Despite the Grizzlies place in the thick of their Western Conference Finals series against the Spurs, their perimeter defensive specialist, Tony Allen, will be an unrestricted free agent this July.
Allen spoke with Ramona Shelburne at ESPN.com yesterday about the blue collar "Grit and Grind" Grizzlies, their blue collar Memphis fans, and--towards the end of the piece--his impending free agency. Said Allen:
"I don't even understand the business side. When July hits, somebody is going to have to sit me down and explain it. All I know is I'm a Grizzly and I believe I'm going to be a Grizzly when it's over with.
"I bleed blue. I think they going to keep me. But if they don't, I understand.
"I don't even think about it now. I just play. I love being in Memphis. I love the city. Hopefully I stay here. It feels like home."
Speaking of Allen's Grizzlies, here are some more notes from around the Western Conference:
Let's take a trip out to the West Coast for the latest out of the Pacific Division..
In the NFL, teams are frequently better off drafting for positional need rather than going for the best player, writes Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel, who argues that the opposite is true in the NBA. Thus, he implores the Magic to ignore fans who have football on the mind and draft the most talented player available with the No. 2 pick. He also notes that the Orlando summer league will add a title game this year, similar to the Las Vegas summer league, and sees Kevin Love's frequent chats with Flip Saunders as encouraging news for the Timberwolves. Here's more from around the Association as a long weekend commences:
It's not often that a player who makes the fewest starts since his rookie season and sees his scoring average decline nearly three points from the year before emerges as a hot commodity. Yet that's the spot Jarrett Jack finds himself in as he hits free agency. Jack was a superb sixth man this season for a Warriors team that won a playoff series, giving the eight-year veteran his first glimpse of the postseason beyond the opening round. He was frequently the No. 1 option on offense down the stretch, while the "greatest shooting backcourt in the history of the game," as Mark Jackson proclaimed Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, deferred to Jack's ability to create off the dribble.
Jack's scored 12.9 points per game this year, off from his career high of 15.6 in 2011/12 with New Orleans. Perhaps picking up some tips from the shooters around him, or benefitting from the same conditions that allowed them to thrive, Jack displayed some of his best touch from beyond the three-point arc, knocking in 40.4% of his attempts. He exceled as a distributor as well, averaging 5.6 assists against 2.0 turnovers per game. The Warriors gave up slightly more points per 100 possessions when he was on the floor, according to NBA.com, but his net effect was positive. The Warriors outscored opponents by 1.7 points per 100 possessions as a whole this season, and by 2.2 points with Jack in the game.
The 22nd overall pick in the 2005 draft, Jack made $5.4MM this season, the last of a four-year, $20MM contract. He reportedly had a chance to extend that deal with the W's this season, but shut down talks with the team in the middle of the season. With the exception of players on rookie-scale contracts, an extension usually isn't in a player's best interest. Jack would have been limited to a 7.5% raise on his salary from this season and three additional years. That would have been a total package worth $18.63MM, a sum of guaranteed money that most bench players don't see. It's not clear whether the Warriors were prepared to go that high in the extension. If they did so, Jack's $5.805MM salary for next season would likely put them in danger of going over the tax apron.
Without Jack, and assuming Carl Landry opts out of his deal while Andris Biedrins, Richard Jefferson and Brandon Rush all opt into theirs, the Warriors would be committed to $69,020,402 for 10 players next season. It's not certain exactly where the tax threshold, at $70.307MM this year, will be set for 2013/14, but in any case, the Warriors seem destined become a taxpayer unless they make a major move. Crossing the tax apron, which will be $4MM above wherever the tax line is set, would limit the team's flexbility, chopping about $2MM from its mid-level exception and placing a restriction on Golden State's ability to acquire players via sign-and-trade.
That likely makes Jack and Landry an either-or proposition for Golden State, as Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group wrote last week. Kawakami figures the Warriors will choose Jack, and while that seems logical, I'm not sure they'll be able to afford him unless they either dump other salaries or are prepared to cross the tax apron. Even if he re-signed for his $5.4MM salary from last season, Jack would be tough to squeeze back onto the payroll. The 29-year-old was adamant last month that he'll prioritize a return to the Warriors next season, even if it means giving up the opportunity to start elsewhere.
Jack had an expanded role in the playoffs, becoming his team's second leading scorer, at 17.2 points per game, and drawing four starts in place of an injured David Lee. Even if he doesn't sign with a team that wants to make him a starter, he should at least be in line for a slight bump up in pay. He was one of the top sixth men in the league this year, and teams with cap space probably wouldn't hesitate to pay him $6MM a year. That may be too much for Jack to pass up, as much as he enjoyed his year as a Warrior.
As we head into the offseason, the Clippers and Lakers are looking to retain elite free-agents-to-be, the Warriors are looking for ways to upgrade a roster that's dangerously close to tax territory, the Clippers and Suns are in the market for a new head coach, and the Kings are in the process of changing ownership groups. The Pacific Division certainly isn't lacking for storylines, so let's round up the latest on a few of them:
As expected, Andris Biedrins will opt in to the final year of his contract, waiving his early termination option, agent Bill Duffy confirmed to Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com. The option will pay Biedrins a $9MM salary in the last season of his six-year, $54MM deal with the Warriors.
With Biedrins on the books for next season and Richard Jefferson expected to pick up his $11MM+ player option, the Warriors won't have much flexibility when it comes to re-signing Jarrett Jack or pursuing outside reinforcements. Last fall, we heard that the team was attempting to trade or buy out Biedrins, so perhaps those efforts will be revisited once the big man's contract becomes an expiring one.
Biedrins, 27, is coming off the worst season of his NBA career, having averaged 0.5 PPG, 2.9 RPG, and a 7.7 PER in 53 contests (9.3 MPG). There was some speculation that perhaps the Latvian center would exercise his ETO and opt out if it meant securing a multiyear deal at a lower annual salary (but a higher overall total). Based on his play in recent years, I would have been surprised if the Warriors were interested in locking him up for an extra season, even if it meant gaining some wiggle room in '13/14.
We've rounded up a few links on Dwight Howard tonight. Peter May of Sheridan Hoops explains why it wouldn't make sense for him to choose a return to the Lakers over a chance to join the Rockets. Marcus Thompson II of Mercury News - going off of the speculation linking Dwight to the Warriors - lists some of the biggest obstacles standing in the way of Golden State being able to acquire him. Tim Cowlishaw of SportsDayDFW thinks that the Mavericks will finish fourth behind the Hawks, Houston, and Los Angeles in the sweepstakes for Howard, adding that Dallas has little else to offer aside from no state income tax. Here are a few more links to share out of the Western Conference:
In his latest piece, Marcus Thompson II of the Contra Costa Times lays out a few reasons why Carl Landry is a near-lock to turn down his $4MM player option in search of a bigger payday. But Landry tells Thompson that he hasn't made a decision yet, pointing out that he took a lesser deal to initially sign with the Warriors and adding that his decision won't simply be about money -- he'll also consider his potential coach, teammates, and the odds of playing in the postseason.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the Association:
Earlier today, we learned that the Clippers aren't going to make a run at Dwight Howard this summer. That doesn't come as a tremendous surprise when looking at the Clips' cap situation and the maneuvering they'd have to do in order to retain both Chris Paul and lure DH over from L.A.'s other team. Speaking of which, do the Lakers have the right plan to keep Howard in purple and gold next season? More on that and other notes out of the Pacific Division..
For a third consecutive year, there aren't any Pacific Division teams in the Western Conference Finals, a dry spell that's never happened before. The Lakers are mostly responsible for that history of success, but the Suns have had their moments, too. For most of the city's time with an NBA team, Seattle was a part of the Pacific Division, and the SuperSonics were no stranger to playing for a berth in the Finals. With the league reportedly having approved the sale of the Kings to a Sacramento-based group, it looks like Seattle won't be an NBA destination for at least a while longer.
Here's a check on each of the five current Pacific Division teams as they try to climb their way back into contention:
A source tells Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group that first- and second-round draft picks will likely be available around the time of the draft in exchange for little more than cash. I'd be surprised if any team gave up a first-rounder for such paltry return, however, even considering the purported weakness of this year's crop of prospects. No first-round picks changed hands at the trade deadline, when teams were reluctant to give them up. The Warriors don't have a pick in this year's draft and co-owner Joe Lacob has shown the willingness to spend to acquire a selection in the past, as Kawakami points out, so perhaps they'll net a second-rounder this year.
There's more on the Warriors and their Western Conference rivals, as we detail here:
Of the four NBA divisions that sent three teams to the postseason this year, only the Pacific doesn't have a team still in the hunt, following the eliminations of the Lakers, Clippers, and Warriors. Here's the latest from out west:
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Earlier today, we learned that if the Kings don't keep Keith Smart as their head coach, they're expected to target Warriors assistant Michael Malone. After months of conjecture on the coaching carousel about big names like Phil Jackson, Jeff Van Gundy, and Jerry Sloan, Malone now appears to be one of the most wanted men in the NBA. Here's more from the Pacific division..
Luke Adams contributed to this post.
2:52pm: Here are a few more updates out of Chicago:
11:44am: It took us multiple posts yesterday to round up all the tidbits trickling out of Chicago, where the NBA is holding its draft combine this week. We'll see if today is as busy, but in the meantime, here are the latest updates on the 2013 draft:
With just one Conference Semifinal still ongoing, we won't see any NBA action tonight, as the Knicks and Pacers prepare for tomorrow's Game Six. Even if the Eastern Semifinal extends to a seventh game though, we can look forward to the Western Finals getting underway on Sunday, featuring a Spurs/Grizzlies matchup that few would have predicted last fall. As we get ready for those games, let's check in on a few odds and ends from around the Association:
Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld (via Twitter) hears that David Stern was an active participant in yesterday's vote over Sacramento/Seattle at the Board of Governors meeting. It's worth noting that despite an offer north of $625MM as well as the $115MM relocation fee that would have been included by the Seattle group, Stern was able to sway the vote in Sacramento's direction, even though it appeared that more owners were in favor of Seattle's offer (All Twitter links). Here are a few more miscellaneous tidbits from around the Association tonight:
11:56am: More A.M. updates out of Chicago:
11:09am: With a number of reporters in attendance at the NBA's predraft camp in Chicago, we're expecting plenty of noteworthy tidbits to trickle in throughout the day. Here's a round-up of the first batch of updates on 2013's draft combine participants:
A few notes from around the NBA's Western Conference.
With all four Conference Semifinals tied at one game apiece, the Heat and Spurs will be the first two favorites to try to regain home-court advantage tonight, in Chicago and Golden State respectively. As we look forward to those games, let's check in on a few odds and ends from around the Association:
Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski looks back to June 2011, when Warriors' GM Bob Myers had worries about not being able to select Klay Thompson knowing that either the Spurs could possibly trade up in the draft to get him or that the Bucks were planning to select him with the 10th overall pick. As it would turn out, San Antonio would wind up trading for the 15th pick (Kawhi Leonard) and the Kings landed the 10th pick to select Jimmer Fredette, leaving the sharpshooting Washington State forward right into the hands of Golden State. Here are a few more miscellaneous notes to share along this evening: