Tony Gaffney Rumors | Hoops Rumors

International Notes: Jackson, Mensah-Bonsu, Gaffney

October 28th, 2013 at 8:53am CST by Luke Adams

Most international teams aren’t making many roster moves these days, but with a sudden glut of intriguing players hitting the free agent market due to NBA roster cuts, it’s reasonable to expect clubs overseas to take notice. Several NBA camp invitees have already landed with new teams, and more are likely to follow. Here are the latest noteworthy international signings:

After being waived by the Pacers, Darnell Jackson has signed with the Shanghai Sharks, according to Hoops Rumors contributor Mark Porcaro (via Twitter). Jackson joins Von Wafer, who signed with the Chinese club earlier this month.
Pops Mensah-Bonsu, who finished last season with Italy’s EA7 Milano and participated in camp with the Wizards, has signed with Galatasaray in Turkey, according to the team (hat tip to Sportando). Mensah-Bonsu had a successful stint in Turkey with Besiktas during the 2011/12 season, winning the Turkish Basketball League championship, the Turkish Cup, and the EuroChallenge title.
After being released by the Grizzlies, Tony Gaffney has agreed to rejoin Telekom Baskets Bonn, the German team he played for in 2011/12, tweets Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld. As our international player movement tracker shows, Gaffney finished last season with Joventut in Spain.
Interested in how your favorite NBA team’s draft-and-stash player is doing overseas? Mark Porcaro has you covered with a new piece at Secret Rival.

Grizzlies Cut Barrett, Ely, Gaffney, Reed

October 26th, 2013 at 1:39pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Grizzlies have waived Andre Barrett, Melvin Ely, Tony Gaffney and Willie Reed, the team announced via press release. All four were on non-guaranteed deals, and without them, Memphis is carrying just 13 players, the NBA minimum.

Gaffney had the best chance of sticking, according to Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal, but the team will instead carry only its 13 fully guaranteed contracts (Twitter link). The 28-year-old Gaffney, a 6’9″ big man, saw the most action of any of the Memphis camp invitees, averaging 2.0 points and 2.9 rebounds in 10.7 minutes per game in seven preseason tilts. Still, it wasn’t enough for him to make his first NBA regular season roster.

The Grizzlies signed Reed late last season, but he didn’t get into a game, and like Gaffney is still waiting to make his official NBA debut. Ely is the most seasoned of the cuts, but his attempt to revive an NBA career that’s been dormant since the 2010/11 season falls short. Barrett’s been out of the league even longer, not having appeared in a regular season game since 2007/08, but he, too, will remain out of the league for now.

Grizzlies Sign Byars, Ely, Gaffney

September 29th, 2013 at 9:35pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Grizzlies have officially announced the signings of Derrick Byars, Melvin Ely and Tony Gaffney. It's confirmation of news we heard about Ely and Gaffney earlier this month. Memphis extended a training camp invitation to Byars this week, but it hadn't been clear whether he accepted. The trio of signees brings the Memphis roster to 18.

Byars also drew interest from the Knicks around the same time he worked out for the Grizzlies this month. He was a second-round draft pick of the Blazers in 2007, but Portland traded him to the Sixers on draft night and Philadelphia cut him in training camp that fall. The 6'7" swingman from Vanderbilt has also been to camp with the Thunder, Bulls and Heat over the years, but he only has a pair of games with the Spurs in 2011/12 on his official NBA resume. Last year he split the season between Caciques de Humacao in Puerto Rico and ALBA of Germany.

Byars, Ely and Gaffney are all presumably on non-guaranteed deals with the Grizzlies, as are Josh Akognon and Willie Reed. The team has 13 fully guaranteed contracts, so it's possible that none of the five camp invitees make the opening-night roster, but it seems like the most impressive of the bunch will remain with Memphis into the regular season.

Grizzlies To Bring Tony Gaffney To Camp

September 18th, 2013 at 11:09am CST by Luke Adams

The Grizzlies will add another contract to their books and bring Tony Gaffney to training camp, reports ESPN.com's Marc Stein (via Twitter). Stein doesn't specify the details of the deal, but it sounds as if Gaffney will get a fully non-guaranteed camp invite, with a chance to earn a regular-season roster spot.

Gaffney, 28, went undrafted out of UMass in 2009, and has played primarily overseas since then. As our international tracker shows, he was already set to play for Telekom Bonn in Germany this season, but Stein tweets that the deal included an NBA out, allowing the veteran forward to accept a camp invite. In 23 games for Italy's Joventut Badalona last season, Gaffney averaged 11.5 PPG and 5.9 RPG.

After adding Gaffney to the roster, the Grizzlies will be carrying 16 players. However, only 13 of those contracts are guaranteed. Josh Akognon, Willie Reed, and Gaffney will be given the chance to compete for a roster spot in camp, assuming the team intends to carry 14 or 15 players into the season.

Odds & Ends: Blatche, Suns, Wolves, Cavs, Lillard

March 15th, 2013 at 10:24pm CST by Chuck Myron

Without Bird or even Early Bird rights, The Nets could be in a tricky situation if they want to re-sign Andray Blatche, whom Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors ranked among the best one-year contract signings this season. Blatche indicated to Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News that he might make it easy on Brooklyn, since he'll still be drawing paychecks from his amnestied contract with the Wizards. "I’m very aware (of my unique situation)," Blatche said. "That’s what I’m saying. Everybody is probably thinking I’m looking to get that big check. I’m not. Not at all. I’m looking at what’s best for me."

Here's more from around the league on the one-year anniversary of the 2012 trade deadline:

Wesley Johnson is headed for unrestricted free agency this summer after the Suns turned down his fourth-year option, but he tells Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic that he still views Phoenix as a "longtime place" for him.
The Timberwolves seem content to carry 15 players for now, rather than applying for a hardship exception and adding a 16th man. Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities reports that the team isn't interested in free agents like Donte Greene, Tony Gaffney, and Raja Bell.
The Cavs want to see how rookie Dion Waiters handles minutes at point guard, so the team hasn't discussed adding another player at the position while Kyrie Irving misses the next three to four weeks with a sprained left shoulder, notes Jodie Valade of the Plain Dealer.
Damian Lillard believes he's improved since he started playing alongside Eric Maynor, whom the Blazers acquired at the trade deadline, as Mike Tokito of The Oregonian observes.
Thaddeus Young, who's on a deal that runs through 2016 with annual salaries under $10MM, is the Sixers player who'll draw the most trade inquiries from other teams, opines John Mitchell of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
The threat of a referendum on public funding for a new arena in Sacramento will have no impact on the city's bid to retain the Kings, sources tell Aaron Bruski of NBCSports.com (Twitter link).

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

Tony Gaffney Drawing NBA Interest

March 12th, 2013 at 3:11pm CST by Luke Adams

Former UMass forward Tony Gaffney is getting out of his contract in Spain and is expected to receive his release from Joventut Badalona as soon as Friday, according to Alex Kennedy and Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld (Twitter links). Both HoopsWorld scribes report that several NBA teams have expressed some interest in Gaffney.

Since going undrafted in 2009, Gaffney has spent most of his playing career overseas, including stints in Israel, Turkey, and Germany. He participated in training camp in 2009 with the Lakers, and was signed by the Celtics late in the 2009/10 season to a multiyear non-guaranteed deal. Boston released him in the fall of 2010. Gaffney's only other action stateside came in 2011, when he spent 35 games with the D-League's Utah Flash, averaging 10.5 PPG, 7.1 RPG, and 2.3 BPG. In 2012/13 in Spain, he posted averages of 11.5 PPG and 5.9 RPG in 23 contests.

If Gaffney, 28, is able to catch on with an NBA team before season's end, he'd be playoff-eligible, having not been on an NBA roster yet this season. I'd be a little surprised to see him sign with a contender, but perhaps a lottery team with an open roster spot would have interest in inking him to a contract that includes a non-guaranteed season for 2013/14, to take a look at him over the summer.

Tony Gaffney