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Much was made this season of the changing of the guard in Memphis, as new owner Robert Pera assumed control of the franchise from Michael Heisley, while GM Chris Wallace ceded decision-making power to new CEO Jason Levien. Whether or not it was an accurate portrayal, the two men most frequently cited as representative of the struggle of old vs. the new were head coach Lionel Hollins and front office exec John Hollinger.
The Grizzlies' hiring of Hollinger, the former ESPN.com analytics guru, was a signal that the team's brass was interested in embracing a new-school style of thinking, an approach Hollins wasn't necessarily on board with, given his comments after Memphis traded away Marreese Speights, Wayne Ellington, and Rudy Gay. It turned out that either the front office or Hollins (or perhaps both) knew what they were doing, as the Grizzlies earned a spot in the Western Conference Finals before being beaten by the Spurs.
The deep playoff run wasn't enough for Hollins to keep his job, however, as he and the team parted ways after the season. Given the philosophical differences between Hollins and the front office, and the typical desire of a new management group to bring in its own coach, the split wasn't a surprise, but it's indicative of the franchise's direction going forward -- when it comes to coaching hires, roster management, and player development, the new-look Grizzlies will be forward-thinking and nontraditional.
It will be interesting to see how the Grizzlies' new front office values Tony Allen, as one of the league's top perimeter defenders prepares to hit free agency this summer. Allen is coming off a bargain of a deal, at three years and $9.45MM, and if the Grizzlies could re-sign him for a similar price, I'd imagine they would jump at the opportunity. But Allen's stock has been on the rise over the last several years as his reputation as an elite defender has grown, so he's likely to draw plenty of interest on the open market.
After shedding a couple of multiyear contracts prior to the trade deadline, the Grizzlies have gained a little more long-term financial flexibility. Big salaries for Zach Randolph, Marc Gasol, and Mike Conley still ensure there isn't a ton of wiggle room, but the Grizzlies only project to have about $58MM committed to eight players, assuming Jerryd Bayless doesn't exercise his player option. Even if Bayless does opt in, the Grizzlies should still have plenty of room to make Allen a competitive offer without approaching tax territory.
Re-signing Allen would likely preclude the pursuit of any other major free agents, however. As we saw this past year, the Grizzlies were willing to send a potential lottery pick to the Cavaliers to avoid paying the tax, so committing, say, $5MM annually to Allen would probably mean the Grizzlies would be filling out the rest of the roster with minimum-salary signings, with perhaps one player earning more than the minimum but less than the full mid-level (like Bayless).
Would re-signing Allen and tweaking the edges be enough to keep Memphis in contention going forward? Perhaps. Ed Davis figures to get more playing time under a new coach in the hopes that he can produce like he did in Toronto, and the team did thrive in the second half of 2012/13 without Gay. But the Grizzlies also looked overmatched in the Western Finals, and may not have even made it that far had it not been for Russell Westbrook's knee injury.
Letting Allen walk and looking to replace him with another player, or perhaps two or three less-expensive pieces, is one option. But given how much Allen reportedly enjoys playing in Memphis, I could see him taking a bit of a discount to stick around, which will make it hard for the team to find a better value among outside free agents. Additionally, Allen and Randolph have epitomized the Grizzlies' grit-and-grind style over the last couple years. While the two aren't exactly the icons that, for instance, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett are in Boston, it almost feels as if the Grizzlies will either move forward with Allen and Randolph, or with neither of them.
That last idea may seem far-fetched, but I don't think it's entirely out of the realm of possibility. When the Grizzlies were making their big moves prior to the trade deadline, there were multiple reports suggesting that the team was shopping Randolph, with an eye on moving him at some point. Although the club eventually informed Randolph he wouldn't be going anywhere, that doesn't mean the issue won't come up again at some point. Randolph isn't cheap, and the Grizzlies could decide that turning his contract into a couple more cap-friendly deals, and perhaps letting the inexpensive Davis develop more at power forward, could be in the team's best interests.
Still, I think that's an unlikely scenario for this summer. My best guess is that the Grizzlies will play it fairly safe this offseason, attempting to re-sign Allen and add a complementary piece or two that can help the team return to title contention -- a backup point guard and an outside shooter look like the top priorities, especially if Bayless opts out. There may have been a difference of opinions between the new-school Grizzlies front office and the old-school Hollins, but I think both sides would agree that this roster is capable of contending, and doesn't need to be blown up.
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If you were simply perusing the NBA's regular-season standings, you could be forgiven for thinking that the Trail Blazers took a step back this past season. After all, Portland's 33-49 record (.402) was the franchise's worst mark in seven years, and the club took a nosedive at the end of the season, losing its final 13 games.
But consider how the Blazers' roster looks now compared to how it looked after the lockout. The 2011/12 season opened with Nate McMillan on Portland's bench, coaching a veteran-heavy team that included Raymond Felton, Marcus Camby, and Gerald Wallace, among others. Since then, Portland has jettisoned its overpriced veterans, added 2012/13's Rookie of the Year (Damian Lillard), locked up a promising young swingman (Nicolas Batum), and built around a big man who receives perennial All-Star consideration (LaMarcus Aldridge).
In addition to Lillard, Batum, and Aldridge, Wesley Matthews and Meyers Leonard look like keepers, and give the Blazers a solid core at positions one through five. But while that five-man unit represents a nice start for Portland, the team's weakness in '12/13 wasn't its starting lineup -- it was its bench. With J.J. Hickson starting in Leonard's place, the Blazers' bench was made up primarily of NBA rookies (Leonard, Joel Freeland, Victor Claver, and Will Barton) and unproductive players on rookie deals (Nolan Smith and Luke Babbitt).
The bench figures to be GM Neil Olshey's primary area of concern this offseason, as he enters the summer armed with the 10th overall pick and over $10MM in cap space. Olshey has talked multiple times about making the roster deeper and more flexible, so it's unlikely he'll put all his cap room toward a single player, though a big man like Nikola Pekovic could make a nice target. The more likely scenario involves dividing that cap space and using it on multiple mid-level type players to give the team some productive bench players while its young players continue to develop.
Although a number of mock drafts have the Blazers taking a big man like Steven Adams, I'd be a little surprised if the club targeted a center with the No. 10 pick, considering Leonard remains a work in progress in the middle. Pairing Leonard with another rookie makes less sense to me than having him team up with a veteran who can help him develop. Hickson saw plenty of minutes at the five a year ago, but Portland figures to target a more traditional center rather than playing a power forward out of position again. Chris Kaman looks to me like a good fit, and Jermaine O'Neal has indicated he'd have interest in returning to the Blazers.
Assuming the Blazers don't target size in the draft, a shooter such as Kentavious Caldwell-Pope or C.J. McCollum would be ideal, as ESPN.com's Chad Ford suggests in his latest mock draft. It's also worth noting that Portland controls three second-round picks, at 39th, 40th, and 45th overall. After incorporating so many rookies a year ago, the Blazers will prefer to add veterans this year, so I'd be surprised if more than one of those second-round picks ends up on the roster next season. It's more likely that the Blazers will use those picks to either facilitate trades or to stash international players overseas.
A backup point guard behind Lillard also figures to be a priority, and the Blazers will have the option of extending a qualifying offer to Eric Maynor, who was acquired from the Thunder in a deadline deal. Given Maynor's performance and injury woes over the last couple seasons, his stock isn't exactly sky-high at the moment, so Portland may decide to pass on the QO and consider him along with a handful of other unrestricted free agents. Mo Williams, Devin Harris, D.J. Augustin, and Will Bynum are among the guys who also could be in the Blazers' price range.
A year ago, the Blazers attempted to make a huge splash by signing Roy Hibbert to a four-year max offer sheet, but they were thwarted by the Pacers, who matched the offer. Hibbert would have provided exactly the sort of rim protection Portland lacked in 2012/13, and it will be interesting to see how the team addresses that issue this summer. Of the top free agent centers, Dwight Howard isn't coming to Portland, Pekovic and Al Jefferson don't offer a whole lot in the way of rim protection, and a pursuit of the injury-plagued Andrew Bynum may cause a riot in Portland. As such, I think we're unlikely to see the Blazers make any huge bids on free agents like they did with Hibbert.
For Portland, this figures to be a summer of filling in a number of holes without spending exorbitantly on any one spot. With all their core players locked up through at least 2015, the Blazers have to focus on adding the right complementary pieces if they want to become a playoff team in the West. The success they have in finding those players may determine how long Aldridge remains in Portland -- if the Blazers undergo another losing season in 2013/14, it will likely only be a matter of time before trade rumors start swirling.
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It was a memorable season for the Kings, but not for what they did on the basketball court. In fact, their 2012/13 was pretty unremarkable, ending in a 28-54 record and their seventh straight playoff-less season. Instead, their major battles were fought in front of pulpits and inside of courtrooms. At one point, it seemed like a mortal lock that the Kings would move further up the west coast and become the "new" Seattle SuperSonics, but ultimately, mayor Kevin Johnson and the city of Sacramento came out on top.
They'll be staying put, but with a new cast of characters. The Maloofs - who aren't the most beloved people in Sac-Town, have sold their controlling interest to Vivek Ranadive. Keith Smart was removed as head coach after compiling a 48-93 mark across two seasons and replaced by former Warriors assistant Mike Malone. President Geoff Petrie was let go and Pete D'Alessandro was appointed as the club's new GM, though he was brought in after Malone's appointment.
Now that we have that out of the way, let's talk some basketball. We know that this year's free agent class boasts not just one, but two elite talents in Chris Paul and Dwight Howard. While a number of teams have been linked to one or both megastars, the Kings aren't one of them. Malone mentioned Paul in his introductory press conference (and got the team fined for it, whoops), but the Kings are a long way from contending and they won't get consideration from him or D12.
So, the Kings can take a page out of the Mavericks' playbook from last season and spread the wealth on a handful of free agents on short-term contracts. They currently have about $41.4MM committed to nine players for next season and can loosen the belt even further by clearing John Salmons' $7.58MM salary off of the books with the amnesty clause. Sacramento may not be the most appealing free agent destination, but money talks and the mid-tier types rarely get picky over what city they'll play in.
Alternatively, they can sell off some of their more attractive pieces and make an attempt to start from scratch. Depending on what week it is, the Kings may or may not be willing to part ways with troubled big man DeMarcus Cousins. D'Allesandro may prefer to keep the talented Kentucky product and Malone is excited to work with him, but make no mistake about it: the phone lines will be open and the right package can pry him loose. We know that the Bobcats are one of the many teams with serious interest in Boogie and with pressure to get something going in the near future, their No. 4 pick could certainly be involved in a deal.
As it stands, the Kings hold their own No. 7 pick in next week's draft and no one seems to have the inside track on what they're planning to do. Part of that has to do with the general chaos of the entire draft board (heck, we don't even know what the Cavs are thinking at No. 1) but it speaks more to the lack of clarity we have on what the rest of the roster will look like. However, several draft gurus (most notably, ESPN.com's Chad Ford and Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress) have them pegged to take Michigan's Trey Burke. He may be undersized, but Burke would give Sacramento a true one guard who has shown the ability to perform under pressure.
We saw the winds of change completely overhaul the Kings' franchise off the court, it'll now be interesting to see where the summer takes their on-court product.
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It may take a while for many in Indiana to get over the disappointment of a Game Seven loss in the Eastern Conference Finals, but there's no denying that this past season was a rousing success for the Pacers. The team went a step farther than it did last year in the playoffs even though Danny Granger, its top scorer from each of the previous five seasons, was injured and missed all but five games. Paul George blossomed in Granger's stead, making his first All-Star Game, winning the Most Improved Player of the Year award, and vaulting into superstar status as he went mano-a-mano with LeBron James in the playoffs. Roy Hibbert bounced back from an offensive slump in the first half of the season and continued to establish himself as an elite interior defender, especially against the Heat, proving the value of the four-year, $58.4MM contract the Pacers gave him last summer.
Now the Pacers must decide if their success this season justifies moving on from Granger, a 30-year-old former All-Star entering the final season of his contract. The Pacers are reportedly leaning toward keeping him, but there would be no shortage of teams interested in Granger if the Pacers want to put him on the market. Whether the Pacers decide to pull the trigger on a deal could come down to the strength of the trade proposals they receive. Indiana could clearly use some bench production, and Granger could be a potent sixth man if the team opts to use him in that role. He'd be an overpaid reserve, but his contract expires after this coming season, just when the Pacers will need to have more money available for George's next deal. It would be difficult for another team to put together a package of players who could equal Granger's production and whose contracts are up after one season like his is. So, unless there are some enticing first-round picks involved to sweeten the pot, the Pacers may be content to keep Granger for themselves.
The Pacers most assuredly want to hang on to David West, too, and team president Donnie Walsh has deemed re-signing the unrestricted free agent as priority No. 1. There's little reason to expect they won't get a deal done, particularly given West's repeated comments about his desire to return. Executives around the league reportedly expect West to draw offers for three or four years with an annual salary of $11-13MM, and that's just the range the Pacers were hoping to sign him for. I wouldn't be surprised if a team enamored with his toughness and consistent scoring ability floated an offer that exceeds that range, but many front offices will be wary of overpaying a 32-year-old with a torn ACL on his medical history. Barring the unlikely event of a max offer for West from another team, which would be four years starting at around $20MM, I expect him back with the Pacers.
West isn't the only Pacer who could wind up with a lucrative long-term deal this offseason. The Pacers have from July until the end of October to negotiate an extension for Paul George and keep him from restricted free agency in 2014. Indiana would still have plenty of leverage if it got to that point, but George appears to be a rare talent, particularly in such a small market. Walsh and GM Kevin Pritchard would do well to show George that they want him around for the long haul.
The most significant question may not be whether they'll give George an extension, but how long that extension will be for. They could make the deal for five years, but any extension that stretches beyond a fourth season would make him the team's designated player. That distinction would preclude the Pacers from signing anyone else coming off a rookie contract to a five-year extension, but no one else on the roster is likely to warrant that. The maximum George can get wouldn't be known until after he signs the extension. At the moment, he'd be eligible for a max with a starting salary worth 25% of the salary cap in 2014/15, which would mean a five-year deal would be worth around $80MM. If he wins the MVP or, more likely, makes an All-NBA Team again, he would be eligible for 30% of the cap, pushing a five-year extension to a total of about $100MM. I wouldn't be surprised to see the Pacers push to work out an arrangement similar to the one the Thunder had with Russell Westbrook, in which Westbrook agreed to stay at the 25% max even if he became eligible for the 30% max.
Either way, George is in line for a significant raise, yet an extension wouldn't kick in until 2014/15, meaning he'll remain a bargain on his rookie contract for the upcoming season. Tyler Hansbrough's rookie deal is up this summer, but even though he entered the league as a No. 13 pick with about as much fanfare as George, who was taken 10th overall, Hansbrough's current situation is drastically different. He's been more efficient than most bench players, having put up a 15.3 PER this year that nearly mirrors his 15.4 career number, but he saw fewer minutes per game this season than ever before. The Pacers tried to find takers for Hansbrough, along with D.J. Augustin and Gerald Green, a pair of underwhelming bench pieces, at the trade deadline, but had no luck. Now, Hansbrough is eligible for restricted free agency, and his $4.1MM qualifying offer amount is about the same as the annual salary the Pacers are paying Ian Mahinmi, the other bench big man in their rotation. Keeping two bigs on the floor as often as possible is part of the team's ethos, but presuming West re-signs for $12MM a year and the team brings back Hansbrough for an amount equivalent to his qualifying offer, the Pacers would be paying $34.5MM to four bigs next season. That's a figure that takes the team nearly halfway to luxury tax territory, and only two of the four bigs can be in the lineup at the same time. Indiana may prefer a cheaper option — perhaps Jeff Pendergraph, another restricted free agent who performed capably in limited minutes for the Pacers this season.
Augustin seems even less likely to return than Hansbrough, unless the point guard takes a significant paycut from his $3.5MM salary this past season. The five-year veteran put up career lows across the board, and while much of that had to do with his reduced playing time, he didn't play efficiently in the minutes he did see, since this season's 11.0 PER was a low watermark as well. Walsh and Pritchard could look to the draft to find a replacement for Augustin. The Pacers aren't likely to land a starting-caliber player with the No. 23 pick, but they might come across a backup point guard capable of stepping into that role immediately.
The free agent reserve the Pacers might be most interested in retaining is the same one they waived in January and re-signed three weeks later. Sam Young showed his worth in the playoffs as a defender who could make LeBron sweat, and he should be able to command a seven-figure salary for the first time in his career. The Pacers can use his Non-Bird rights to ink him to a four-year deal worth as much as $4.866MM, and while I don't think he'll get a contract that lengthy, a two- or three-year deal with annual salaries in the $1.2MM range sounds about right.
Perhaps the easiest decision that Walsh and Pritchard have will be to fully guarantee the contract of starting shooting guard Lance Stephenson, who's set to make slightly more than the minimum. Next season is the last on the four-year deal to which the Pacers shrewdly signed Stephenson after they drafted him in the second round in 2010, so he's eligible for an extension. The front office will probably wait to see how much West, and perhaps George, wind up making before entering such talks with Stephenson, but the matter isn't pressing. Stephenson and the team can negotiate an extension all the way until June 30th of next year, unlike with George, a former first-round pick whose rookie-scale contract falls under a different set of rules that call for an October 31st extension deadline.
The Pacers are faced with many decisions this offseason, but the growth of George, as well as Stephenson, has given them enticing options. Granger has become expendable, but there's still one more season before keeping him together with West and George becomes financially unfeasible. Indiana can dangle Granger in exchange for future upgrades, or bank on his recovery from injury and make a strong push for the title next season. That's the storyline that may truly define the team's summer.
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Perhaps the two most compelling news items for Bobcats fans may have happened within the past month, as the team announced it will change its name to the Hornets in 2014/15 and hired Patrick Ewing as the lead assistant to new head coach Steve Clifford. Certainly there's been little on the court for Charlotte to get excited about, since the team is a combined 28-120 over the last two seasons. At least the Bobcats couldn't be accused of tanking this year, since they won their final three games of the season to move past the Magic in the standings. Of course, that meant the team was 5.1% less likely to win the No. 1 draft choice and 8.5% less likely to wind up with a top-three pick, and that manifested in the 'Cats slipping to fourth in the draft order.
Charlotte probably won't be missing out on a superstar as a result, given the weakness at the top of this year's field of prospects, but it's clear the draft plays a significant role for the team as it tries to climb out of the dregs of the league. Three of the players with the team's five highest guaranteed salaries for next season are on rookie-scale contracts. Still, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Kemba Walker and Bismack Biyombo haven't developed into stars, and neither has Gerald Henderson, the team's lottery pick from 2009 who's up for restricted free agency this summer. As part of a meeting with season ticketholders in March, GM Rich Cho was asked about the weakness of this year's draft and pointed instead to next year's class, which looks much stronger. The Bobcats could have as many as three first-round picks next year, but unless the Bobcats unearth a gem from this year's crop, there will be little reason for optimism based on the team's track record in the draft.
Owner Michael Jordan told that same group of season ticketholders to expect plenty of change this summer, and the team has already hired Clifford to replace Mike Dunlap, who lasted just one season as coach. The Bobcats have the cap flexibility to make the changes Jordan promised, even if Ben Gordon opts into his $13.2MM salary for next season, which seems inevitable. The team could amnesty Tyrus Thomas, who has two years and $18,082,645 left on his contract, to create more cap room. Given the seven-year veteran's career-worst 4.8 points per game and .353 field goal percentage this year, I wouldn't expect Thomas back with Charlotte next season.
Amnestying Thomas would give the team enough cap room to pursue a marquee free agent like Dwight Howard or Chris Paul, but neither of them will likely spend a minute thinking about the Bobcats this summer, even though Paul is a North Carolina native. Last year's offseason, in which Ramon Sessions was the team's most noteworthy free agent signing, signaled how difficult it will be for the Bobcats to attract even the most pedestrian of players. The Bobcats used a less conventional means of acquiring talent last summer when they claimed Brendan Haywood off amnesty waivers from the Mavericks, and if another worthy target gets amnestied this summer, I wouldn't be surprised to see Charlotte make another claim. Picking players off the scrapheap isn't exactly the most effective method of rebuilding, however.
I expect Cho and president of basketball operations Rod Higgins to pursue trades this summer. The 'Cats don't have many attractive assets on the playing roster, but they have a wealth of draft picks, and they could use their cap space to absorb an overpaid player from another team. That doesn't make them unique, though, as other clubs could put together packages that are just as attractive, if not more so. There's been speculation that the Bobcats could pursue a Chris Bosh trade, but I don't think the Heat will be ready to unload a core piece of their championship team for cap space and draft picks until it's proven that their title-winning opportunities are behind them. Bosh can opt out of his deal after next season anyway, so I sincerely doubt the Bobcats would mortgage the future to bring on a player who might be gone after just one season.
The Bobcats would be better served by setting their sights on someone signed to a long-term deal, though that may once more necessitate taking on less-than-marquee talent. It's difficult to build a team from the bottom up in a small market, but Michael Jordan's ownership is an ace in the hole. If the club becomes a consistent playoff team that's a player or two away from title contention, the specter of playing for Jordan might just be enough to lure a superstar who dreams of lifting the Larry O'Brien trophy with His Airness. Still, that's a strategy based on assumptions and what-ifs, and the fact that Jordan oversaw the rapid dismantling of the franchise's only playoff team suggests the owner isn't banking on merely appearing in the postseason.
The Bobcats are reportedly talking to the Bucks about the 15th overall pick, though it's unclear whether that means Charlotte is willing to give up the No. 4 pick or simply wants to acquire an additional first-round selection. In any case, the draft will continue to figure in the team's plans, and the Bobcats will have to start making more hits than misses. Higgins and Cho could try to be patient, eschew drastic moves, and hope for better lottery luck leading up to next year's highly touted draft class. I don't think that would be in keeping with Jordan's promise of change to the team's season ticketholders, but there doesn't appear to be a quick fix available.
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Undergoing a full-scale rebuild in the NBA requires strong scouting, player development, and cap management, but you could make the argument that the most important factor is luck. Take the Kings, for instance. Sacramento has posted a dismal 187-371 record over the last seven seasons, landing in the draft lottery every single year. However, even when they were the NBA's worst team in 2008/09, the Kings only landed the fourth overall pick, and never selected higher than that. Many of the team's signings and trades have been questionable, but its draft picks have been solid enough -- the club just never picked high enough to land a true franchise player.
The Cavaliers, on the other hand, have had an exceptional string of luck since one of the worst nights in franchise history, when LeBron James made his infamous "Decision." In the three subsequent draft lotteries, the Cavs have overcome unlikely odds to land a pair of first overall picks, drafting Kyrie Irving the first time around and now looking to add another difference-maker in the 2013 draft.
So far, that luck hasn't translated into on-court success, but the assets the Cavs have at their disposal represent a general manager's dream. During a rebuild, teams typically target young players, cap flexibility, and draft picks. The Cavs have a ton of all three, including three recent top-four picks (Irving, Tristan Thompson, Dion Waiters) with another on the way, only about $27.48MM in guaranteed 2013/14 salary, and the potential for an incredible 13 picks (seven first-rounders) in the next three drafts.
Given the young talent already in place on the roster, it's no surprise that the Cavs are willing to sacrifice some of the picks and cap room they've accumulated to trade for a veteran star. In another year, dangling that first overall pick would be enough to engage in serious discussions for an established All-Star like Kevin Love or LaMarcus Aldridge. However, because this year's draft is viewed as weak at the top, a report suggesting the Cavs would part with the No. 1 pick as part of a package for Love was met with a shrug -- of course they would.
The low relative value of the No. 1 pick this year is especially problematic for the Cavs since owner Dan Gilbert is expecting a playoff berth in 2013/14. That means that drafting Nerlens Noel, who is widely considered the player with the most upside in this year's class, may not be the most viable option for Cleveland, since Noel is expected to spend much of the season recovering from ACL surgery.
Still, if the Cavs are unable to find a palatable trade to add a star to complent Irving, there will be no shortage of alternate options for the team. In fact, there are so many different directions the team could go that it's virtually impossible to make any predictions with any confidence. Consider the following possible approaches for the team, all of which seem viable to me:
The Cavs may not be one of the NBA's most desirable free agent destinations at this point, but even if they have trouble recruiting veterans to Cleveland, the Cavs still have so much flexibility that they should be able to add talent without being a big player in free agency. And we haven't even discussed the possibility of the Cavs eventually pursuing a reunion with LeBron in the summer of 2014. I'm less bullish on that idea than I once was, especially if the Heat continue to win championships, but Varejao's partial guarantee is the only non-rookie-contract money on Cleveland's books for 2014/15 so far, so cap room shouldn't be an issue.
The Cavaliers' young core has undergone some growing pains over the last several seasons, and it's possible that Thompson and Waiters weren't the optimal choices for the Cavs in their respective drafts. But there's so much talent on the roster and so many avenues for the team to continue adding more talent that it's hard not to be optimistic about the future in Cleveland. The Cavs' choice at first overall in this month's draft remains shrouded in mystery, and the same could be said about the rest of the team's offseason, which could go in any number of directions. I'll be looking forward to see where the club ends up in the fall.
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The last time Pistons president Joe Dumars had this much cap flexibility, he flubbed it, signing Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva to lucrative long-term deals. Gordon is off the books, at the cost of a future first-round pick sent to Charlotte via trade, while Villanueva remains, with one year left on his deal. There were rumors toward the end of this past season that Dumars might not have another crack at remaking the roster over the summer, and executives had been keeping an eye on the team's coaching search to gauge Dumars' standing with owner Tom Gores, who retained Phil Jackson as a pro-bono adviser.
Maurice Cheeks got the coaching job, and presumed Jackson favorite Brian Shaw apparently never received an interview, so it looks like Dumars still wields the hammer in Detroit. Whether the Hall of Fame guard continues his nearly 30-year association with the team for much longer may rest on the outcome of this offseason. Now that the team's nearly two-month coaching search is over, Dumars' attention must shift to a series of decisions he has to make before free agency begins in July.
The Pistons have a draft pick in the middle of the lottery for the fourth straight year, and they've chosen wisely so far, nabbing Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond. The jury's still out on Brandon Knight, but there's still a chance he could develop into another steal. Rodney Stuckey, a find from the middle of the first round in 2007, faces an uncertain future. The Pistons can either keep him for the final season of his contract or save $4.5MM of his $8.5MM salary and part ways with him by June 30th. That's one day after Dumars has to make a $1MM call on whether to fully guarantee the contract of backup center Slava Kravtsov, who saw action in only 25 games as a rookie this past season.
Dumars and the Pistons will have to continue to move swiftly once the July Moratorium is over on July 10th. Eight-year veteran Jose Calderon has a cap hold equivalent to the maximum salary for a player of his experience, and that will likely tie up more than $16MM on the team's books. Dumars wants to re-sign him, but probably not for the max. Most high-priority players and teams come to agreements during the moratorium and wait to make their deals official once the date passes, but if the former Raptors point guard hesitates to make his decision, the Pistons must give serious consideration to renouncing his rights to make room for other free agents. The same goes for Corey Maggette, whom the Pistons also reportedly want to re-sign. His cap hold is for more than $16MM, too, and if Maggette holds out for more than the minimum-salary deal the Pistons would likely offer, the team will almost assuredly renounce his rights, too. Dumars also must decide by July 12th whether to guarantee Kim English's contract.
Renouncing a player's rights doesn't mean the team can't re-sign the player. It just means the team loses whatever non-Bird, Early Bird or full Bird rights it had to go over the salary cap to do so. At most, the Pistons will have around $30MM worth of cap space, but if they don't renounce the rights to at least a few of their players, they'll never officially go below the cap. Still, it would be surprising if they didn't wind up with cap room, especially since they appear ready to move on from Jason Maxiell and Will Bynum, whom they talked about trading at the deadline.
Another way to create cap space would be to amnesty Villanueva. His is the only contract remaining from before the lockout, aside from the rookie-scale deal of Monroe, who most assuredly won't be amnestied. Villanueva is entering the final year of his pact, so if any Piston winds up on amnesty waivers, it would be Villanueva and it would be this summer. The 28-year-old returned to Detroit's rotation this past year after appearing in only 13 games in 2011/12, but his contributions hardly merit a salary in excess of $8.5MM next season. The only reason Dumars might not amnesty Villanueva is if the team simply doesn't want to spend extra money on a player who wouldn't be on the roster next year, but I don't think owner Tom Gores wants to pinch pennies like that. Villanueva seems like a goner.
If the Pistons ink Calderon for a starting salary somewhere between $6MM and $8MM a year, as many scribes predict, they'd have enough flexibility to sign a marquee, max-money free agent, regardless of whether Villanueva is still on the books. Of course, Dwight Howard and Chris Paul don't seem likely to wind up in Detroit until their respective teams make road trips there next season. There have been few, if any, rumblings suggesting anyone from the next tier of free agents, like Andrew Bynum, Josh Smith and Al Jefferson, would consider Detroit, either. Some of those names could surface come July, once free agents begin to speak with teams, but I still wouldn't be surprised if Dumars decides to give Calderon the only long-term deal and hands out a bunch of smaller, one-year contracts, a la the Mavericks last summer. It seemed Dumars felt compelled to use his cap space on long-term deals in 2010, when Gordon and Villanueva came aboard, and I don't think he'll make that mistake again. Rolling over the cap space until 2014 would give the Pistons flexibility in what's shaping up as a much deeper free agent market, and competition in a crowded pool could drive a star to Detroit.
A conservative approach this summer would also give the team breathing room as it approaches negotiations with Monroe. That won't be as pressing a matter as so many of the team's offseason decisions will be, since the deadline to lock him up before he hits restricted free agency isn't until October 31st. Still, Monroe figures to warrant a four-year deal for somewhere between $45MM and $50MM based on the rookie-scale extensions handed out around the league last season. The Pistons probably don't want to become a taxpaying team when Monroe's next deal kicks in come 2014/15, so whatever they do this summer will likely be done with a hefty raise for Monroe in mind.
Cap footnotes:
Storytellers Contracts and Sham Sports were used in the creation of this post.
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Options
Non-Guaranteed Contracts
Free Agents / Cap Holds
Draft Picks
Cap Outlook
Of all the teams whose offseasons we've previewed so far, few, if any, have had their summer plans discussed and critiqued as often as the Mavericks. As soon as the team missed out on Deron Williams a year ago and settled for a handful of players on one-year contracts, the focus in Dallas shifted to what the Mavs would do this summer. It's now been two seasons since team management broke up the core of the 2011 championship roster, and as Dirk Nowitzki inches closer to the end of his playing career, patience appears to be wearing thin among local fans and media.
The thinking, back in 2011, was that the new Collective Bargaining Agreement would make it too costly to re-sign Tyson Chandler and J.J Barea and keep together a team that surprised many by beating the Heat in the 2011 Finals. Not only that, but taking payroll into tax territory would limit the team's ability to be flexible and make creative roster moves down the road. Owner Mark Cuban suggested that for the team to be a long-term contender, maintaining that flexibility was necessary. After the Mavs finished 10th in the West in 2012/13, fans are still waiting for Cuban to deliver on that promise of contention.
I don't disagree with Cuban's logic, and I think re-signing Chandler and Barea to the sort of deals they received from other teams would have been ill-advised. But there are other factors in the league's new CBA that have made it difficult for the Mavs to bring in elite outside talent. For one, rival suitors for free agents can no longer offer the same amount of years that the free agent's own team can. When Dallas pursued D-Will last summer, the Mavs only had the flexibility to offer him a four-year, $73.35MM contract, while the Nets could (and did) offer five years and $98.77MM. Maybe it was actually a poorly-timed filming of Shark Tank that convinced Williams to remain with the Nets, but I imagine that extra $25MM+ was a factor as well.
The Mavs have an attractive leadership group in place - Cuban running the franchise, Rick Carlisle coaching the team, and Nowitzki still thriving on the court - and Texas' lack of state taxes will always attract the interest of free agents. But the Mavs' pitches to Chris Paul and Dwight Howard this summer will have to be awfully convincing for one of them to ultimately end up in Dallas. After all, the Mavs' competition will be able to try to lure Paul and/or Howard by pointing to a talented young core (Rockets), possible cap space to sign both players (Hawks), or that extra year and extra money (Clippers for CP3, Lakers for D12).
The Mavericks' pursuit of elite free agents is further complicated by the fact that the club won't even have the cap room necessary to make one maximum offer without making another move or two. The most logical solution, which the team is reportedly pursuing, would be to package Shawn Marion with their lottery pick (No. 13) in a trade for multiple second-round picks. Unlike that first-rounder, second-round picks don't come with guaranteed cap holds, so the Mavs would be able to clear significant money off the cap in that sort of deal. Eliminating Marion and the cap hold for the lottery pick would give Dallas the flexibility to sign Paul or Howard to a maximum-salary contract and still have room for a couple more mid-tier free agents.
However, that plan relies heavily on either Paul or Howard coming to Dallas. Otherwise, the team will be giving up a veteran contributor (Marion) and a lottery pick for a chance to make a run at a group of second-tier free agents that will likely include Al Jefferson, Paul Millsap, Josh Smith, Brandon Jennings, and others. There are some good players in that group, and if Dallas could land one of them, add a point guard (Jarrett Jack or Jose Calderon would be nice fits), and fill out the rest of the roster with solid contributors, the offseason wouldn't be a disaster. But those additions almost certainly wouldn't be enough to restore the club to contender status, and anything short of that will likely be viewed as a disappointment by a fanbase with high expectations.
It's a tricky spot that Cuban and the Mavs find themselves in this summer, without any real leverage when it comes to landing top free agents. Unlike other clubs with cap space, the Mavs don't even have a wealth of trade assets -- a future first-round pick is ticketed for the Thunder, and Jared Cunningham and Jae Crowder currently represent the team's only young prospects. Free agency is the team's best bet at landing a difference-maker, but to have a real shot at those elite players, Cuban will have to assume a role opposite the one he plays on the aforementioned Shark Tank, selling free agents on the Mavs with a convincing pitch of his own.
I don't expect Mavs management to settle for an offseason like 2012's, in which the team ended up with a handful of short-term solutions on one-year deals, so I'm looking forward to seeing Cuban and GM Donnie Nelson swing for the fences this summer. Given how creative they've been in the past, I'm cautiously optimistic they'll end up making the big splash fans have been waiting for, but there's certainly no clear-cut path to such a move.
Additional notes:
Cap footnotes:
Storytellers Contracts and Sham Sports were used in the creation of this post.
Guaranteed Contracts
Options
Non-Guaranteed Contracts
Free Agents / Cap Holds
Draft Picks
Cap Outlook
When the second-seeded Knicks were knocked out of the postseason in the Eastern Conference Semifinals by the Pacers, it was viewed by some as the end of a disappointing 2012/13 campaign. While losing to a lesser seed in the playoffs is always frustrating, I'd argue it was a disappointing end to an otherwise successful season for the Knicks. As I noted when I revisited Hoops Rumors' preseason predictions last week, only two of our writers predicted New York would place higher than sixth in the East, while no one thought the team would be higher than a fourth seed. And we weren't the only ones -- plenty of other pundits had the same outlook for the club.
The Knicks may have outperformed overall expectations this past year, but based on the team's current roster construction, that's not necessarily a reason for optimism going forward. Last summer, the Knicks took advantage of what might be their last chance to consummate sign-and-trade deals for several years by acquiring veteran players like Marcus Camby and Raymond Felton. When added to a team salary that already includes massive, eight-figure annual salaries for Carmelo Anthony, Amar'e Stoudemire, and Tyson Chandler, those deals don't leave a whole little of wiggle room to make further upgrades.
If any of those contracts were coming off the books this summer, there'd be reason to expect some roster overhaul, but Anthony, Stoudemire, Chandler, Felton, and Steve Novak are all under contract through 2015, while Camby has a small guarantee on his deal for 2014/15. The retirement of Jason Kidd helped the team's cap situation, particularly since the veteran point guard reportedly agreed to forgo his entire remaining salary, a more selfless gesture than you'll see from many other retiring players. But even with Kidd's $3.09MM salary off the books, the Knicks already have so much guaranteed money committed in '13/14 and '14/15 that they're over the tax threshold in both seasons.
For taxpaying teams, there are generally four ways to attempt to improve the roster, outside of simply signing players to minimum-salary deals: Drafting players, making trades (though sign-and-trades are no longer an option), using the taxpayer mid-level exception to sign free agents, and using some form of Bird exception to re-sign your own free agents.
The Knicks actually have a draft pick this season, albeit only a single first-rounder. At No. 24, the team could look to target a point guard, though the one they reportedly "really like" (Shane Larkin) is a good bet to be off the board by then. Whether they end up drafting a point guard or another player, it'd be nice to see New York add a little more youth to a roster whose 2012/13 rookies were 28 (Chris Copeland) and 35 (Pablo Prigioni).
The current lack of youth on the Knicks' roster means pulling off a trade will be tricky. Carmelo isn't going anywhere, and other big contracts like Stoudemire's and Chandler's would be difficult to move. Camby and Novak don't have much trade value, while Felton is more valuable to the Knicks than he would be in a trade. That leaves Iman Shumpert as the team's main trade asset, and I can't imagine he's going anywhere this summer, which means we shouldn't expect a blockbuster deal from New York.
The taxpayer's mid-level exception, which can be used to sign one or more players, may be the Knicks' greatest weapon this offseason. With a maximum value of three years and close to $10MM, the MLE certainly won't attract top-tier free agents, but we've seen in the past that solid veteran players are often willing to take a discount to play for a contending team, particularly when that team plays in New York. If the Knicks choose to shop for a point guard with their MLE, for instance, perhaps a player like Jarrett Jack or Mo Williams, who could otherwise earn more than $3MM+ annually, would consider signing in New York.
While using their MLE on an outside free agent may be the Knicks' best chance at bringing in another talented contributor, it could also compromise the team's ability to bring back those aforementioned rookies. Copeland and Prigioni are restricted free agents this summer, and because the Knicks only hold non-Bird rights on both players, the club may have to dip into its MLE to match offers on one or both guys, if it hopes to retain them.
Although the Knicks' lack of Bird rights for Copeland and Prigioni is problematic, the team has a little more flexibility when it comes to re-signing J.R. Smith. The reigning Sixth Man of the Year will decline his player option for next season, but hopes to re-sign with the club. Using Smith's Early Bird rights, the Knicks could bring him back for up to four years for an amount in excess of $20MM.
Considering all the long-term deals already on their books, I can't imagine the Knicks would be overly enthusiastic about handing out another one, but based on Smith's 2012/13 performance, getting him for between $5-6MM annually would be a very solid value. It also appears that Smith would be willing to turn down more lucrative offers to remain in New York, considering he signed a below-market contract last summer to stay with the Knicks. So a reunion between the two sides seems probable.
When the dust settles, the Knicks' 2013/14 roster figures to look fairly similar to the '12/13 team. New York's ability to attract veteran free agents at below-market prices may land the team an extra contributor or two, and perhaps the club can strike gold with the 24th overall pick in the draft. But for the most part, we should expect to see the same general core that led the team to a second-place finish in the East this past season.
It's hard to complain much about tweaking the edges of a 54-win team in hopes that a few minor changes will make a difference. But in New York, where expectations are always high, that may not be good enough. GM Glen Grunwald talked earlier this offseason about trying to come up with "creative" ways to improve the roster this summer, so we'll have to wait and see what he has up his sleeve to turn this roster into one capable of getting past the Heat and the Pacers next spring.
Additional notes:
Cap footnotes:
Storytellers Contracts and Sham Sports were used in the creation of this post.
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Options
Non-Guaranteed Contracts
Free Agents / Cap Holds
Draft Picks
Cap Outlook
With the 2013 NBA Finals set to get underway, the Heat are once again representing the East, but this time around, Miami will be playing the team the Thunder eliminated from the playoffs a year ago. In the '13 postseason, Oklahoma City didn't even get a chance to face the Spurs in the Western Finals, having been knocked out a round earlier by the Grizzlies. While it's easy to blame Russell Westbrook's knee injury for OKC's disappointing early exit, one also has to wonder if the Thunder erred in trading James Harden just a few days before the regular season began.
It's easy to jump to conclusions on the Harden trade based on what we saw happen on the court this season - which includes Harden's ascent to stardom in Houston - but there are plenty of other factors to consider. For one, the Thunder appeared willing to extend Harden last offseason, albeit not for the maximum. Had OKC relented and signed Harden to the max, the team's salary commitments for next season would have been approaching $80MM with further additions still required to fill out the roster. For a franchise without the deep pockets of clubs like the Lakers, Knicks, and Nets, diving that far into tax territory in a year when penalties for taxpayers become more punitive simply wasn't palatable.
Had the team re-signed Harden, there were other ways it could have attempted to cut costs -- perhaps Serge Ibaka wouldn't have received his four-year extension, or perhaps the team would have amnestied Kendrick Perkins this summer. Considering tax penalties aren't levied until the very end of the season, the Thunder could have even gone into 2013/14 with everyone under contract and tried to make a blockbuster trade or two at the deadline to reduce costs.
In each one of those scenarios though, the team would have either lost a key player, lost trade leverage, or made a financial commitment beyond what ownership was comfortable with. In a no-win situation, the Thunder chose what they viewed as the best available solution, trading Harden early, maintaining some leverage and getting the best package they could.
The jury's still out on whether the Harden package OKC received from Houston will pan out, but this offseason may go a long way toward determing its value. Kevin Martin was servicable in his role as sixth man in 2012/13, but will be an unrestricted free agent this summer. While Martin has expressed a desire to return, having seemingly geniunely enjoyed playing for a contending team for the first time in his career, the Thunder don't have a ton of cap flexibility. Therefore it's possible Martin's stint in OKC will be a one-and-done affair.
Presumably, the Thunder were hoping that Jeremy Lamb would eventually be able to step into that role as a scoring two guard, previously held by Harden and Martin. After being drafted in the lottery a year ago, Lamb hardly saw any NBA playing time during his rookie season, but I don't think that necessarily means he's a future bust. The Thunder simply didn't have enough minutes to go around to get Lamb, Perry Jones III, and all its other young players into the lineup on a regular basis. As we saw with Reggie Jackson, who emerged late in his sophomore season, scoring double-digit points in his final nine playoff games, OKC is very patient with its prospects, bringing them along slowly until they're absolutely ready to contribute.
The Thunder figures to add another young player to their roster in this year's lottery, with the team holding the No. 12 pick. Recent mock drafts have Oklahoma City leaning toward a big man, unless C.J. McCollum is still available when the club's pick rolls around. Either way, bringing another young prospect aboard should make the team's roster very intriguing.
Westbrook, Ibaka, and Kevin Durant certainly aren't getting too old yet (Westbrook and Durant turn 25 this fall, while Ibaka turns 24), so it would be easy enough to spend the next several years trying to find the right mix of veterans to complement them. But as we saw during LeBron James' stint in Cleveland, that approach can be expensive, and isn't always effective. Continuing to stockpile draft picks and young players is a better way of ensuring that the team's success is sustainable.
By the time the team's current Big Three approaches free agency, players like Jackson, Lamb, Jones, and this year's lottery pick should be entering their primes. That would not only create incentive for OKC's stars to stick around, but would give the Thunder a safety net if one or two of those stars leave -- unlike the Cavs, the Thunder wouldn't have to enter a full-fledged rebuild in that scenario, since the club continues to bring in young talent rather than going all-in during a two- or three-year window.
Of course, it's possible that the all-in approach is still one Sam Presti and the Thunder office will employ. With those young players in the fold, and a future Mavs' first-round pick still under control, OKC has the assets necessary to trade for a good veteran player. If the team feels it's just one piece away from a title as the 2014 trade deadline approaches, it could use some of those assets to land that piece. But based on the way Presti has built the roster so far, it would be surprising if he backed himself into a corner, compromising the long-term outlook he has taken so far.
Additionally, the team's current salary commitments make adding too much veteran talent (and salary) a little tricky. If the Thunder bring back all their players on guaranteed contracts, along with the No. 12 pick, the club will have to fill out the roster with minimum-salary players to avoid going over the tax line. As such, I have to wonder if the Thunder will seriously consider amnestying Perkins, despite its denials. Clearing his $9MM from the books would ensure that the team could use its full mid-level and bi-annual exceptions (or bring back Martin) without going into tax territory. Perkins' salary would still have to be paid, but using that extra money to replace him with a more productive role player may make more sense than putting it toward tax payments.
While it may seem as if the Thunder need to make a major move this summer in order to return to title contention, the team isn't as far away as this year's postseason outcome made it appear. It's very possible that a healthy Westbrook could have made the difference against the Grizzlies and, subsequently, against the Spurs. With Durant, Westbrook, and Ibaka just now entering their mid-20s, it's hard to imagine the club taking a significant step backward, even if Martin doesn't return. A tweak here and there will be necessary, but if at least one of Jackson, Lamb, or Jones is ready to step up and assume a larger role, I expect to see OKC right back near the top of the Western Conference standings in 2013/14.
Additional notes:
Cap footnotes:
Storytellers Contracts and Sham Sports were used in the creation of this post.
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