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Western Notes: Rivers, Cousins, Ayon

September 6th, 2014 at 12:45pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Austin Rivers believes this coming season will be his breakout year, John Reid of the Times Picayune writes. The Pelicans guard said, “I was constantly working the entire summer. I gained 10 pounds and I’ve got stronger in my upper body. This is my year. But I think at the end of the day, I think we all now understand we can only control what we can control. At the end of the day, we let all of the guys in the front office do their jobs. We just stick to what we do. We play.” Rivers has career averages of 7.0 PPG, 1.8 RPG, and 2.2 APG. His career slash line is .390/.346/.601.

Here’s more from the west:

DeMarcus Cousins tells Chris Kudialis of The Sacramento Bee that he hopes Team USA experience for him and Rudy Gay will pay dividends for the Kings this coming season. “My thing is just taking in as much as I can from this experience and taking it back home,” Cousins said. “I’m being led by some of the best players in the league here, and I want to use everything I learn to make myself better.”
With the Warriors signing GM Bob Myers to an extension recently, Lang Greene of Basketball Insiders looks back at Myers’ biggest moves since arriving in Golden State.
Gustavo Ayon prefers to play in the NBA next season, but the offers he has received from European teams have been more lucrative to this point, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (Twitter links). Stein believes that Ayon, whom the Spurs recently expressed interest in, will head overseas unless the offers improve. Ayon played in 26 games for the Hawks last season, averaging 4.3 PPG, 4.8 RPG, and 1.1 APG.

Cray Allred contributed to this post.

Several NBA Teams Eye Julyan Stone

September 5th, 2014 at 11:06am CST by Chuck Myron

Free agent Julyan Stone has workouts scheduled with the Lakers, Cavs, Clippers and Heat, and the Kings are in the mix for the point guard as well, reports Shams Charania of RealGM. The Lakers audition will be his second with the team, Charania notes via Twitter. Stone had been set to work out for the Spurs, and he did so this week, while two Chinese teams have floated lucrative offers for the 25-year-old, as Charania details.

The market seems to have quickly accelerated for the Giovanni Funiciello client who’s been without a deal for nearly two months after the Raptors let him go in July, shortly before his minimum-salary contract was to have become fully guaranteed. It appeared at the time that there was a decent chance the Raptors would sign him back on a new deal, as Charania reported then, but Toronto doesn’t appear to be in the hunt at this point.

Each of the four clubs that Charania links to Stone in his most recent report appear to have the roster flexibility necessary to provide a clear path to the opening night roster. The Heat have only 11 fully guaranteed deals, and the Cavs do as well, although Shawn Marion will presumably have a full guarantee on his contract once he signs, and one of Cleveland’s partially guaranteed contracts belongs to Anderson Varejao. The Kings have 12 fully guaranteed deals, but they’ve agreed to trade Jason Terry, who has one of them, to the Rockets, likely for non-guaranteed salary in return. The Clippers and Lakers have 13 full guarantees apiece. The Spurs have 14 full guarantees and three partial guarantees, but they can offer more money than any of the other clubs, since they still have their $5.305MM non-taxpayer’s mid-level exception available. The Kings have their $2.077MM biannual exception, while Stone’s remaining suitors are limited to the minimum salary.

Spurs Audition Earl Clark

September 2nd, 2014 at 1:15pm CST by Chuck Myron

Free agent forward Earl Clark is in San Antonio to work out for the Spurs this week, a source tells Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. He’ll join Hakim Warrick and Julyan Stone, both of whom have reportedly been set to audition for the defending champs.

There hasn’t been much chatter surrounding Clark this offseason, and he said in late July that while he’d heard from a few times, it seemed as though his free agency was “going in slow motion.” Clark has been out of the NBA since the second of back-to-back 10-day deals with the Knicks expired in March during a comedown season for the 14th overall pick from 2009. Agent Kevin Bradbury helped him snag a two-year, $8.5MM deal with the Cavs last summer, but Clark failed to duplicate a hot stretch he enjoyed with the Lakers the year before, prompting Cleveland to trade him to the Sixers. Philadelphia waived him the next day, eating the remaining guaranteed salary on his contract.

San Antonio has also cast its eyes toward Ray Allen and Gustavo Ayon of late, even as the team continues to pursue a new deal with Aron Baynes, a restricted free agent. The Spurs already have 14 fully guaranteed pacts and three that include partial guarantees, as our roster counts show, so space is getting tight, and Clark would have to beat out a wide array of competition to make it to opening night with the team.

And-Ones: Mavs, Koponen, Chandler

September 1st, 2014 at 9:53pm CST by Zachary Links

Two games into FIBA World Cup pool play, Bulls star Derrick Rose is pain free, writes Joe Cowley of the Sun Times. Rose didn’t light up the scoreboard against Turkey on Sunday as he scored just two points, but he looked sharp as he scored 12 points in 22 minutes against Finland on Saturday. Here’s more from around the league..

Finnish point guard Petteri Koponen, whose rights are owned by the Mavericks, hopes to be playing in the NBA by the 2015/16 season, writes Marc Stein of ESPN.com. “I always said my dream is to play in the NBA,” Koponen said. “Every summer we talk a little bit with Dallas to see what the situation is and what they think. I’ve got one more year left on my contract in Russia and then of course I would like to come over. I hope I get some options to go there and show I can play at that level.” Team sources tell Stein that the Mavs have not ruled out importing Koponen themselves in the future, but there was no talk of doing that this season with four point guards already on the roster. Of course, they could also deal his rights to another team.
Even though he only played just one season for the Mavs, Tyson Chandler says his heart was always in Dallas, says Dwain Price of the Star-Telegram. “I enjoyed my entire time with the Mavericks and it was a sad process for me and my family leaving Dallas, especially after the amazing experience and amazing run that we had,’’ said Chandler, who was shipped back to Dallas this summer. “As I left I told those guys, ‘You know, I love you and I’ll love you forever and I love everything you have done for me and did for me.’ I understand the (NBA) business and I guess it wasn’t meant for me. But I guess it is meant for me to be back now.’’
The Spurs kept the band together after winning the championship but not every defending champion has been so lucky. Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders looks at some of the worst defending champs in NBA history.
According to Italian basketball exec Gianmaria Vacirca, Thanasis Antetokounmpo had an agreement to play with Pallacanestro Varese before deciding to stay in America to play for the Knicks D-League affiliate, as Emiliano Carchia of Sportando writes.

And-Ones: Flynn, Pistons, Love

August 30th, 2014 at 10:55am CST by Eddie Scarito

Former NBA lottery pick Jonny Flynn has signed a contract with Capo d’Orlando of the Italian League, the team announced (translation by Sportando). Flynn last saw action in the NBA with the Blazers during the 2011/12 season. His career numbers are 9.2 PPG, 1.9 RPG, and 3.9 APG. His career slash line is .400/.338/.809.

Here’s more from around the league:

With Greg Monroe likely to sign his qualifying offer, the Pistons‘ frontcourt trio of Monroe, Josh Smith, and Andre Drummond will be together for another season. Coach Stan Van Gundy‘s challenge will be to figure out how to use them more effectively than they were last season, writes Perry A. Farrell of the Detroit Free Press.
Kevin Love has essentially traded places with Chris Bosh, writes Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel. Love is now the third option on the Cavs, much like Bosh was alongside LeBron James and Dwyane Wade with the Heat, Winderman notes, and it’s the statistical sacrifices of the third player that determines if these star trios are successful.
With the news that the Spurs are interested in Ray Allen, Nick Borges of ESPN.com runs down the free agent market for the future Hall-of-Famer. Borges notes that if Allen is seeking a title contender and the highest salary, then San Antonio is the best option. The Spurs can offer Allen the $5.3MM non-taxpayer mid-level exception. The Clippers, Mavs, Heat, and Cavaliers can only give Allen a veteran’s minimum contract.

Spurs Interested In Ray Allen

August 30th, 2014 at 8:51am CST by Eddie Scarito

The Spurs are showing interest in signing free agent Ray Allen, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). San Antonio’s preseason roster count currently sits at 17 players, after the recent signings of Josh Davis, Bryce Cotton, and JaMychal Green. The Spurs have also expressed interest in re-signing restricted free agent Aron Baynes, and bringing in power forward Gustavo Ayon.

For his part, Allen hasn’t even decided on whether or not he wants to play for another season or to retire. “It will require a perfect storm scenario for me,” said Allen earlier this month. “I’m in great shape, and I’ll continue to be in great shape, but I don’t want to go to a situation where I don’t understand the rhythm of how a coach coaches. He has to be a great coach, a veteran coach.” The Spurs’ Gregg Popovich certainly fits that requirement.

If Allen does decide to return for his 19th season in the NBA, he’ll have no shortage of suitors. Other teams already linked to Allen are the Cavs, Clippers, and Mavericks, notes Stein (Twitter link). The Cavs would seem to be the front runners, with former teammates LeBron James, Mike Miller, and James Jones already on the roster, and Cleveland primed to make a run at the title this season.

In 18 seasons, Allen’s career averages are 18.9 PPG, 4.1 RPG, and 3.4 APG. His career slash line is .452/.400/.894. Hoops Rumors’ Chuck Myron took a look at the free agent stock of Allen, who is a surefire Hall of Famer, and though past his prime, he can still be a valuable asset off of the bench for a contending team.

Spurs Interested In Ayon, Baynes

August 29th, 2014 at 6:14pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Spurs have interest in signing power forward Gustavo Ayon, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). The Spurs preseason roster count currently stands at 17 players, after the recently announced deals with Josh Davis, Bryce Cotton, and JaMychal Green

Ayon, the 6’10”, 29 year-old played in 26 games for the Hawks last season, averaging 4.3 PPG, 4.8 RPG, and 1.1 APG. In three NBA seasons his career numbers are 4.7 PPG and 4.4 RPG. His career slash line is .536/.000/.504. Most recently, Ayon played for Mexico in the Centrobasket Championship, and was named tournament MVP.

San Antonio’s interest in Ayon is in addition to still desiring to re-sign center Aron Baynes, who is their first priority, notes Stein (Twitter link), The 6’10”, 27 year-old appeared in 53 games for the Spurs last season, averaging 3.0 PPG and 2.7 RPG. Baynes is a restricted free agent, and has mulled inking a deal over in Europe, rather than signing his qualifying offer, worth slightly more than $1.115MM.

Western Notes: Lakers, Bonner, Taylor

August 28th, 2014 at 1:30pm CST by Chuck Myron

Projecting the playoff teams in the Western Conference would be difficult enough if it weren’t for the unresolved saga involving Eric Bledsoe and the Suns, but Phoenix is the true X-factor in the equation as it stands. The Suns were 28-15 when Bledsoe played last season, a winning percentage of .651 that would have made them the West’s sixth seed. They were just 20-19 without him, which dragged the team down far enough to miss the playoffs. Of course, there are plenty of other unknowns still at play in the West, and we’ll round up the latest here:

The inclusion of Toney Douglas and Bobby Brown among those in Tuesday’s Lakers workout was somewhat curious, since they both have deals to play in China, but both contracts contain NBA escape clauses, as USA Today’s Sam Amick explains. Douglas intends to head to China regardless and views the audition as an early tryout for when he returns stateside after the Chinese season ends, agent David Falk tells Amick. Brown is interested in joining the Lakers right away if given the opportunity, Amick adds, and presumably so are the rest of the hopefuls who took part in the workout.
Matt Bonner only re-signed with the Spurs for one year, but the 34-year-old would like to play until he’s 40, as he tells Jonathan Demay of the French-language website Basket USA (translation via Jeff Garcia of Project Spurs).
Two Western Conference teams invited former University of Wisconsin point guard Jordan Taylor to camp, but he turned them down to take a deal with Israel’s Hapoel Holon instead, tweets David Pick of Eurobasket.com. A trip to camp with an NBA team would have been a first for the 24-year-old, who spent summer league with the Bucks.

Spurs To Work Out Julyan Stone

August 27th, 2014 at 3:18pm CST by Chuck Myron

Free agent point guard Julyan Stone will be auditioning with the Spurs soon, reports Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). The 25-year-old Stone has been on the market since the Raptors cut him loose last month.

The Sixers, Bucks and Kings were discussing potential deals with Stone last month, as was Toronto, which envisioned bringing him back, as Charania reported then. The RealGM scribe reiterates today that Stone has engaged in talks with teams other than the Spurs, but it’s unclear if any of the clubs from last month are still in the mix. Stone has played sparingly over his three NBA seasons, never averaging more than the 8.1 minutes per game he saw as a rookie, but he appeared to be a favorite of Raptors GM Masai Ujiri, who brought Stone with him when he left the Nuggets for Toronto.

The Spurs have been active in their preparations for camp of late. This week the team signed Josh Davis, a power forward from San Diego State, and a report from last week indicated that Hakim Warrick was one of multiple free agents set to work out for the team. Summer leaguer Denzel Bowles is also apparently set to audition for San Antonio.

Contract Details: Clarkson, Young, Powell

August 26th, 2014 at 9:32pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Eric Pincus has once more updated his Basketball Insiders salary pages, and included in his changes are a few tidbits of previously unreported news on players who’ve signed this summer. We’ll pass along those items here:

The two-year deal that Jerrelle Benimon signed with the Nuggets is for the minimum salary and is partially guaranteed for $35K this season, while his 2015/16 salary is non-guaranteed, Pincus reports (Twitter link).
The Blazers gave Diante Garrett a $30K guarantee in the first year of his two-year minimum salary deal, but the second year is non-guaranteed, Pincus notes on Twitter.
Patric Young‘s two-year deal with the Pelicans is a minimum-salary arrangement that’s partially guaranteed for $55K this season, but it’s otherwise non-guaranteed, Pincus notes (Twitter link). Darius Miller‘s deal with the team is partially guaranteed for $400K this year but otherwise non-guaranteed, Pincus adds.
Both Will Cherry‘s and Jordan Hamilton‘s salaries are guaranteed for $25K for the 2014/15 season, Pincus tweets, adding that Hamilton’s pact is for the minimum. The Raptors signed Cherry to a two-year minimum salary deal, and Hamilton to a one-year arrangement. Cherry’s salary for 2015/16 is non-guaranteed, Pincus adds.
Dwight Powell‘s deal with the Cavaliers is fully guaranteed for the first season, with the second year non-guaranteed, Pincus reports (Twitter link). The contract covers just those two seasons, as Pincus notes.
The Spurs‘ two-year deal with JaMychal Green is for the minimum salary and has a $60K guarantee for this coming season, Pincus reports (Twitter link). It’s non-guaranteed for 2015/16, according to Pincus.
Sim Bhullar‘s deal is for one year and comes with a guarantee of $35K, while Eric Moreland‘s three-year contract is guaranteed for $200K this coming season and is otherwise non-guaranteed, Pincus notes (Twitter link). Both players are with the Kings, and, according to Pincus, make the minimum.
The two-year, minimum-salary deal that Jordan Clarkson signed with the Lakers is fully guaranteed for this coming season, but the 2015/16 season is non-guaranteed, Pincus reports (Twitter link).