Pacific Rumors: Warriors, Lakers, Clippers
We've heard plenty from the Warriors the last several hours, including official announcements of the Brandon Rush and Carl Landry signings, as well as an update on the team's plans for an arena in San Francisco. GM Bob Myers wouldn't promise a playoff berth, as coach Mark Jackson did last year, but said he thinks the team has a better chance of making it to the postseason this time around, as Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle notes (Sulia link). Rush, for one, will come into camp with plenty of confidence. Despite competition from Richard Jefferson and rookie Harrison Barnes, Rush told reporters he intends to be the starter at small forward, as CSNBayArea notes. There's more from by the Bay to pass along this evening, as well as items on the teams from Southern California:
- Myers gave mixed messages about whether the Warriors are done dealing, saying, "We made our moves and are content with our roster," but also, "We have flexibility. We can go deeper into the tax if we want. Or we can find ways to get out. We’ll keep our eye on that," as Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News group documents (Twitter links). Thompson, recapping the busy day for the Warriors, believes the latter quote from Myers indicates the team will look to dump salary come February if it's struggling.
- At the bottom of a piece that further examines last week's news that Andrew Bynum's agent is denying he and Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak have talked about an extension for his client, Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times says the Lakers are pursuing backcourt help. The team reportedly has serious interest in swingman C.J. Miles.
- Eric Patten of Clippers.com takes a look at the wealth of experience the Clippers' new additions bring to the team's bench.
Knicks Sign Chris Smith
9:55pm: The deal is for two years and is partially guaranteed, reports Newsday's Al Iannazzone (Sulia link; hat tip to Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com).
3:57pm: The Knicks have officially signed Smith, the team announced today in a press release.
1:43pm: The Knicks likely acquired Smith in order to assign his rights to their D-League affiliate, the Erie BayHawks, a source tells Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com.
11:49am: The Knicks have agreed to sign Chris Smith, J.R. Smith's younger brother, to a contract, according to Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com, who says the deal isn't official yet but should be finalized soon (Twitter links). Marc Berman of the New York Post tweets that the contract will earn the younger Smith an invite to training camp, though I'd imagine there's very little guaranteed money included.
Smith, 24, averaged 9.7 points per game in his senior year at Louisville and played for the Knicks' Summer League squad in Las Vegas in July. His numbers in Vegas weren't too impressive (5.2 PPG on .290/.375/.625 shooting) and he appears to be a long shot to earn a spot on the Knicks' regular season roster.
Central Rumors: Barbosa, Teague, Hamilton
The Bulls have finished atop the Central Division with the league's best record the past two seasons, with the Pacers coming in second both times. With the injury to Derrick Rose and the nearly wholesale turnover of Chicago's bench, the door is open for the Pacers to move into first place this year. There are rumblings tonight about a former Pacer who could be headed to a division rival, and a pair of Bulls:
- Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio hears that free agent Leandro Barbosa is open to discussing a move to the Cavs, but it isn't clear whether the team has any interest in the 6'3" combo guard. Barbosa, who finished last season with Indiana, is reportedly seeking a multiyear deal.
- Mark Deeks of ShamSports examines why Marquis Teague, drafted 29th overall by the Bulls, is the only remaining unsigned first-round pick. He believes the team wants to sign him for less than the standard 120% of the rookie scale amount to avoid paying the luxury tax and to give them more flexibility, since the signing of Kirk Hinrich put them under a $74.3MM hard cap this season.
- Deeks also speculates the Bulls will trade Richard Hamilton during the season to avoid having to pay the luxury tax for the first time in franchise history.
How The Mavs Can Sign Dwight Howard Next Year
- Dirk Nowitzki ($22,721,381)
- Shawn Marion ($9,363,313)
- Vince Carter ($3,180,000)
- Jared Cunningham ($1,208,400)
- O.J. Mayo ($4,000,000*)
The asterisk next to O.J. Mayo's $4MM salary is an estimate based on the amount of cap space the Mavs had when they reached an agreement with Mayo last week. Mayo's reported asking price was $8MM per season, and the second year of his deal is a player option, so if he plays well this year, there's a strong chance he'll opt out and free even more space for the Mavs. The salary listed for Cunningham, the 24th pick this past June, assumes he signed for 120% of the rookie scale amount, which is standard for first-round picks. Marion has an early termination option for 2013/14, but it's unlikely he'll exercise it.
If all those players are still on the Mavs' books by next summer, they'll have about $40.5MM in commitments for 2013/14. That doesn't count cap holds for the contracts that expire after this season or their first-round pick for next season, which goes to the Rockets if it's not in the top 20. Let's say for the purposes of this post that the Mavs finish with one of the league's 10 best records next season and wind up without a first-rounder next year. The salary cap currently sits at $58.044 million, though it's subject to change for 2013/14, and there's been plenty of speculation it could go as high as $60MM. We'll play it conservatively and bump it up by $1MM, to a hypothetical $59.044. If the Mavs renounce the rights to all their own free agents next summer, that leaves about $18.5MM for Howard and seven other players,$3,431,260 of which would be eaten by holds equaling the rookie minimum salary for each empty roster spot. So, the estimated cap room would be a little more than $15MM. If Mayo opts out, that number jumps to about $18.6MM.
Howard will make $19,563,360 with the Magic this year, meaning his maximum salary for 2013/14 will be $20,541,528. It's unlikely he'd take a discount, so the Mavs will have to find a trade partner or two willing to take on salary. Sending Marion away would be the most obvious solution, but if that proves impossible, trading both Carter and Mayo and renouncing the rights to their own free agents would give the Mavs about $21.27MM of cap space in our scenario. They'd also have the $2.652MM room exception at their disposal, allowing the team to add Howard and squeeze in the rest of their 2013/14 roster on about $3.4MM.
So while the Mavericks could conceivably get Howard, it seems like a longshot. With so many variables in play, from the Mavs' team salary to possibility that the Magic trade Howard to the Lakers or Nets, with whom he'd likely re-sign, GM Donnie Nelson faces a multitude of obstacles to landing the franchise center. There are other avenues for acquiring Howard next summer, such as a sign-and-trade with the Magic or a parting of ways with Nowitzki, but those seem unlikely.
Even if they do wind up with Howard, a team of D12, a 35-year-old Nowitzki, and low-salaried complementary talent doesn't sound like an automatic contender. If the Mavs miss out on Howard, they could have a shot at Chris Paul, Andrew Bynum, James Harden and a host of other All-Star caliber guys, as our list of 2013/14 free agents shows. All of them would command a lower maximum salary than Howard, given their current salaries and years of experience. So, while the news of Howard's fondness for Dallas may let Mavs fans dream, the likely reality of going without him may provide an easier path back to the Larry O'Brien trophy.
Storytellers Contracts and ShamSports were used in the creation of this post.
Latest On Trail Blazers’ Coaching Search
AUGUST 1, 7:29pm: The field of finalists has been trimmed to two, with Steve Clifford and Elston Turner out of the running, Jason Quick of The Oregonian reports. That leaves Terry Stotts and Kaleb Canales as the two remaining candidates.
JULY 26, 12:25pm: The second round of interviews will include owner Paul Allen and will begin on Tuesday, according to Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com. Haynes also hasn't heard anything about a fifth candidate being in the mix.
JULY 25, 5:34pm: There could be a fifth "mystery" candidate involved, according to Jason Quick of The Oregonian. While his identity is unknown, the fifth candidate is not represented by Warren LeGarie, the agent for GM Neil Olshey, or Steve Kauffman, another prominent agent in coaching circles. If the Blazers go with the fifth candidate, it would be late in the process, Quick hears, so it appears he's regarded as a fallback option (All Twitter links).
3:14pm: The final four candidates for the Blazers' opening are Terry Stotts, Elston Turner, Steve Clifford, and Kaleb Canales, reports Jason Quick of the Oregonian (via Twitter). The team will conduct a second round of interviews next week with the remaining contenders, according to Quick (Twitter link).
3:11pm: Bulls assistant Adrian Griffin is also out of the running for the Portland job, having been informed by the team that he's no longer being considered, tweets Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com.
3:07pm: After an offseason in which he interviewed for a number of head coach positions, Brian Shaw will be returning to Indiana as an assistant. According to Jason Quick of the Oregonian (via Twitter), Shaw and Trail Blazers GM Neil Olshey spoke today and decided that the Portland coaching job wasn't a fit for the Pacers assistant, who also interviewed with the Magic and Bobcats.
Agent Jerome Stanley tells Quick that Shaw called Pacers coach Frank Vogel today to tell him he was eager to return and help Indiana pursue a title (Twitter link).
As for the Blazers, even with Shaw out of the running, there are still plenty of candidates for the club's head coach position. Quick confirms that the team has interviewed at least the following candidates so far: Warriors assistant Michael Malone, Mavericks assistant Terry Stotts; Grizzlies assistant David Joerger; former Magic assistant Steve Clifford, Suns assistant Elston Turner, Hawks assistant Lester Conner; Heat assistant David Fizdale, Bulls assistant Adrian Griffin, and former Knicks and Suns assistant Phil Weber.
Fizdale has withdrawn from consideration, while Clifford is nearing a deal to join the Bulls as an assistant, says Quick.
Warriors Sign Carl Landry
WEDNESDAY, 7:04pm: The team announced the signing on its website, making the move official.
MONDAY, 5:30pm: Agent Mark Bartelstein has announced that Carl Landry is set to sign with Golden State, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (via Twitter). The forward will receive a two-year deal worth $8MM with a player option in the second season, Stein tweets.
Landry has been the Warriors' top target in recent weeks and was widely considered to be the top player still available on the open market. The 28-year-old averaged 12.5 PPG with 5.2 RPG per contest last season for the Hornets. The Bobcats were also in the mix for Landry and were said to be exploring a sign-and-trade for his services, but those talks didn't get very far.
Golden State is also said to be eyeing another Bartelstein client in restricted free agent Brandon Rush. However, SI's Zach Lowe notes that the Warriors will have a hard time signing both players without surpassing the luxury tax threshold.
After finishing the 2011/12 season with a 23-43 record, the Warriors have made a noticeable effort to shake things up this summer. So far, General Manager Bob Myers has added six new players to the roster in Jarrett Jack, Harrison Barnes, Festus Ezeli, Draymond Green, Kent Bazemore, and Landry, with more possibly on the way.
Southeast Notes: Wizards, Howard, Ferry, Teague
In a piece that calls upon Dwight Howard to act professionally as he seeks to move on from the Magic, Chris Broussard of ESPN.com revisits the big man's decision to waive his early termination option this past March. Broussard says Howard wanted to give the team a chance to improve the roster and was open to staying, but when former coach Stan Van Gundy told the media a team executive had let him know Howard wanted him fired, Howard lost all trust and confidence in the Magic. There are a few other items concerning the Magic's Southeast Division rivals this evening:
- Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune expects former Wolves assistant coach Jerry Sichting to wind up in that same role for the Wizards (Twitter link). That appears to be the "tweak" to his staff Wizards head coach Randy Wittman was referring to (link below).
Earlier updates:
- Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio applauds Hawks GM Danny Ferry, hired barely a month ago, for assembling a competitive team for the upcoming season while freeing cap space to make a major move next summer.
- This coming season will be the last of Jeff Teague's rookie contract, and with all the new faces on the Hawks this year, including fellow point guard Devin Harris, Michael Cunningham of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution takes a look at how Teague can make the most of 2012/13.
- Roger Mason, who agreed to sign with the Hornets today, thought when last season ended that he'd be back with the Wizards, as Michael Lee of The Washington Post writes. With the team drafting Bradley Beal at his position and adding other veterans who can assume his leadership role, the eight-year veteran decided to turn elsewhere.
- Wizards coach Randy Wittman held forth on a number of topics, and Lee has the details. Wittman hinted that the team may keep a roster spot or two open heading into training camp, and said he's still considering another "tweak" to the coaching staff after hiring former Spurs assistant Don Newman earlier this summer.
- In the same piece, Wittman addressed the team's decision to use the amnesty clause to waive Andray Blatche, saying, "I hope and wish the best for Dray. And maybe this can be the best thing for him in turning his career back around and being the player I think we all think he can be."
- Wittman expressed a preference for having three point guards on the roster, and said that's one reason the Wizards signed A.J. Price.
Warriors Re-Sign Brandon Rush
5:10pm: The Warriors confirmed the signing on their website. The Bucks were closer to signing him than the Wolves or Lakers, Rush said, as Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets.
WEDNESDAY, 5:05pm: Rush tweeted that he "just signed on the dotted line," presumably meaning the deal is official (hat tip to Marcus Thompson II of the Bay Area News Group).
TUESDAY, 11:56am: The Warriors and Brandon Rush have agreed to terms on a new contract for the restricted free agent, according to agent Mark Bartelstein. Ken Berger of CBSSports.com was among the handful of reporters to tweet news of the agreement.
Berger adds (via Twitter) that the deal is for two years and $8MM, with a player option on the second year. Based on the reported salaries, it sounds as if the contract is identical to the one Carl Landry and the Warriors agreed to yesterday.
The move caps a busy couple days for the Warriors, in which the team not only retained Rush and added Landry, but also agreed to sign second-round pick Draymond Green to a multiyear contract. The team is likely done making moves this offseason, with the recent signings bringing them either very close to the luxury tax threshold or slightly over it. As Matt Steinmetz of CSNBayArea.com (Twitter link) notes though, if the clubs is concerned about being a taxpayer, there will be plenty of time between now and season's end to sneak under the tax line.
The Lakers, Raptors, and Timberwolves were among the teams linked to Rush at various times this offseason. However, a return to Golden State was always expected, after GM Bob Myers emphatically stated that the Warriors intended to match any offer sheet the 27-year-old signed. Steinmetz first reported yesterday that the two sides were closing in on an agreement.
Pacific Notes: Lakers, Redd, Warriors
As we wait for basketball action to resume at the London Olympics, let's round up a few of Wednesday's stories out of the Pacific Division….
- Magic Johnson weighed in on the Lakers' offseason moves yesterday, as Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com writes. Johnson praised the Lakers' acquisitions of Steve Nash and Antawn Jamison, but said the team could still use a shooter.
- Michael Redd, who spent 2011/12 with the Suns, is taking his time and weighing his options in free agency, agent Kevin Poston tells Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida (Sulia link). According to Tomasson, after showing interest in Redd earlier, the Suns and Bulls appear to have backed off for now.
- Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News confirms that the Warriors' recent roster moves put them about $400K over the luxury tax threshold. Golden State could trade a player before season's end to dip back under the tax line, but team co-owner Joe Lacob tells Kawakami that he's "prepared to spend money to win."
- Matt Steinmetz of CSNBayArea.com passes along a few comments from Warriors president Rick Welts on plans for the club's proposed San Francisco arena.
Players Signing Minimum Salary Contracts
Typically, the bigger names on the free agent market sign early, tying up teams' cap space and exceptions, leaving little more than minimum-salary contracts for the players that sign later in the offseason. As such, we can likely expect plenty more players to sign for the veteran's minimum before the season begins.
Already though, a number of players have signed minimum-salary deals, whether it's veterans taking a presumed discount to play for a contender (Antawn Jamison, Ronnie Brewer) or young players on partial guarantees, just hoping to earn a roster spot (Maalik Wayns, Kent Bazemore).
With the help of Hoops Rumors' Free Agent Tracker, here are the players that have signed minimum-salary deals so far this summer, as best we can tell:
Rashard Lewis (Heat): Two years, $2,751,688
Hollis Thompson (Thunder): Three years, $2,177,719
C.J. Watson (Nets): Two years, $2,099,621
P.J. Tucker (Suns): Two years, $1,646,488
Jason Collins (Celtics): One year, $1,352,181
Keyon Dooling (Celtics): One year, $1,352,181
Antawn Jamison (Lakers): One year, $1,352,181
Nazr Mohammed (Bulls): One year, $1,352,181
Vladimir Radmanovic (Bulls): One year, $1,352,181
Jerry Stackhouse (Nets): One year, $1,352,181
Chris Wilcox (Celtics): One year, $1,352,181
Kent Bazemore (Warriors): Two years, $1,262,476
Keith Bogans (Nets): One year, $1,229,255
Royal Ivey (Sixers): One year, $1,223,166
Ronnie Price (Trail Blazers): One year, $1,146,337
Nate Robinson (Bulls): One year, $1,146,337
Ronny Turiaf (Clippers): One year, $1,146,337
Ronnie Brewer (Knicks): One year, $1,069,509
Ryan Hollins (Clippers): One year, $1,069,509
Cartier Martin (Wizards): One year, $915,852
A.J. Price (Wizards): One year, $885,120
James White (Knicks): One year, $854,389
Pablo Prigioni (Knicks): One year, $473,604
Maalik Wayns (Sixers): One year, $473,604
Additional notes:
- Lewis' and Watson's deals with the Heat and Nets respectively include second-year player options.
- Because Thompson's contract with the Thunder is for three years rather than one or two, the team used part of its mid-level exception for the signing, rather than the minimum salary exception.
- The deals for Thompson, Tucker, Bazemore, and Wayns are not fully guaranteed.
- A handful of other players are presumed to have signed partially guaranteed minimum-salary deals, though terms of their contracts haven't been confirmed. That list includes Jamar Smith (Celtics), Dionte Christmas (Celtics), Chris Smith (Knicks), and Chris Copeland (Knicks).