San Antonio Spurs Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Hawks Sign Jarell Eddie To 10-Day Contract

March 5th, 2015 at 10:10am CST by Chuck Myron

THURSDAY, 10:10AM: The Hawks officially announced via press release that they have inked Eddie to a 10-day deal.

WEDNESDAY, 8:15AM: The Hawks have agreed to sign training camp invitee Jarell Eddie to a 10-day contract, reports Shams Charania of RealGM. The small forward has been playing for the Spurs affiliate in the D-League. He’ll move into Atlanta’s lone open roster spot Thursday, according to Charania.

Eddie, who went undrafted out of Virginia Tech this past June, joined the Hawks for preseason on a deal without any guaranteed salary. The Celtics claimed Eddie shortly after Atlanta released him about a week shy of opening night, but he lasted only a few days in Boston and didn’t make the regular season roster. He instead made his mark as a sharpshooter in the D-League, knocking down 42.2% of his three-point looks for the Austin Spurs and winning the D-League’s All-Star Game three-point contest. The 23-year-old is averaging 12.1 points in 25.6 minutes per game across 36 appearances for San Antonio’s affiliate. The Hawks have frequently used the Austin Spurs for D-League assignments because of the close ties between the Atlanta and San Antonio organizations and Atlanta’s lack of its own one-to-one affiliate.

The Hawks reportedly spoke to Ray Allen earlier this season, and speculation that the NBA’s all-time leading three-point shot-maker would head to Atlanta intensified when the Hawks opened a roster spot in the trade that sent Adreian Payne to the Timberwolves. However, executives around the league have begun to doubt that Allen will play this year, and while a 10-day contract doesn’t cost the Hawks much flexibility, Atlanta’s use of one on a three-point shooter is nonetheless seemingly a further signal that teams are moving on from Allen.

Ray Allen Says He Won’t Play This Season

March 4th, 2015 at 1:46pm CST by Chuck Myron

Ray Allen will not play this season, as he says in a statement released through agent Jim Tanner and the Tandem Sports and Entertainment agency. He’s not ruling out a return for 2015/16 but adds that he’ll take rest of this season and the offseason ahead to decide about that, suggesting that it’ll again be a long wait before we know if, much less where, Allen will play again. The 39-year-old has languished as the most sought-after free agent since the start of training camp, though the Cavs, long the front-runner for the friend and former teammate of LeBron James, recently appeared to drop out of the running. They were one of of 14 teams who expressed serious interest, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).

“Over the past several months, I have taken a lot of time to deliberate what is best for me,” Allen said in the statement. “I’ve ultimately decided that I will not play this NBA season. I’m going to take the remainder of this season, as well as the upcoming off-season, to reassess my situation, spend time with my family and determine if I will play in the 2015/16 season.”

The Grizzlies, too, appeared no longer to be in the Allen sweepstakes as of this weekend, not long after executives around the league reportedly began losing faith that he’d sign. The Warriors, Wizards, Spurs, Heat and Hawks were keeping in touch with Allen’s camp as of early February, and Clippers coach/executive Doc Rivers said at about that time that he’d recently spoken to him.

Just about every playoff-bound team reportedly reached out to Allen at some point this season. The Wizards were apparently the most aggressive suitor as of January, though LeBron visited Allen’s home in Miami to woo the sharpshooter while the four-time MVP was in town for rehabilitation.

The Bulls were another suitor, though a trip he made to Chicago earlier this season wasn’t basketball-related, Tanner said. Tanner batted down reports that indicated his intentions regarding one team or another all throughout the process that began when he became a free agent in July. Allen said over the summer that it would take a “perfect storm scenario” for him to play this season, and he pointed to a desire for a veteran coach and more than the minimum salary.

Allen was seemingly leaning toward retirement in late December, though he indicated during the middle of last season that he wasn’t planning to retire so soon. If he doesn’t return, he’ll walk away as the NBA’s all-time leader in three-pointers made and career earnings in excess of $184.356MM, according to Basketball-Reference.

Western Notes: Frye, Leonard, Collison

March 3rd, 2015 at 8:15pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Channing Frye is upset with the Suns’ management, who made some critical comments last week regarding the veteran big man’s departure to the Magic as a free agent last summer, John Denton of Magic.com tweets. Phoenix’s owner Robert Sarver had said that Frye didn’t give the Suns an opportunity to match Orlando’s four-year contract offer. “I think we have to take what that front office says with a grain of salt,” Frye said in response to Sarver’s comments. “I think right now they need to focus on their own team. I think we had many negotiations between [us and] the Suns,” Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel relays.

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

There’s plenty at stake for the Spurs over the next few months, but nothing that happens this spring will alter the value of the max or near-max contract Kawhi Leonard is set to receive in restricted free agency this summer, as Buck Harvey of the San Antonio Express-News believes.
Former Nuggets coach George Karl feels no sense of glee at Denver’s struggles without him, as he said last week, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Karl has sympathy for Nuggets owner Stan Kroenke, Spears notes.
Darren Collison underwent successful surgery today to repair a core muscle issue, the Kings have announced. Collison will begin rehabilitation immediately and is expected to be out for approximately six weeks.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Kyler’s Latest: Love, Monroe, Gasol, Leonard

March 3rd, 2015 at 10:58am CST by Chuck Myron

The trade deadline is in the past and the focus is shifting to the draft and this year’s class of free agents. Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders takes a broad look at free agency for the summer ahead, passing along a number of noteworthy tidbits from his conversations around the league. His entire NBA AM piece is worth a read as he examines the outlook for several teams, and we’ll hit the highlights here:

The Celtics are planning to target marquee free agents this summer, with Kevin Love atop their list, followed by Greg Monroe, Kyler writes. Marc Gasol and restricted free agents Kawhi Leonard and Jimmy Butler are others in Boston’s sights, sources tell Kyler. It appears the Celtics will look to re-sign Brandon Bass to a salary lower than the $6.9MM he’s making this season, Kyler suggests, also indicating a likelihood that the Celtics renounce Jonas Jerebko‘s rights. That wouldn’t preclude a new deal with Jerebko, something that Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald reported earlier that the Celtics would like, though it does indicate that the C’s aim to open cap space. That’s a path of questionable merit, as I examined.
There’s a “sense” that the Sixers will make a play for Monroe, too, as well as Butler, Tobias Harris and Reggie Jackson, according to Kyler.
Monroe, Love and Rajon Rondo are at least willing to meet with the Lakers this summer, Kyler hears, though Gasol and LaMarcus Aldridge are long shots for the team, the Basketball Insiders scribe cautions. Still, chatter is connecting the Lakers to just about every would-be free agent, including Jackson and Brandon Knight.
It’s unlikely that Rondo gets a full maximum-salary deal in free agency this summer, league sources tell Kyler, who surmises that teams would float short-term max offers instead. A full max from the Mavs would entail a five-year deal with 7.5% raises, while other teams can offer four years and 4.5% raises.
Sources also tell Kyler that they believe Monta Ellis will opt out this summer, which is no surprise given his level of play and the $8.72MM value of his player option.
Kyler also gets the sense that Paul Millsap is content with the Hawks and would like to stay for the long term, though it appears Atlanta is eyeing an upgrade at DeMarre Carroll‘s small forward position.
The Spurs will make Gasol their top free agent priority this summer, Kyler writes, though the team will have trouble signing him if Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili return at salaries comparable to the ones they’re making. In any case, San Antonio was believed to be the team with the most interest in Monroe last summer, Kyler adds.

Southwest Notes: Morey, Stoudemire, Spurs

March 1st, 2015 at 12:04pm CST by Arthur Hill

Rockets GM Daryl Morey would like to see some changes to the NBA’s trade rules, reports Dan Feldman of Pro Basketball Talk. Morey said teams should be able to link options with incentives and have traded picks adjusted based on the performance of the players who were received in return. “I think that could allow teams to not ever have fear,” Morey said. “Like if that Harden trade had, oh, if he becomes an All-Star, you have to send yet another future first-round pick. Or if he fails, we get back a pick. I think that would grease a lot of deals.”

There’s more news from the Southwest Division:

Amar’e Stoudemire said he has no regrets about how things worked out in New York, writes Tim Bontemps of The New York Post. Stoudemire joined the Mavericks last month after agreeing to a buyout with the Knicks. He had been expected to become the cornerstone of the New York franchise when he signed a five-year, $100MM contract nearly five years ago. “I can’t control how my body reacts to certain things,” he said, referring to recurring knee problems. “But, other than that, I have no regrets.”
Coach Gregg Popovich didn’t sound impressed after the Spurs won the top award at this year’s Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, according to Jeff McDonald of The Express-News. San Antonio was recognized as “Analytics Organization of the Year” at the annual gathering at MIT in Boston. Informed of the news before Saturday’s game in Phoenix, Popovich responded, “I had no idea there was such a conference or such an award.”
“March Madness” isn’t just for the collegians, writes Jimmy Smith of The Times-Picayune, who says the Pelicans are heading into a crucial stretch for their postseason hopes. Still, coach Monty Williams doesn’t want scoreboard watching to dominate the locker room. “It’s not that I don’t recognize the big picture, I just don’t talk about it a lot,” Williams said. “… I think it allows us to focus on what’s important right now and I think everything else will take care of itself.”

Cavs Sign Kendrick Perkins

February 24th, 2015 at 3:40pm CST by Eddie Scarito

TUESDAY, 3:40pm: The deal is official, the team announced.

9:49pm: Perkins will sign with the Cavaliers Tuesday before the team plays in Detroit, tweets Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today.

MONDAY, 4:14pm: Perkins has cleared waivers as expected, a source tells Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal (Twitter link), clearing the way for him to sign with the Cavs.

SATURDAY, 3:30pm: Kendrick Perkins has finalized a buyout arrangement with the Jazz and intends to sign with the Cavaliers if and when he clears waivers, Royce Young of ESPN.com reports. Perkins was dealt to the Jazz on Thursday as part of a three-way trade with the Pistons and Thunder that sent Reggie Jackson to Detroit and Enes Kanter to Oklahoma City. The buyout has not been officially announced by the player or the Jazz as of yet, though Perkins’ agent Arn Tellem has informed Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link) that a buyout had been agreed upon.

The veteran big man was recruited by LeBron James to select Cleveland as his next NBA destination, Young notes. Perkins also drew heavy interest from the Bulls, Clippers, Pelicans, and Spurs, the ESPN scribe adds. The combination of a chance to contend for an NBA title along with an opportunity for playing time pushed Perkins to choose Cleveland over his other suitors, Young relays. The Cavs currently have 14 players on their roster, so no additional move would be required to sign Perkins. No contract details for Perkins have been released, but the Cavs do have a disabled player exception worth $4,852,273 for Anderson Varejao that they could use to sign Perkins for more than the minimum.

Perkins, 30, is making $9.654MM this season and would have become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. In 51 appearances this season, all with the Thunder, Perkins is averaging 4.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 0.7 blocks in 19.2 minutes per contest.

Jazz Sign Bryce Cotton To 10-Day Contract

February 24th, 2015 at 11:09am CST by Chuck Myron

TUESDAY, 11:08am: The signing is official, the Jazz announced.

MONDAY, 1:19pm: The Jazz are poised to sign point guard Bryce Cotton to a 10-day contract, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Cotton has been playing with San Antonio’s D-League affiliate since the Spurs dropped him from their NBA roster at the end of training camp. The Jazz are reportedly discussing a deal with draft-and-stash prospect Tibor Pleiss as well, but Utah has two open roster spots, so Cotton’s deal won’t necessarily interfere with that.

Cotton reportedly turned down several offers to play in Europe that came his way earlier this season in hopes of landing the NBA deal that he now appears to have. The 22-year-old who went undrafted out of Providence this past June has put up 22.6 points, 4.7 assists and 2.5 turnovers in 40.3 minutes per game for the D-League Austin Spurs. He’s also corralled an impressive 4.8 rebounds considering his 6’1″ height.

The Spurs gave Cotton a $50K partial guarantee on the deal that brought him to San Antonio’s training camp, so he’s already made more in NBA salary than the $29,843 that a standard 10-day contract would give him. The Jazz have familiarity with him, since he worked out for the team prior to the draft, as Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune notes (on Twitter). He’s set to become the fourth player the Jazz have signed to a 10-day deal this season, as our 10-Day Contract Tracker shows.

And-Ones: Embiid, Johnson, Spurs, Thomas

February 24th, 2015 at 12:16am CST by Zachary Links

The Sixers were willing to trade rookie center Joel Embiid for a high draft pick, according to Mark Heisler of Forbes.com. Philadelphia drafted Embiid third overall last June, but he had offseason surgery to repair a broken bone in his right foot and has yet to take the court for the Sixers. Philadelphia was unable to work out a deal for Embiid, but did send reigning Rookie of the Year Michael Carter-Williams to the Bucks in a three-team deal that brought back the Lakers‘ top-five protected first round pick for this year.

There’s more news from around the league:

The Rockets announced that they have recalled Nick Johnson from the D-League, according to Mark Berman of FOX 26 (via Twitter). Johnson’s assignment was his fourth trip down this season, as our assignments/recalls log shows. The 22-year-old guard has seen time in 18 games for the Rockets this season, averaging 3.1 PPG and 1.3 RPG in 10.3 minutes per contest.
Some people, like Charles Barkley, aren’t so wild about analytics. However, Dan McCarney of the San Antonio Express News writes that the Spurs are undeniable proof that analytics can help to build a tremendous roster.
New Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas did his best to squash rumors that he was unhappy with his role while with the Suns, Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe tweets. “The guy that complained, you seen it in the media. I didn’t say anything,” Thomas said.

Arthur Hill contributed to this post.

Western Notes: Warriors, Mekel, Leonard

February 23rd, 2015 at 3:45pm CST by Chuck Myron

Golden State stood pat at the trade deadline, but Warriors consultant and part-owner Jerry West, who has plenty of say on personnel, thinks the team still needs to make some kind of move, as he told Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group.

“I think for sure we need to have a piece. For sure,” West said. “And I think as we get further into the year, I think if you watch how teams are going to particularly concentrate on our backcourt, we need more shooting and people who can make shots consistently. I think in games that we flounder in is when our guards are not able to go out there and score 45 to 60 points on any given night. … There’s going to be a bull’s-eye on those two guys’ backs.”

West made his remarks the day after the team signed James McAdoo for the season, filling the last open roster spot. Here’s more from around the Western Conference:

Former Pelicans and Mavs point guard Gal Mekel is close to a deal with Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod, a source tells David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter links). The GM of the Russian team is confident that Mekel will sign the deal, which would have an NBA escape clause, Pick adds. Mekel had been holding out hope for an NBA deal since his brief stint with New Orleans in December, but he recently appeared to be losing patience.
It’s been a rough year for Kawhi Leonard, Spurs president/coach Gregg Popovich said, with the reigning Finals MVP suffering through injury woes and a shooting slump as restricted free agency looms this summer, as Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News explores. He’s nonetheless averaging career highs virtually across the board and, as McDonald writes, he remains eminently valuable to the Spurs.
Amar’e Stoudemire is having an instant effect on the Mavericks, notes Jean-Jacques Taylor of ESPNDallas.com. The Mavs signed the ex-Knick last week, and it’s a prorated minimum-salary deal that goes until season’s end, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders shows (Twitter link).
The Kings have hired Vance Walberg as an assistant coach, the team announced. Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group first reported that the move would be expected if Sacramento hired George Karl as head coach. Of course, the Kings did indeed hire Karl last week. Walberg is leaving the Sixers staff for his new job.

Nets To Sign Thomas Robinson To 10-Day Deal

February 23rd, 2015 at 1:49pm CST by Chuck Myron

1:49pm: Robinson has agreed to sign a 10-day contract, though the Nets are expected to eventually sign him for the rest of the season, Wojnarowski reports in a full story.

1:26pm: Nets officials changed their minds about Robinson this weekend after they were initially uninterested in signing him, according to Tim Bontemps of the New York Post (Twitter link).

12:57pm: Robinson confirmed the agreement to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders, as Kennedy relays in a pair of tweets.

12:47pm: The Nets and Thomas Robinson have agreed to a deal that will see the big man join the team after he clears waivers from the Nuggets, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Denver released him Sunday after agreeing to a buyout deal, so he’s poised to clear waivers Tuesday. It’s something of a surprise to see Brooklyn end up with the former No. 5 overall pick, since a report late Sunday indicated that the Nets weren’t interested. That ran counter to an earlier dispatch from Shams Charania of RealGM that said Brooklyn, along with the Spurs, Suns, Heat and Hornets, had engaged in talks with Robinson.

Brooklyn has an open roster spot, so no corresponding move is required. The Nets are limited to paying the Tony Dutt client no more than the prorated minimum salary, which is less than the other teams reportedly in discussions could offer, as I explained. Still, it’s not a shock to see him settle for the minimum, as he’s struggled to live up to his lofty draft position, and Brooklyn is poised to become his fourth team in fewer than three NBA seasons. The Blazers declined their team option on the fourth year of his rookie scale contract before trading him to Denver at the deadline on Thursday.

Robinson was one of three prospects the Nets were particularly enamored with when they traded their 2012 lottery pick to Portland, according to Mike Mazzeo of ESPNNewYork.com (on Twitter). That pick came in sixth, which the Blazers used to select Damian Lillard, so Brooklyn wouldn’t have had a chance to nab Robinson, since the Kings took him fifth. Since then, Robinson has displayed proficiency on the boards, hauling in 11.7 per 36 minutes for his NBA career, but he’s otherwise failed to make much of an impact.