) out of me,” one rival league executive told Bulpett.
  • In a piece for The Vertical, Chris Mannix makes a case for why it was perfectly fine for the Celtics to stand pat at the deadline, while A. Sherrod Blakely lays out a similar argument in an article for CSNNE.com.
  • Terrence Jones, who will be an unrestricted free agent if he clears waivers, has some interest in the Celtics, according to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).
  • According to Chris Forsberg of ESPN.com (Twitter link), Ainge hinted during a radio appearance today that draft-and-stash prospect Guerschon Yabusele may join Boston’s D-League affiliate in Maine after the Chinese Basketball Association’s season ends.