As we look forward to what could be the final game of the 2012/13 season tonight, let's check in on a few odds and ends from around the NBA....
Here's a look at the latest out of the Central Division..
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Since 2007, the only teams to win the Eastern Conference have been the Celtics, the Magic, and whatever team LeBron James has been on. The Magic probably won't be getting back to the Finals anytime soon, and the core of those Celtics teams could soon disappear. Doc Rivers, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett may all wind up with the Clippers, removing one of LeBron's most prominent conference rivals. We've got more on the Celtics saga and other news from the East:
Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau appeared to be excited as he described the progress that Derrick Rose has made, saying that the superstar point guard's speed and explosiveness have come back to the point to where he's comfortable and confident (Jon Greenberg of ESPN Chicago):
"I worked him out about a week ago...Watching the way he's moving now, there's a confidence.(Reporters) may not have been able to see the total work he was putting in. But he was putting in an enormous amount of work each and every day. He just never got to the explosiveness he was comfortable with. I think he's there now. He feels great, and that's the most important thing."
Here are more miscellaneous notes out of the Eastern Conference tonight:
While Dave Joerger is viewed as the favorite for the Grizzlies' head coaching job, it appears the team will explore plenty of other options before making a decision. Ken Berger of CBSSports.com reports that Memphis has received permission to speak to Bulls assistant Ed Pinckney about the position, marking the first time this offseason that we've heard Pinckney's name come up in a head coaching search. Here's more on the Grizzlies:
An NBA-record 12 coaching jobs are changing hands this offseason, with almost half the jobs still open. Five teams are still searching for a coach, though David Joerger appears the strong front-runner for the Grizzlies. It looks like Jason Kidd has the edge for the Nets job, but Brian Shaw remains in the mix. It's more unsettled for the Nuggets, Clippers and Sixers, and as we await more clarity on those vacancies, here's the latest coaching news:
As the latest rumors and rumblings continue to suggest that Nerlens Noel, long considered the odds-on favorite to be drafted first overall, could slip on draft day, Michael Lee of the Washington Post reports that the Kentucky big man has a meeting lined up on Saturday. Noel is unable to work out for teams while he recovers from his ACL injury, but he'll meet with the Wizards, who have the third overall pick, says Lee. Here are a few more notes out of the Eastern Conference:
Last month, we heard that Mike D'Antoni and Nate McMillan wouldn't be returning to Team USA for the 2016 Olympics as assistant coaches. Today, Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press reveals (via Twitter) that Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau and Pelicans coach Monty Williams will be the new additions to Mike Krzyzewski's staff. Here are a few more Monday odds and ends from around the NBA:
We're now just three weeks away from the 2013 draft, so teams are busy bringing in prospects to meet with them and work them out, while we do our best to keep tabs on as many of those workouts as we can. Here's the latest:
Earlier updates:
ESPN.com's Chad Ford has released version 4.0 of his 2013 mock draft (Insider-only link), and as usual, the piece is chock-full of rumors and rumblings he's heard from GMs, scouts, and other league sources. Let's dive in and round up some of the highlights from Ford's latest....
In addition to Ford's latest mock, there are plenty of other draft updates to pass along this afternoon. Here are a few of them:
Nate Robinson never looked more valuable than he did this spring, when Chicago's third-string point guard took over the starting role and lifted the team to a Game Seven win on the road in Brooklyn. Robinson and the Bulls followed that up with a strong challenge of the Heat in the conference semifinals. His trademark inconsistency still surfaced, as witnessed by his performance in a pair of Game Fours. In the fourth game against the Nets, he scored 34 points, but he went scoreless on 12 field goal attempts in the fourth game versus the Heat. Yet the "Good Nate" mostly outweighed the "Bad Nate" during the playoffs, especially as he showed an ability to fit in with coach Tom Thibodeau's defense. That should be enough to merit a healthy raise on his minimum-salary deal, and that means he'll probably be out of Chicago's price range.
Robinson was a break-even player during the regular season, as the Bulls scored just about as many points with him on the floor as they gave up. That's what many teams look for out of their backups, so Robinson has probably earned a shot in a team's rotation next season, a job that normally warrants more than the minimum salary. Robinson appeared in every one of the Bulls' regular season and playoff games this year, and shot 40.5% from behind the arc, the first time he's eclipsed a 40% rate of success on three-point attempts. He embraced a playmaking role, as he did in Golden State last year, posting a respectable 4.4/1.8 per-game assists-to-turnover ratio with the Bulls. His strides on defense, where he became less of a liability, and his ability to accept Thibodeau's hard-charging coaching style, were even more impressive.
The Bulls have Robinson's Non-Bird rights, so unless they dip into their mid-level exception, the most they can pay him next season is $1,519,172, an amount equal to 120% of the minimum salary for a player with eight years of experience. Chicago is in line to pay the tax again next season, so the team's only method of signing other teams' free agents for more than the minimum will likely be the $3.183MM taxpayer's mid-level exception. Robinson's market value is probably right around that amount, so using the mid-level on him wouldn't allow Chicago to upgrade elsewhere. Derrick Rose and Kirk Hinrich will presumably be back to man the point guard position, and the team probably wants to give Marquis Teague, its first-rounder from 2012, a longer look next season. That doesn't leave much room for Robinson.
Robinson's agent, Aaron Goodwin, says his client's first priority is to re-sign with the Bulls, but he'd be open to hearing from the Knicks as well. The Knicks might like to inject a boost of athleticism into their point guard ranks, but they're under the same salary crunch as the Bulls. New York's bloated payroll would make the mid-level exception the team's only mechanism for signing Robinson, and the Knicks may have to use it to keep some of their own free agents. A sign-and-trade is out, since taxpaying teams can't acquire players in a sign-and-trade under new collective barganing agreement restrictions this summer.
The taxpayer's mid-level amount is probably a fit for Robinson, but he's most likely to end up on a team with fewer financial headaches than the Knicks. He could also work on a club that can use part of its standard $5.15MM mid-level on him. He showed his value to contenders this past season, and winning teams probably won't shy away from him as much as they did when he was a forgotten man in 2010/11 with the Thunder, who waived him on the eve of the following season. He's still a spark plug offensively, capable of the spectacular, and after this year, a team's primary worry would be his off-nights on that end, as opposed to his defense. I expect a contending team with plenty of other offensive weapons that can offset his shortcomings to bring Robinson aboard.
There are three teams still alive in the NBA playoffs, but draft season is already upon us, with news of potential trades, players jockeying for the top pick, and fringe prospects simply hoping to hear their name called on June 27th. Here's the latest:
Nate Robinson's first priority will be to re-sign with the Bulls, though he wouldn't mind another stint with the Knicks, agent Aaron Goodwin tells Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com. Both Chicago and New York are taxpaying teams, so it'll be difficult for either to fit in Robinson, who'll likely command more than the minimum salary he made this year. Goodwin's statement is a familiar one for agents this time of year, as Grantland's Zach Lowe points out via Twitter, so there's no reason to count Robinson as either a Bull or a Knick just yet. Here's more from the Atlantic:
Otto Porter, Victor Oladipo, Ben McLemore, and Anthony Bennett will likely be among the candidates visiting with the Wizards in the second or third week of June, when the team will look at candidates for the No. 3 overall pick, writes Michael Lee of the Washington Post. For now, the team is concentrating on targets for its pair of second-round pick, and Lee lists more than a dozen such players scheduled for workouts with the team next week. The Wizards' pick may very well come down to a decision between who is left over between Porter and Nerlens Noel, but they'll leave no stone unturned when it comes to their top pick. Here's more draft news..
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
A handful of the NBA's head coaching vacancies have been filled this week, with the Suns, Bobcats, and Hawks all deciding on new head coaches. Still, plenty of jobs remain open, including higher-profile positions in Los Angeles and Brooklyn. Let's round up the latest rumblings on the Association's coaching carousel....
Earlier updates:
Blazers big man LaMarcus Aldridge sat down with Leo Sepkowitz of Slam Online for a wide-ranging Q&A session earlier this week. Seven years after the 2006 draft, Aldridge has proven to be the only player taken in the top five that didn't fall short of expectations. Does the 27-year-old hold a grudge against the Bulls for passing him up? "I used to, but I don’t think I do anymore. I think someone named a stat that I average more points and rebounds against them and Dallas than anyone else. So people say that whenever I play them I have something to prove, but I don’t think I do anymore. But if the stats say I do, then I guess I do." Here's more from around the Association..
Following up on the NBA's review of the Dwyane Wade elbow to Lance Stephenson near the end of game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Heat and Pacers, we have a couple tweets with more info:
Guaranteed Contracts
Options
Non-Guaranteed Contracts
Free Agents / Cap Holds
Draft Picks
Cap Outlook
Considering Derrick Rose never played a single game, the season went about as well as could be expected for the Bulls. Even if Rose had made it back from his injury, Chicago may not have done better than winning a playoff series and putting a scare in the Heat, considering the turnover they suffered on the bench coming into 2012/13. Coach Tom Thibodeau deserves credit for developing an overachieving supporting cast, many of whom wound up starting and playing prominent roles in the playoffs while Luol Deng and Kirk Hinrich joined Rose on the bench with injuries.
Presumably, Rose will return healthy for the start of next season, and the central question for John Paxson, the team's executive VP of basketball operations, and GM Gar Forman is whether that's enough to give Chicago a shot at the championship. The Bulls entered the playoffs as the top seed the last two seasons in which Rose played, but they've won a total of just two playoff series with Rose in uniform. Part of the reason that's the case is the team's inability to get past the Heat, and that obstacle could be gone after next season, when LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh can all opt out of their contracts. They could also all choose to stay with the Heat, or one or more of them could go elsewhere and form another superteam that erects another barrier for the Bulls.
LeBron and company passed on Chicago in the summer of 2010, and there's no pressing reason to suspect they wouldn't do so again, making the specter of a superteam in Chicago far-fetched. In 2010, the Bulls instead went with Carlos Boozer, who has drawn criticism ever since. Boozer has never been the most consistent of producers, and some of his numbers suggest this season was another dip on his personal rollercoaster. He recorded career lows in shooting percentage (.477) and PER (17.1), even as his scoring and rebounding went up from last year. His numbers held steady in the playoffs, unlike his first two postseason runs with the Bulls, and that may be enough to spare him from becoming an amnesty victim.
The Bulls owe him $32.1MM over the next two seasons, making him the highest paid player on their roster aside from Rose. His presence as a playoff force will be critical to the team's ability to get past Miami or other elite teams, and if Paxson, Forman and company feel they can't get that sort of performance from him, there's little reason to keep him around. His amnesty represents the easiest way for the Bulls to avoid paying the tax next season after having done so for the first time in franchise history this year.
Still, if the Bulls are confident Boozer can produce in the postseason, they're probably better off keeping him, since amnestying him wouldn't create enough cap room to replace him with a player who's likely to do any better. The Bulls reportedly reached out to the Raptors and others about trading Boozer before the deadline this past season, but found no takers. A trade could be the most viable option the team has of either upgrading its roster, avoiding the tax, or both.
Writers have batted around a trade idea that would send Kevin Love to the Bulls in exchange for Boozer, Jimmy Butler, former first-round pick Nikola Mirotic and a future first-round pick that the Bobcats owe Chicago. That one seems a non-starter now that new Wolves exec Flip Saunders has worked to strengthen the team's relationship with Love, and it doesn't sound like a proposal the teams ever considered anyway.
The Bulls played well in the postseason without Deng, leading to speculation that he could be the centerpiece of a deal this summer. The Cavaliers and Pistons have apparently expressed interest in Deng already, but it's unclear what it would take to get a deal done. The Bulls would probably want to reduce their payroll, and both Cleveland and Detroit will have the cap room to facilitate an uneven exchange of salaries. I'd be surprised if Chicago gave up Butler, who emerged as a force on the perimeter this season and has two more years left on his rookie deal. Mirotic is another young, cheap asset, even if it's unclear when he'll make the move to the NBA.
Butler's emergence helps make parting ways with Richard Hamilton an easy choice. The Bulls are expected to waive the 35-year-old former All-Star by July 10th, allowing them to save $4MM on his cap hit for next season. Injuries held Hamilton back from becoming the reliable starting two-guard the team signed him to be, but even when he was healthy and the Bulls were in need of help in the postseason, Thibodeau rarely called on him.
With Rose and Hamilton out of the picture and Butler pressed into duty at small forward in place of Deng, the Bulls rode with Nate Robinson and Marco Belinelli as their starting backcourt in the playoffs. Both exceeded expectations, particularly Robinson, who was a minimum-salary signee. The Bulls have Non-Bird rights on both, allowing them to go no more than 120% over their salaries from this past season to re-sign them, unless Chicago dips into its mid-level exception. As a team in line to pay the tax, the Bulls will only have the $3.183 taxpayer's mid-level, which might be enough for one of them, but not both. Chicago has Non-Bird rights on backup center Nazr Mohammed, too, but he's unlikely to return unless he agrees to another minimum-salary deal.
The Bulls would have to make a drastic move to significantly improve their roster this summer. Forman identified a return to health as the team's primary offseason goal, and the return of Rose should vault the Bulls into some level of title contention. If they keep the core of the team together, they won't enter next season as favorites, but they'll probably have a chance. Unless they get a trade offer they can't bear to turn down, the Bulls seem like they'll give this group one more try and gauge a changing NBA landscape next summer.
Cap footnotes
Storytellers Contracts and Sham Sports were used in the creation of this post.
The Eastern Conference Finals resume tonight after a stirring overtime contest in Game One. The Pacers will have to find a way to come up with a win in Miami after squandering a chance in the opener. If they don't, it will soon be open season for teams going after Indiana GM Kevin Pritchard and assistant coach Brian Shaw. While we wait to see how the postseason turns out, here's the latest on what will happen for a few Eastern teams and players in the future:
Considering the rumblings that Pistons GM Joe Dumars had his sights set on either Nate McMillan or Maurice Cheeks as the team's next head coach, along with the notion that Dumars had apparently hoped to make a hire before the start of last week's NBA Pre-Draft Camp in Chicago, ESPN's Chris Broussard wonders if the hold up with regards to a coaching decision gives any indication that Phil Jackson - recently tabbed as an adviser for the head coaching search - could soon be running Detroit's front office (Insiders only). According to popular thought around the league, Brian Shaw would be Jackson's first choice, and while some insist that Dumars is still in charge as the general manager, Broussard suggests that their next coaching hire will be a strong indicator of how much control the Pistons legend still has of the franchise. Here are more notes out of the Eastern Conference tonight: