Knicks Notes: Stoudemire, Lin, Nash, Felton
Amare Stoudemire has rejoined the Knicks, practicing with the club today and expecting to play tomorrow, but New York's attention is still on Linsanity. So let's kick off today's Knicks notes with the latest on Jeremy Lin….
- The Knicks won't have Early Bird rights on Lin this summer, but the Gilbert Arenas provision will prevent other teams from out-bidding New York for the restricted free agent, says Marc Berman of the New York Post. For an in-depth explanation of the Arenas rule, check out Larry Coon's CBA FAQ.
- Howard Beck of the New York Times confirms Lin's contract status as outlined by Berman (all Twitter links).
- The Knicks had targeted point guards like Steve Nash and Raymond Felton for their mid-level exception, Berman adds. However, if Lin's impressive play continues, New York may end up having to use their full MLE to retain him.
- Lin will have to carefully manage the off-court commitments and distractions that come with his newfound celebrity, writes John Hollinger of ESPN.com (Insider link).
- Sam Smith of Bulls.com argues that Lin's emergence opens the door for the Knicks to offer Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler to the Magic for Dwight Howard. Not sure I'm on board with this one — the Knicks have yet to even see how their current roster looks when fully healthy, and there's no guarantee Howard would sign long-term in New York. Plus the Knicks would likely have to take on a bloated contract to make the salaries work.
Steve Nash Not Anticipating Trade
Suns GM Lon Babby has indicated he would do everything he can to work out a deal if Steve Nash tells him he'd like to be traded. However, Nash has yet to make such a request, and tells SI.com's Sam Amick he expects to remain in Phoenix past the March 15th trade deadline.
"I have no idea what the club will eventually do if a bunch of offers are thrown in their face," Nash said. "But I feel like I'm not nervous about [the trade deadline]… I'm not anticipating anything to happen. I feel like I made a commitment and I feel like I owe it to my teammates — the city, the fans, the club — to play it out and to play as hard as I can."
Teams interested in Nash are still hoping either the All-Star point guard or the Suns have a change of heart before March 15th. According to Amick, one rival executive thinks the Suns are "as close as they've ever been" to seriously considering trading Nash. Meanwhile, teammate Jared Dudley expects Nash to remain a Sun for the rest of the season and beyond only if the team commits to improving around him.
"I see him as potentially wanting to be here for a long time, but I also see someone where he wants the right pieces to be able to want to be here, you know?" Dudley said. "I guarantee you that if they put a couple pieces here that he liked, I guarantee you he would stay."
Nash says he wants to play for a couple more seasons, but whether or not he'll finish his career in Phoenix remains to be seen. If the Suns continue to drop further out of playoff contention, it wouldn't surprise me to see the Suns or Nash rethink their current positions over the next month.
Poll: Which Team Will Sign J.R. Smith?
J.R. Smith's time in China is coming to an end. With his team out of playoff contention, Smith's Chinese contract is set to expire this week. The CBA's leading scorer will return to America after the Golden Bulls' final game, and will become an unrestricted free agent after receiving his FIBA letter of clearance.
Smith reportedly has a list of five teams he's considering, though it's not clear if that interest is necessarily mutual, or if the 26-year-old would consider offers from other clubs. I covered a few possible destinations for Smith last week, running through his alleged wishlist as well as a couple other teams I thought would be good fits. Since then, we've heard that the Knicks are thought to be the frontrunners, while Chris Paul is doing some recruiting work on behalf of the Clippers.
With Smith due back in the NBA in the very near future, where do you think he'll end up signing?
2012/13 NBA Restricted Free Agents
Hoops Rumors' up-to-date list of 2012/13 restricted free agents is below. These are players who are eligible for restricted free agency after the 2011/12 season. The player's 2012 age is in parentheses.
Players who are on the 2011/12 free agent list or have an option for 2012/13 are not included here. If a team doesn't officially extend a qualifying offer to a potential restricted free agent, or withdraws an outstanding qualifying offer, the player will be added to our 2012/13 unrestricted free agent list. Players on expiring rookie scale contracts are marked with an asterisk.
If you have any corrections or omissions, please contact us. For instant free agent updates, be sure to follow us on Twitter @hoopsrumors.
Updated 9-17-12
Point Guards
None
Shooting Guards
None
Small Forwards
None
Power Forwards
None
Centers
None
Storytellers Contracts was used in the creation of this list.
Assessing Stocks: Dallas Mavericks
Portfolio Review: The Dallas Mavericks are an interesting defending champion in that while they are technically defending their title, they are not doing so wholeheartedly. Yes, so long as they have Dirk Nowitzki operating near peak form and a set of versatile role players that play their role they will be a tough out.
But so much of what they did last summer is geared towards what they hope to do next summer. The Mavericks hope to land one or two big name free agents next summer to set themselves up for the next few years. Any transactions they make this year will be done with their cap space and future in mind, not with competing this year. If they can land a deal that satisfies both (like a player on an expiring contract), so be it.
Prime assets: Shawn Marion is the piece the Mavericks would like to move most, preferably after the season. He is still a versatile contributor on a playoff team, and as much as the Mavericks would value him for this playoff run, they're just as interested in getting his salary off the books so they have enough room to sign two max free agents. If a deal comes up offering a rotation player with salary relief, do they pull the trigger?
Other than that, Rodrigue Beaubois represents the lone intriguing young talent they have. He is still on his rookie contract so he would have to be packaged with a veteran on a short contract to get full value in return, but the Mavericks have plenty of those.
Worthless stock: Brendan Haywood is the other player holding up a large chunk of the salary cap space the Mavericks would like to use this summer. As much as they would prefer to move him, and while he is a serviceable center, the biggest value Haywood has comes from amnestying him–a value that goes out the window in a trade.
The rest: Lamar Odom is on the last year of his contract and when right he makes the Mavericks an intriguing matchup problem, which should appeal to both creating cap space and defending their title. The same goes for Jason Kidd and Jason Terry. The rest is irrelevant interchangeable pieces that the Mavericks are taking a quick look at while looking towards next season.
Odds & Ends: Lakers, Knicks, Celtics, Bulls
Teams in three of the top markets in the NBA, the Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers, and New York Knicks, are struggling through disappointing seasons (though the Knicks have picked up lately under the promise of Linsanity). A fourth big-market club, the Chicago Bulls, now has a potential injury problem.
- Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports officials from the Lakers attended a private workout for Gilbert Arenas. Arenas was amnestied this off-season by the Orlando Magic, and is hoping the same knee procedure that benefited Kobe Bryant in the off-season can produce similar results.
- Amare Stoudemire returns Monday and Al Iannazzone of Newsday wonders how the Knicks' offense will look when Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony return. Stoudemire seems a natural fit alongside Lin. His skill set has always been maximized alongside a pick and roll point guard. Anthony, however, is one of the best isolation scorers in the NBA and the ball tends to stop in his hands.
- Derrick Rose sat Sunday's game against the Celtics out with a back injury and will meet with some specialists Monday in Chicago reports Neil Hayes at the Chicago Sun-Times. Rose had similar back issues in high school, but this is the first time he's had trouble since. The Bulls lack the star power of some of the other team, but compensate with their depth and chemistry. That chemistry, however, still depends on Rose operating near peak form.
- Brandon Bass is ailing, and Jermaine O'Neal is often injured. The Celtics have been looking for front court depth for some time. Today they got some good minutes from rookie JuJuan Johnson and veteran Chris Wilcox writes Green Street's Mike Petraglia.
- Paul Flannery of WEEI.com wonders if Rajon Rondo is the centerpiece of the next generation of Celtics, or will he prove to be too unorthodox for a team minus three future Hall of Famers?
Assessing Stocks: Cleveland Cavaliers
Portfolio Review: The Cleveland Cavaliers were dealt a blow to their season with news that center Anderson Varejao is out indefinitely with a broken wrist. While the injury probably drops the Cavaliers out of contention for the Eastern Conference’s 8th playoff seed, it likely is in their best long-term interest for that very reason.
The Cavaliers are a rebuilding project. And a much better one than originally thought due to rookie Kyrie Irving outplaying all expectations. But building around a point guard like Irving can be a double-edged sword.
Point guards like Irving (see Paul, Chris) are good enough to get a team into playoff contention fairly quickly because they mask so many deficiencies. However, those deficiencies still exist and pushing forward too fast (see the New Orleans Hornets with Chris Paul) without addressing them can have serious repercussions as the team begins to reach its potential. In a way, this was part of the problem the Cavaliers had when building around LeBron James.
Instead, this team should be stockpiling as many assets as possible while developing young players to try and acquire the type of elite talent that is generally only found with top-ten draft picks.
Prime Assets: Previously the Cavaliers were not attempting to trade Varejao, though his injury might make them more willing. Varejao is the type of player that is desirable for a number of contenders and those sitting in the bottom half of playoff brackets looking to take a step up.
Ideally Varejao would return a younger, legitimate rotation player to grow with Irving and Tristan Thompson–a player who mirrors some of the same strengths and weaknesses of Varejao–or a first round pick in the 15-20 range.
Barring a Varejao trade, point guard Ramon Sessions has been a steady backup point guard for most of his career and remains the only other player on the Cavaliers likely to return a viable rotation player. For a team like the Cavaliers that needs help everywhere, they cannot afford the luxury of redundant skill sets among their best players.
Worthless stock: Tempting as it is to throw Antawn Jamison‘s name into this slot, there is always a team out there somewhere willing to take a shot at a scorer off the bench on an expiring contract. These contracts are ultimately movable, however, generally only bring back other bad or expiring contracts. Still, there is value for moving a contributing veteran to free up developmental minutes for players that might have a future with the team.
The rest: The rest of the teams is young enough to have some redeeming value (i.e. potential), but too young and too unproven to bring back anything in return. This should be an evaluation season for the young guys, and to do so they need as many minutes as possible.
Odds & Ends: Hornets, Clippers, Knicks, Magic
- Ramona Shelburne of ESPN Los Angeles reports the Los Angeles Clippers are pursuing J.R. Smith. Their sales pitch includes Chauncey Billups vacated starting slot, a chance to showcase his game on a contending team, and his familiarity with Chris Paul–and their shared agent, Leon Rose.
- Also pursuing Smith, according to the same report, is Carmelo Anthony. The New York Knicks have slightly more money to offer with the prorated $2.5MM mini-mid-level exception, and Leon Rose likewise represents Anthony.
- Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel wonders if Jason Richardson can be a reliable go-to guy after a breakout game against the Milwaukee Bucks. If so, it would relieve a lot of the pressure for an immediate roster overhaul for general manager Otis Smith and the Orlando Magic.
- Naturally after watching Richardson's performance over the Bucks comes reports from Schmitz that a disgruntled Dwight Howard would like to see the ball more in the fourth quarter.
Assessing Stocks: Chicago Bulls
Portfolio Review: The Chicago Bulls are veritable billionaires in terms of roster quality. Third on ESPN's future power rankings (Insider required), the Bulls are young, deep, and talented. Furthermore, their success hinges greatly on the chemistry established by reigning MVP Derrick Rose and head coach Tom Thibodeau. The Bulls lack the sheer star power of the Miami Heat, but can close the gap through its defensive system.
That of course means any drastic roster change disrupts that chemistry, and as such the Bulls are amongst the most risk-averse teams during this season.
Prime assets: Rose is untouchable, one of the top five players in the NBA. That leaves Joakim Noah and Luol Deng as the prime trade chips with one caveat. The only deal worth disrupting the Bulls chemistry is one that lands a Dwight Howard-level talent.
Worthless stock: Carlos Boozer has a large contract and enough flaws for other teams to think twice about taking on that contract. But worthless stock does not mean worthless player. In this case it simply means Boozer's value as a player on this roster probably exceeds what he would get in return in a potential trade.
The rest: The rest of the roster features a number of interchangeable parts that fit specific roles on this team. Tweaking on the fringes of the roster would simply bring in other interchangeable parts. One interesting name brought up by our own Daniel Seco is Ray Allen for Kyle Korver and Ronnie Brewer–a move that would somewhat consolidate the two players' skill sets into one player.
Hoops Rumors Originals: 2/5/12 – 2/11/12
A look into some original content our writers produced last week:
- Zach Links looked at Chris Kaman as a trade candidate.
- Ryan Raroque examined Beno Udrih as a trade candidate.
- Chuck Myron looked at Stephen Jackson as a trade candidate.
- We explored Ryan Anderson's future, as the fourth-year player shows off for potential offseason suitors.
- Luke Adams looked at veteran contract extensions under the new CBA, explained why the Clippers won't get a disabled player exception after Chauncey Billups' injury, and explored a few potential suitors for J.R. Smith.
- Luke also looked ahead to the summer's free agent class, listing the 2012/13 unrestricted free agents, along with the outstanding team and player options.
- Jesse Blanchard assessed the stocks of Charlotte, Atlanta, and Boston.
- Daniel Seco revisited December's amnesty victims.
- Wondering if your favorite team still has any of its mid-level exception available to sign free agents? We have the answer.
- In a Saturday poll, over half of you predicted Dwight Howard will be traded after the All-Star Game but before the March 15th deadline.