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Odds & Ends: NBPA, Cook, Bogans

January 14th, 2014 at 9:30pm CST by Zachary Links

A quick look around the Association..

  • With a key hearing approaching in Billy Hunter‘s lawsuit against the National Basketball Players Association, the union has hired one of the defendants in the civil case: Derek Fisher‘s former business manager, Jamie Wior, three people familiar with the situation told Ken Berger of CBSSports.com.  Wior and Fisher, the former union president, are co-defendants in a lawsuit that Hunter filed against the NBPA for wrongful termination.  The L.A.-based publicist and business manager played a behind-the-scenes role in the 2011 lockout.
  • Former Heat, Bulls, and Thunder guard Daequan Cook has been waived by Ukraine’s Budivelnyk Kyiv, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando.  The former NBA sharpshooter has played eight games with the Ukrainian team (4.8 PPG), four in Euroleague (9.0 PPG) and four in Superleague.  He’s already back in the United States, according to Carchia.
  • The Celtics announced earlier this evening that guard Keith Bogans has been excused from the team indefinitely for personal reasons but the press release notes that the veteran remains under contract with the club.  The veteran has been vocal with his frustration over not seeing playing time in Boston.
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Poll: Where Will Andrew Bynum Sign?

January 14th, 2014 at 8:18pm CST by Cray Allred

Last Tuesday, Andrew Bynum was released by the Bulls on the other side of the trade that sent Luol Deng to the Cavs. While there has been buzz around many potential suitors, he still remains unsigned days after clearing waivers. The 26-year-old 7-footer had worked his way back to playing 20 MPG after losing all of last season to chronic knee injuries. The big man was reportedly prepared to be choosy with where he signed, wanting the best combination of playing status, contending opportunity, and salary available.

However, in recent days Bynum’s choices have been dwindling. Interest from the Heat and Clippers has waned. The Mavericks, who pursued Bynum as a free agent last summer before winding up with Samuel Dalembert, now seems to be a possibility with the latest comments from owner Mark Cuban. Dallas could only offer the minimum salary exception. The Heat and Clippers are contenders that could benefit from frontcourt depth, but are also already in the luxury tax, so a Bynum signing would cost them more than his contract figure. The Clippers have gotten improved play from DeAndre Jordan this year, and the Heat already have two reclamation projects on their roster in Michael Beasley and Greg Oden. The Pacers were linked to the situation, but their presumed motivation of keeping him away from the Heat would disappear if the Heat have truly moved on. The Knicks and Nets are also tax teams, but are more desperate to establish playoff position after rocky starts to the season and a rash of injuries to their frontcourt starters. The Nets are reportedly staying away from the situation, but the Knicks have shown interest.

The short-lived stint with the Cavs was considered Bynum’s shot at proving he could stay motivated and perform at a high level in order to cash in later on a more rewarding contract. Since he didn’t make it through round one of the non-guaranteed contract window, it’s possible that there aren’t any successful franchises willing to let their team become another proving ground for him. It doesn’t make sense for most teams further down the standings to take that risk, since the short-term benefit of a half-season of solid Bynum production would worsen their odds in the vaunted upcoming draft, without any guarantee of the long-term services of Bynum should he play well.

Where do you think he ends up? If and when he’s signed, where will it be?

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10-Day Contract Tracker

January 13th, 2014 at 1:38pm CST by Chuck Myron

NBA teams and players became eligible to sign 10-day contracts a week ago, and five such deals are already on the books. A pair of players signed 10-day deals shortly after having been cut in anticipation of last week’s leaguewide guarantee date, and plenty other newly minted free agents figure to follow suit.

The bulk of the signings that take place in the NBA between now and April will be of the 10-day variety, and we’ll keep on top of all of them. Hoops Rumors has created a database that allows you to track every 10-day signing all season long. It includes information on every 10-day contract signed since the 2006/07 season, giving you a chance to identify trends regarding your favorite teams and players. The search filters in the database make it easy to sort by team, player and year. You can even see whether a player and team signed a second 10-day contract, and if the short-term deals led to an agreement that covered the rest of the season.

For instance, if you want to see how many times the recently released Louis Amundson has signed 10-day deals, you can find that information here. Similarly, if you want to see all the 10-day contracts the Knicks have signed in recent years, you can do so here.

A link to our 10-day contract tracker can be found at any time in the Tools menu at the top of the page, or in the right sidebar. We’ll be keeping it up to date for the rest of the season, so be sure to check back to keep tabs on the latest signings.

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Trade Candidate: Thaddeus Young

January 13th, 2014 at 9:59am CST by Chuck Myron

Thaddeus Young is having a career year, having revived a dormant three-point stroke that’s helping him average a career high 17.8 points a game. He’s also at or near high watermarks in rebounding, assists, steals and blocks. Any team in the NBA would love to have the 25-year-old, as an NBA executive recently told Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News. Still, Young needn’t have his bags packed. A unnamed GM who spoke to ESPN’s Chris Broussard at the start of the season pointed to Young’s contract as an impediment to a swap, saying he didn’t know any team that would relinquish anything of value to trade for him.

The deal runs through 2015/16 with average salaries of $8.6MM. The escalating raises in the deal mean he’ll make more than $9.4MM in 2014/15 and more than $9.9MM in the final season of the pact. Young’s strong performance might have changed a few minds around the league, but it doesn’t sound like it’s going to be easy for GM Sam Hinkie to find a deal that works for the Sixers.

Young’s “soft” trade request last month probably exacerbates that challenge, as do his comments indicating a lack of enthusiasm for playing with inexperienced teammates. Rival executives who sense that Young is putting pressure on the Sixers to deal him probably feel as though their offers for the power forward needn’t be too strong. Hinkie said late this summer that he didn’t find it necessary to deal away Young or any of his other veterans, but a more recent report indicated the Sixers were heavily shopping Young. Even as the former 12th overall pick laughs off the assertion that he’s disgruntled with the Sixers, Young’s attitude could worsen if he remains a part of a long-term rebuilding effort.

The Rockets were linked to Young when they were aggressively shopping Omer Asik last month, and such a one-for-one swap would make some degree of sense from Houston’s perspective. Young, as long as his 39.3% three-point accuracy holds up, could serve as the sort of stretch power forward who fits the Rockets system. But while Young’s cap figure is only slightly higher than Asik’s, Young’s deal lasts a season longer, and that could tie up money Houston may have earmarked for Chandler Parsons once his bargain contract lapses after 2014/15. Plus, the emergence of Terrence Jones of late might dissuade the Rockets from trading for another power forward.

The Bobcats are giving the indication they’ll be buyers at the trade deadline, so perhaps they’ll get into talks for Young. Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors speculated that Philadelphia could be a potential destination for Ben Gordon, and the Sixers, with the most cap space in the league, can accommodate Gordon’s bloated $13.2MM contract in a one-for-one swap for Young. That would amount to salary dump come summer for Philadelphia, and it’s not as if the Sixers don’t have plenty of flexibility already. So, I’d imagine the Bobcats would have to include an attractive draft pick or another intriguing asset for the Sixers to bite.

Maybe the Pistons could get involved if they’re skittish about the offers Greg Monroe might receive in restricted free agency this summer. Detroit would have to give Philadelphia more to meet salary-matching requirements, so talks could bog down over the sort of additional assets the Pistons would relinquish. Young probably represents a cheaper long-term option that re-signing Monroe would entail, so Detroit is one team that might not mind Young’s contract. I’d imagine that would prompt the Sixers to demand a worthwhile extra asset in the trade. Of course, the entire notion is just my speculation.

We’ll probably hear of at least a few teams jumping into discussions for Young in the next few weeks as the February 20th trade deadline approaches. Of course, there’s no real urgency for Hinkie to make a move by that date, as a trade would be just as workable over the summer, from Philly’s perspective. Earlier this season, Young professed a love for Philadelphia, so if he begins to see past his frustration with the club’s rebuilding process, there might not be reason for the Sixers to trade him at all. Still, Young’s contract seems like the sort of deal the team will want to unload sooner or later, and with his play at unprecedented levels, the time might be right for Hinkie to sell high.

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Odds & Ends: Knicks, Nunnally, LeBron

January 10th, 2014 at 10:58pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Knicks have been shopping J.R. Smith ever since he reacted negatively to the team’s decision to waive his brother, a source tells Frank Isola of the New York Daily News. Smith’s public and private responses to his brother’s dismissal put him in owner James Dolan’s doghouse, and evidence suggests it was Dolan who ordered Smith’s surprise benching Thursday, Isola writes. Carmelo Anthony nonetheless remains supportive of the troubled swingman, and that could be the key to Smith’s ability to stick around New York, Isola believes. While even Thursday’s win over the Heat apparently can’t stop the New York soap opera, there’s also plenty of scuttlebutt from elsewhere in the NBA:

  • The Hawks are set to finalize their 10-day signing of James Nunnally on Saturday, tweets Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
  • LeBron James and Tom Thibodeau share mutual admiration, but the Bulls would have to OK repeated luxury tax payments and Derrick Rose would have to cede crunch-time shots for LeBron to wind up with Chicago, notes Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times.
  • Thibodeau indicated today that the Bulls plan to send Erik Murphy to the D-League soon, observes Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com (Twitter link).
  • Giannis Antetokounmpo would love to play with his brother, Thanasis, but he won’t pressure the Bucks to draft him this year, writes Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times (Twitter links).
  • Australian guard Dante Exum has been meeting with agents the past few weeks, as expected, and the projected top-five pick appears to be a “lock” to enter the draft this year, according to Chris Mannix of SI.com (on Twitter).
  • There isn’t as much motivation for teams to tank as popular opinion suggests, and even when there is, the practice demonstrates a willingness to win as much as much as it does an intention to lose, as Mark Deeks of ShamSports opines in a piece for SB Nation.
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Training Camp Survivors

January 10th, 2014 at 6:58pm CST by Chuck Myron

Ten players achieved a significant goal Tuesday just by remaining on their respective rosters. All of them signed non-guaranteed contracts for the minimum salary this summer, essentially making them training camp invitees with slim chances of surviving preseason cuts. As they watched most others on make-good deals fail to hang on until opening night, these guys stuck around, with Tuesday’s date of January 7th circled on their calendars. That’s the de facto leaguewide contract guarantee date, which was officially set for today but in practice comes three days early to accommodate the 48-hour waiver process. Everyone who had a non-guaranteed or partially guaranteed contract was assured of a full-season salary after Tuesday, but the smiles had to have been especially wide on the faces of those who overcame the longest odds to make it happen.

A few of the names on this list represent some of the league’s best success stories this season, with former No. 2 overall pick Michael Beasley reviving his career in Miami, and Xavier Henry of the Lakers, another one-time lottery pick, finally delivering on his potential. Other players appear to have remained on their teams merely to provide necessary depth, like Cole Aldrich and A.J. Price, who put together have played a total of only 100 minutes.

Not listed are players who signed their contracts prior to this summer or after the regular season began, or who received partial guarantees or more than the minimum salary. All of the players below are on one-year pacts except Brandon Davies, whose fully non-guaranteed contract with the Sixers covers four years.

ShamSports was used in the creation of this post.

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J.R. Smith Unsure Of Future With Knicks

January 9th, 2014 at 10:17pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Although the Knicks defeated the Heat in what was arguably their most impressive win of the season, the bigger story out of New York right now seems to be head coach Mike Woodson‘s decision to completely bench J.R. Smith tonight. Smith, who thrived under Woodson’s guidance last season en route to winning the league’s Sixth Man of the Year award, reportedly kept his distance from the team throughout tonight’s game and told the media afterward that he wasn’t sure if he’s in the Knicks future anymore:

“Honestly, I don’t even know. At one point I was for sure and now…it’s rocking the boat” (Twitter links via Frank Isola of the New York Daily News).

According to Marc Berman and Fred Kerber of the New York Post, Smith’s value has hit a new low, and the team would consider trading him for a young player or draft pick. With that being said, it’s hard to imagine that another team would offer up a viable young prospect or an asset in the form of a draft choice in exchange for someone with little trade value right now, especially with Smith scheduled to make $5.98MM next season along with a $6.4MM player option in 2015/16. As we noted earlier from ESPN’s Marc Stein, the Knicks have been making an effort to shop Smith around the league but have been hard pressed to find a taker.

Though a trade may seem improbable based on Smith’s contract, it certainly wouldn’t seem impossible, as the Raptors were initially willing to take on Raymond Felton (whose contract includes a near $4MM player option for 2015/16) in exchange for Kyle Lowry, contingent upon the inclusion of a future first-round pick and/or a young talent like Iman Shumpert or Tim Hardaway Jr. This isn’t to say that New York would hastily include any of the latter in order to rid themselves of Smith, but should trade rumors surrounding the 6’6″ guard start to percolate leading up to the trade deadline, I would expect the inclusion on whatever young talent/assets the team has left as a prerequisite for taking on J.R.’s contract.

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Odds & Ends: LeBron/Melo, J.R. Smith, Deng

January 9th, 2014 at 9:16pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Both Al Iannazzone of Newsday and Mitch Abramson of the New York Daily News passed along some of LeBron James‘ comments on Carmelo Anthony with regards to free agency:

“You got to do whatever makes you happy…When you’re happy, the game of basketball is going to be fun for you. Strive to be great every day and live with whatever else happens. So we’ll see.”

Asked further if he’d recommend Anthony leave some money on the table when he signs his next contract, LeBron had this to say:

“I recommend it to me…It doesn’t work for everybody. The way I live my life don’t work for everybody. All I care about is winning. I came to Miami to win. Money didn’t make me happy. Winning made me happy, and it still does. That’s what matters to me.”

We’ve got more links to pass along out of the Association tonight, and you can find them below:

  • Not surprisingly, George Karl deplored J.R. Smith‘s recent behavior, telling Michael Kay on 98.7 ESPN radio in New York that his former player is going to wake up one day and realize how much he’s wasted great opportunities because of this “mockery he brings to the game.” In spite of that, Karl added that Smith still has a “skill that championship teams need” and suggested that a team like the Heat or Spurs may be able to corral the erratic shooting guard: “There’s that possibility…I think right now that’s the position if I was J.R.’s agent [I would take]. I would be looking at a culture where there would be more peer pressure…I know San Antonio has always liked (J.R.) and I know they’ve thought about bringing him in…San Antonio doesn’t make a lot of mistakes” (Ian Begley of ESPN New York).   
  • Although Luol Deng‘s agent Herb Rudoy didn’t expand upon how far apart the numbers were with the Bulls regarding contract extension discussions, he mentioned Andre Iguodala‘s contract with the Warriors (four years, $48MM) as one that would be commensurate with Deng’s ability, writes Nick Friedell of ESPN Chicago.
  • When asked about a potential return to Chicago for his client in the near future, Rudoy responded: “Never discussed…I have no idea. We didn’t talk about it.” 
  • Tom Haberstroh of ESPN explores the topic of whether or not Andrew Bynum would be a good fit with the Heat (Insiders only).
  • Ian Begley and Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN New York, Robert Silverman of Knickerblogger, Ethan Sherwood Strauss of TrueHoop, and Brian Windhorst of ESPN have a roundtable discussion on the Knicks and Nets‘ chances of making the playoffs, winning the Atlantic Division, getting to the second round of the playoffs, and which has the brighter future.
  • K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune goes in-depth about how the Deng trade presents an enormous opportunity for Bulls rookie Tony Snell (Subscribers only).
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Stein On Bulls, Bynum, Bledsoe, J.R. Smith

January 9th, 2014 at 8:00pm CST by Ryan Raroque

During a five-and-a-half minute interview earlier tonight, ESPN’s Marc Stein offered his thoughts on the Deng-Bynum trade, Eric Bledsoe‘s latest injury, and the latest on J.R. Smith and the Knicks (ESPN Radio link). You can find some of the highlights from the interview below.

On what the Deng-Bynum trade means for the Bulls: 

“I really like this deal better for Chicago because they’ve reset themselves entirely as far as finances…nobody wants to part with first-round picks, but to be able to get a first-round pick for a guy who was headed to free agency, that’s a pretty impressive feat…when you look at what’s left over in Chicago, lets assume Derrick Rose comes back, they still have Jimmy Butler, they have Joakim Noah, they’ve got some picks coming in, they’re going to try to get Nikola Mirotic – who’s considered one of the top players in Europe…there’s still some pieces there…if they can hang onto Tom Thibodeau, they still have a good platform for a team moving forward.”

On Andrew Bynum‘s free agency prospects: 

“…the issue with Bynum is I think everyone’s concerned because it’s been so long since he’s been motivated…the reality is that he’s still a very big guy who takes up a lot of space and did show enough flash in Cleveland to let you know he can still be a productive player when he’s in the mood…He wants to go to a contender and somewhere where he can (make more) than the league minimum. I know Dallas is very interested in him. Miami and the Clippers are two teams that have been mentioned, but I think in both cases there’s probably some hesitation as well…Miami already has Greg Oden there, do they really want two reclamation project centers on that team? 

Doc Rivers has been very vocal this week saying that our concern is on the perimeter because we lost Chris Paul for six weeks…they’re not looking for a big man. Is that smoke screen from (Rivers)? I think we’ll find out pretty soon.”

On how Eric Bledsoe’s injury affects the Suns plans: 

“It’s a crusher…there’s been all kinds of talk that Phoenix would move (one or two of their stash of future first-round picks) in order to try to get another frontline player and make a playoff push now…those plans are going to have to be revised most likely because it looks like Bledsoe (could) miss a significant amount of time.” 

“…they won’t know exactly how bad (the condition) and they won’t know until the surgery takes place, but this is the first depressing downer to happen to Phoenix after a fairy-tale two months.”

On J.R. Smith and the Knicks: 

“The reality is that I don’t think they’ll be able to move him. Now I would not co-sign on the notion that this is purely a Knicks ‘scare tactic’…the Knicks weren’t the ones who told me or Ian Begley that J.R. Smith was being shopped…I don’t think this was some sort of thing the Knicks strategically leaked because they’re trying to light a fire under (him)…They’re undoubtedly frustrated with him, they (feel) like it’s time for a fresh start for all parties, but the reality is that (Smith) has two more years left on his contract after this one, his production has dropped considerably, and off the cour there’s been four or five flareups already that have resulted in fines or negative headlines…the Knicks are realistic, they know that chances are they’re not going to find a trade partner for him, but they’re trying. They are trying and that is legitimate.”

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Update On Non-Guaranteed Contracts

January 7th, 2014 at 9:16am CST by Luke Adams

As has been discussed ad nauseam in recent reports on Andrew Bynum, the NBA’s contract guarantee deadline for 2013/14 arrives later today. If a team waives a player on a non-guaranteed contract by 4:00pm central time, that club won’t be on the hook for the remainder of the player’s salary. However, if the player remains on a roster beyond that, he’ll be assured of his full ’13/14 salary.

The NBA’s contract guarantee date technically lands on January 10th, but teams must ensure that players must clear waivers before Friday to avoid being on the hook for their full salaries. Because the waiver process takes 48 hours, that means making cuts today.

A number of players on non-guaranteed contracts are in no danger of being waived, but we’re still anticipating plenty of roster moves today, with veterans like Bynum and Stephen Jackson among the players expected to be released.

Here’s a quick rundown of the remaining players believed to be on non-guaranteed contracts, whose full 2013/14 salaries will be assured if they survive today’s round of roster cuts. Unless otherwise indicated, these players are on minimum-salary deals.

This post is just a refresher, so it won’t be updated throughout the day. However, we’ll keep our long-standing page of non-guaranteed deals up-to-date as teams make their cuts, so be sure to check that out, or keep tabs on our transactions feed for the latest moves.

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