San Antonio Spurs Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Spurs Sign Robert Vaden, Fuquan Edwin

October 24th, 2014 at 7:03pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Spurs have signed Robert Vaden and Fuquan Edwin, the team has announced. The length and terms of the deals were not disclosed, but they’re likely minimum-salary arrangements with perhaps small partial guarantees. These moves bring San Antonio’s preseason roster count up to 18 players, leaving the team three over the regular season maximum. Both players were likely signed with an eye on sending them to the D-League, as teams can retain the D-League rights for up to four players.

The 6’5″ Vaden technically has one year of NBA experience, even though he’s never appeared in a regular season or playoff game. The Thunder signed him to a multiyear deal in the final days of the 2010/11 season and traded him the following preseason to the Timberwolves, who cut him before opening night. He was most recently with Belfius Mons-Hainaut in Belgium where he appeared in 10 games, logging 9.0 PPG and 1.6 RPG in 27 minutes per night. Vaden was originally drafted with the No. 54 pick in the 2009 NBA draft by the Hornets (then known as the Bobcats). In four college seasons split between Indiana and UAB, Vaden averaged 15.8 PPG and 4.6 RPG. He also spent two seasons in the NBA D-League for the Tulsa 66ers, averaging 11.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game.

Edwin went undrafted this year after spending four seasons at Seton Hall. In 127 career games for the Pirates, he averaged 12.9 PPG, 4.8 RPG, and 1.4 APG while playing 30.3 minutes a night. Edwin played for the Thunder in the summer league, appearing in three games, and notching 1.3 PPG in 7.5 minutes per night.

Spurs Waive Bryce Cotton, Josh Davis

October 23rd, 2014 at 1:09pm CST by Eddie Scarito

1:09pm: Both players have officially been waived, the team announced.

12:57pm: The Spurs intend to waive Josh Davis and Bryce Cotton, Mike Monroe of The San Antonio Express-News reports (Twitter link). Both players’ deals carry partial guarantees, with Cotton set to receive $50K, and Davis due $20K if they are not claimed on waivers. These moves will reduce San Antonio’s preseason roster count to 16, with JaMychal Green and his partially guaranteed deal being the lone one on the Spurs’ books that isn’t fully guaranteed.

The 23-year-old Davis played for three colleges, first for North Carolina State as a freshman, where he averaged 2.6 PPG and 1.7 RPG in 10.4 minutes a night. During his sophomore and junior seasons at Tulane, Davis averaged 17.6 PPG and 10.7 RPG. For his senior campaign with the San Diego State Aztecs, his numbers were 7.7 PPG and 10.1 RPG. His slash line for this past season was .455/.000/.472.

Cotton went undrafted out of Providence where he notched 21.8 points, 5.8 assists and 2.4 turnovers per game during his senior season with the Friars. Several teams offered to draft him if he agreed to play overseas next season, but he rejected those offers for a shot at the NBA. The NBA D-League is a possibility for both players, as teams can retain the D-League rights for up to four players that they waive.

Pacific Notes: Hill, Price, Thomas

October 22nd, 2014 at 11:04am CST by Chuck Myron

The Clippers tied for third among the teams most likely to win the NBA title as the league’s GMs see it, as John Schuhmann of NBA.com details amid the results of the league’s annual GM survey. Still, they figure to receive a strong challenge in their own division from the Warriors. While we wait to see how it plays out, here’s the latest from the Pacific:

Jordan Hill confirmed rumors from this past spring that he wouldn’t have re-signed with the Lakers if Mike D’Antoni were still the coach, as he tells Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. Medina adds the Heat, Spurs and Magic to the list of suitors who went after the power forward this summer.
Byron Scott stopped short of acknowledging that Ronnie Price is a lock to make the opening-night roster for the Lakers, but the coach said that injuries to the team’s other point guards would make it tough to let him go, Medina notes in a separate piece. “If you look at it that way, we have to [keep him],” Scott said. “Ronnie gets more of an opportunity. So far in my opinion, he has taken full advantage of it.”
The Suns told Isaiah Thomas when they pitched him in free agency this summer that they valued him as a starter even though they made it clear they wanted to retain Eric Bledsoe, as Thomas tells Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. Thomas isn’t concerned with whether he starts, but he did express continued bitterness toward the Kings, telling Kennedy he wasn’t surprised that they didn’t re-sign him and that he always felt the Sacramento organization underappreciated him.

And-Ones: Roberts, Spurs, Vucevic, Rubio

October 21st, 2014 at 9:45pm CST by Alex Lee

After his sit down with Michele Roberts, Tim Bontemps of the New York Post doesn’t get the feeling that the new NBPA head is on board with the idea of a gradual increase in the salary cap starting in 2016 (Twitter links). The alternative is to allow the cap to jump up after the 2015/16 season — Bontemps estimates a spike to over $90MM — due to the injection of the money from the league’s new TV deal. That increase, of course, could coincide with the free agency of superstar Kevin Durant.

Let’s take a look at what else is going on around the league on Tuesday:

It would be shocking if any of Bryce Cotton, Josh Davis or JaMychal Green were to end up on the Spurs’ final roster, writes Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News. Cotton, Davis and Green all have partially guaranteed deals, but as our Expanded Roster Counts show, the Spurs already have 15 fully guaranteed contracts on the books.
A strong showing in 2014/15 would have likely netted Nikola Vucevic a more lucrative deal next summer than the one he agreed to earlier tonight, according to Grantland’s Zach Lowe. However, Lowe believes Vucevic’s shortcomings on the defensive end add risk for the Magic while also conceding the deal should be a fair one considering the rising cap (Twitter links).
Ben Golliver of Sports Illustrated, also pointing to the increasing salary cap, writes that Vucevic’s extension compares favorably to the four-year, $48MM deal Utah’s Derrick Favors inked last October. Golliver adds that the pact eliminates any chance of a bidding war over Vucevic for the Magic next summer which could have resulted in an overpay.
Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities expects Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor to soon become more involved in extension talks for point guard Ricky Rubio (via Twitter). The Wolves reportedly upped their offer to four years, $48MM shortly after we heard that Rubio and Taylor had spoken several times on the phone. Wolfson, who speculates that a total offer of $52-54MM might do it, adds that Taylor’s loyalty to Rubio could “change the dynamic” of the talks (Twitter links here).

Western Notes: Rockets, Lin, Coaches, Kanter

October 19th, 2014 at 10:30am CST by ChrisCrouse

The Rockets have not settled on their opening night roster yet, writes Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. “That’s why we’re experimenting,” coach Kevin McHale said. “There are still a lot of unknowns. We have a lot of guys who haven’t just taken a spot where you say, ‘I’m really comfortable. This guy has really taken the backup spot.’ We have a lot of guys still fighting for spots.” Houston brought 20 players to camp and has not made any official cuts, although it would seem the team is down to 18 players for 15 roster spots with Robert Covington and Akil Mitchell not having been with the team for the last week.

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

Jeremy Lin is humbled by the offseason trade that sent him to the Lakers, writes Mike Bresnahan of the The Los Angeles Times. Lin said, “When I first got there [Houston], I was supposed to be the guy and they were supposed to kind of hand the torch to me. And I ended up getting traded away basically for nothing. Actually, they had to give a draft pick to convince someone else to take me. Pretty much given away for nothing. Definitely not how I envisioned it.”
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich loves the play of JaMychal Green, tweets Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News. The unfortunate thing for Green is that the Spurs don’t currently have an opening-night roster spot for him, Monroe adds.
Wolves head coach Flip Saunders is praised by local high school and college coaches for his open-door policy, writes Andy Greder of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. “We are a very close fraternity as far as coaches, and what you want to do is make sure you’re open,” Saunders said.
Jazz forward Enes Kanter has as much to gain this season as anyone on the team, opines Tony Jones of the Salt Lake Tribune. Kanter will head into restricted free agency next summer if the Jazz do not reach a deal on an extension with him by the October 31st deadline.
In a roundtable preview for the Kings, SB Nation’s Tom Ziller predicts that Sacramento will pull off a major trade this season, citing GM Pete D’Alessandro‘s aggressive track record and abundance of assets at his disposal.

Cray Allred contributed to this post.

Extension Rumors: Leonard, Thompson, Cole

October 17th, 2014 at 11:24am CST by Chuck Myron

The deadline for teams to sign rookie scale extensions with their eligible players is two weeks from today, and while only six players came to deals last time around, that number has the potential to be much larger this year, notes Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Stein has more on many of those extension hopefuls that adds to the storylines we’ve been following throughout the offseason:

Kawhi Leonard, Tristan Thompson, and Norris Cole are among the players who are in active negotiations with their respective teams about rookie scale extensions, Stein reports. Klay Thompson, Ricky Rubio, Kemba Walker, Jimmy Butler, Reggie Jackson, Brandon Knight, Nikola Vucevic, Tobias Harris, Enes Kanter and Alec Burks are also in active extension talks, according to Stein, who advances earlier reports that all of them had engaged in talks.
Iman Shumpert and the Knicks are also discussing an extension, Stein writes, countering a report from a few weeks ago that indicated that the sides hadn’t engaged in talks and that New York was content to let the swingman hit restricted free agency next summer.
Klay Thompson’s camp is considering the idea of going after an offer sheet similar to the one the Mavs gave Chandler Parsons if Thompson and the Warriors don’t come to an extension this month, Stein hears. Parsons’ near-max deal runs three years and includes a player option and a 15% trade kicker. Rival GMs have expressed admiration for its structure and Rockets GM Daryl Morey pointed to the difficulty that trading such a contract would entail shortly after he decided against matching it. The player option would allow Thompson to hit unrestricted free agency in the summer of 2017, which is when Stephen Curry‘s deal is set to end, as Stein points out.
The Lakers have attempted to trade for Thompson in the past, Stein notes, though he doesn’t make any suggestion that they’re planning an aggressive push for the shooting guard if he becomes a restricted free agent next summer.

Western Notes: Clippers, Barron, Iguodala

October 15th, 2014 at 7:54pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Clippers are fortunate to have three solid veterans who are willing to come off of the bench, Melissa Rohlin of The Los Angeles Times writes. Discussing Spencer Hawes, Matt Barnes, and Jamal Crawford, coach Doc Rivers said, “There are two groups. One is the old veterans like Matt. They want to come off the bench. That’s when they’ve figured it out — it saves them, it makes them fresher, they’re smarter, they can actually watch the game and evaluate the game. And then there’s that extraordinary group of guys who clearly could be starters and actually still prefer coming off the bench…. Jamal could start anywhere, he could start here, but he prefers coming off the bench.”

Here’s more from out west:

The Warriors depth has been an issue since the team decided to sign Andre Iguodala and let Jarrett Jack and Carl Landry leave as free agents, Yannis Koutroupis of Basketball Insiders writes. Golden State is exploring the idea of using Iguodala as their sixth man this season, notes Koutroupis.
One element of the Spurs‘ success over the years has been roster continuity, and the franchise places first overall in that department in Joe Freeman of the Oregonian‘s rankings. Finishing in second place was the Trail Blazers, which is a by-product of GM Neil Olshey‘s commitment to development from within the organization and to create year-to-year cohesion and consistency, notes Freeman. This plan will be tested next summer thanks to a number of players reaching free agency, Freeman opines.
With the Suns waiving Joe Jackson, Casey Prather and Jamil Wilson yesterday, Earl Barron remains the lone player in camp with a non-guaranteed contract, Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic tweets. Coro notes that Barron has performed well enough in camp to be considered for the team’s final regular season roster spot.

Texas Notes: D-League, Mitchell, Dorsey, Spurs

October 15th, 2014 at 6:15pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Spurs have officially announced that they have renamed their D-League affiliate, the Austin Spurs. The team was formerly known as the Austin Toros. “The rebranding of the Austin franchise is a terrific opportunity to capitalize on the substantial equity of the Spurs brand,” said Spurs Sports & Entertainment President of Business Operations, Rick Pych. “The name change creates an instantly recognizable link between the two franchises and is a natural progression based on the important role the Austin team plays in the development of young players, general managers and coaches who are on their way to reaching their dream of making it to the NBA.”

Here’s more from the “Lone Star” state:

Akil Mitchell and Robert Covington have not been with the Rockets for several days, Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle writes. It was previously noted that Houston intended to part ways with Convington, and was exploring possible trade options for the player. Feigen also speculates that Houston intends to send both Covington and Mitchell to their D-League affiliate. Teams can retain the D-League rights for up to four players that they waive, and the Rockets preseason roster count currently sits at 20.
Joey Dorsey is still working his way back from foot and ankle issues that have caused him to miss extended time during Houston’s training camp, Feigen writes. “I have just been trying to figure out the guys on the team and not look for my shot,” Dorsey said. “One of the coaches told me, ‘Joey, just go out there and play. Do what you do. Do what you did in Europe.’ I was like, ‘OK, forget it. I am going to look to score. If I look to score and they double-team me, then I will kick it out for a shot.’ That is the biggest thing. He told me to just go out there and stop trying to worry about playing perfect and just go out and play.”
Despite their sustained run of excellence, one thing the Spurs have never accomplished is winning back-to-back titles. Tom Haberstroh of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required) breaks down San Antonio’s anticipated regular season roster as the team sets out to defend its crown.
The Spurs have remained contenders for so many years thanks to their ability as a franchise to turn players no one anticipated into stars, such as Kawhi Leonard, opines Kevin Spain of USA Today.

Southwest Notes: Pelicans, Togashi, Mavs, Asik

October 14th, 2014 at 10:08pm CST by Charlie Adams

With Tyreke Evans‘ spot as a starter for the Pelicans all but assured, Darius Miller, Luke Babbitt, and John Salmons are all essentially competing to make the roster and land the reserve small forward role, observes Jimmy Smith of the Times-Picayune. Given that Salmons is the only member of the trio with a fully guaranteed deal, he might be the early favorite to secure the backup spot. Still, it’s too early dismiss Miller and Babbitt’s chances to make the team, since both players have contracts featuring partial guarantees on a New Orleans roster carrying just 12 completely guaranteed pacts. It wouldn’t be surprising if all three of the wings in question find themselves on the club past opening night. As we wait to see how the Pelicans’ roster shapes up, let’s look at more from the Southwest:

The Mavs will officially sign Yuki Togashi after he passes his physical today, reveals Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News, who adds that Togashi will be waived before the regular season begins, allowing Dallas to retain his D-League rights going forward. We passed along that the two sides were set on a deal last week and suspected that Togashi was a long-shot to make the opening night roster.
Charlie Villanueva‘s strong play in camp means one of the 15 guaranteed contracts on the Mavs’ roster might be waived in order to make room for the big man. Sefko takes a look at the players who seemingly have the greatest chance of being cut before opening night rolls around.
The Pelicans and Rockets squared off in a preseason matchup tonight, marking the first time Omer Asik faced his old team since being traded away in July. Although the big man was involved in trade rumors for much of the season and summer, Rockets coach Kevin McHale confessed he’ll miss having big man around this season, tweets Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.
Nate Duncan of Basketball Insiders examines the pros and cons of locking up Kawhi Leonard to a rookie scale extension versus waiting until restricted free agency to work out a new deal. The Basketball Insiders scribe concludes that it would be the in San Antonio’s best interest to wait until the summer of 2015 to re-sign the reigning Finals MVP.

John Holland Signs With Turkish Team

October 14th, 2014 at 8:20am CST by Eddie Scarito

TUESDAY, 8:20am: Holland has indeed signed his contract with Besiktas, the team announced on Twitter (translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). Holland still needs to clear NBA waivers before he can play for the Turkish team, but that’s likely only a formality.

MONDAY, 4:10pm: The deal with Besiktas is for one year and doesn’t include an NBA escape clause, Holland’s agent tells Sportando’s David Pick (Twitter link). The agent says that Holland has put pen to paper, though the pact can’t become official until Holland clears waivers from the Spurs in two days.

SUNDAY, 8:36am: John Holland is close to signing a deal with Besiktas Integral Forex of the Turkish Basketball League, Klasspor reports (translation by Enea Trapani of Sportando). Holland is currently in training camp with the Spurs on a two-year arrangement that has a $20K guarantee for the first season. San Antonio would need to waive Holland before he could ink any deal overseas. No announcement from the Spurs has been made in regards to Holland’s status as of yet.

Holland spent his last three years as a pro playing in Europe after NBA teams passed on him in the 2011 draft, and saw action in France and Spain last season. He’s been a member of three NBA summer league teams in the past two years, joining the Thunder and Heat in 2012 and the Timberwolves last summer. The 25-year-old scored 10.6 points in 27.4 minutes per game for Gravelines in France this past season, making 33.3% of his three-point attempts.

San Antonio currently has 19 players on their preseason roster, and with 15 of those contracts being fully guaranteed, Holland has been a longshot to stick on the roster through opening night. He’s been competing with Bryce Cotton, Josh Davis and JaMychal Green for a shot at the final regular season roster spot.