Heat Notes: Howard, Lewis, Andersen, Pittman
News and notes out of South Beach courtesy of the Sun Sentinel's Ira Winderman..
- It's not yet known if Juwan Howard, who turns 40 in February, will return for a third season with the Heat, but he has been working out at AmericanAirlines Arena. Dwyane Wade suggested that Howard could return to Miami as an assistant coach. The Heat are expected to keep their coaching staff intact, but Howard could be tacked on as an extra assistant who sits behind the bench.
- While there has been a great deal of talk surrounding the idea of "position-less" basketball in Miami, Wade says that due to the team's evolution over the years, it would be foolish to assume anything about plans for 2012/13. The club's direction will have a large impact on how the newly-acquired Rashard Lewis will be used.
- In the mailbag, a reader asks if the club will be able to lure both Josh Harrellson and Chris Andersen to camp without guaranteed deals. Winderman writes that Harrellson doesn't seem likely to land a guaranteed deal but Anderson has already turned down a lucrative overseas deal and will likely will be seeking a guarantee.
- The bigger issue could be if the Heat would be willing to eat Dexter Pittman's salary to allow for multiple additions in the frontcourt. Pittman is set to earn $854K next season.
Hoops Links: Harden, Wolves, Kings, Nets
On this date in 1965, Celtics big man Bill Russell signed a contract making him the NBA's highest paid player. The pact was for $100,001, one dollar more than rival Wilt Chamberlain. The Big Dipper had just inked a three-year, $300K deal with the 76ers, prompting Russell to tell the Celtics that he would retire unless he topped that salary. Russell's threat of retirement likely didn't have much behind it as he continued to play through the 1968/69 season after capturing his eleventh NBA title.
If you have a great blog piece that you think we should feature in Hoops Links, then send it to me at HoopsLinks@gmail.com. Here's this week's look around the blogosphere..
- The NBA Geek reminds us how important James Harden is to the Thunder.
- The Basketball Post looks at some familiar names joining Unicaja Malaga.
- Canis Hoopus fondly remembers the summer of Sam and Spree.
- Sactown Royalty has a plan for the Maloofs to shut down the rumor mill.
- Nets Are Scorching checks the pulse in Brooklyn.
- At The Hive wonders if Monty Williams is the right coach for the Hornets.
- SLC Dunk takes stock of the Jazz's blocking ability.
- Celtics Green talks near death experiences.
- RealGM reflects on four high school prospects that didn't live up to the hype.
- Basketbawful previews the Clippers in 2012/13.
- The Hoop Doctors applaud the Grizzlies' new owner.
- Blazer's Edge weighs in on women's hoops.
- Bucksketball plans on setting the bar low for Milwaukee.
- Stepien Rules had Ireland's biggest Cavs fan weigh in on the offseason.
- Ballin Europe breaks down some recent comments from a prominent European coach.
- Red94 wants to see LaMarcus Aldridge in Houston.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, Zach can be reached here.
Odds & Ends: Anderson, Bosh, Bryant, Najera
According to a tweet from Spurs guard Danny Green, James Anderson may have reached an agreement with the Hawks. Dan McCarney of the San Antonio Express-News says the possible signing would make sense, being that current Atlanta GM Danny Ferry worked in San Antonio last season, where Anderson played.
On this Friday night, here's a look around at some other NBA related news circulating around the league.
- When asked who he felt was the favorite heading into next season, Heat forward Chris Boshdeclared the Lakers to be the NBA's best team, writes Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. "The Lakers, I think, right now, I mean on paper, they probably have the best team in the West and probably the league right now," he said. "On paper. I'm saying on paper. But it's a lot, a lot, it's a long season. And the best team always isn't the one who starts out the season as the best team."
- ESPNLA.com's Brian Kamenetzky wonders what the Lakers should reasonably expect from Kobe Bryant this year. The future Hall of Famer turned 34 earlier this week.
- Hoopsworld.com's Bill Ingram takes a look at five veterans who he believes need to step up this season. Four of them are centers.
- Earlier today it was announced that Eduardo Najera was officially retiring as a player to become the head coach in the D-League. ESPNDallas.com's Jeff Caplan discusses how Najera could open up the league's relationship with Mexico.
- Steve Aschburner of NBA.com looks at the Timberwolves heading into next season.
Poll: Which Team Is The Best “On Paper?”
Earlier today we pointed out an interesting quote from Chris Bosh, where the forward stated that the Lakers, and not his reigning champion Heat, were the best team “on paper” heading into next season. Is he right?
Panathinaikos Interested In Amundson
Free agent center Louis Amundson has drawn interest from Greece's Panathinaikos, according to SI.com's Sam Amick. (Sulia link) Amundson continues to seek an offer from an NBA team, and is confident his career will continue in the United States, but is weighing all his options.
Last season as Indiana's backup center, the 6'9" Amundson played in 60 games, averaging 3.6PPG and 3.7RPG. Next season would be his seventh in the league, and as a reserve big man capable of defending in the post and doing his team's dirty work, Amundson should still hold some measured value.
Carmelo Anthony Speaks About Knicks Roster
Carmelo Anthony discussed several issues with reporters today, including his views on how the Atlantic Division has shaped itself out on paper, roster moves the Knicks made over the past few months, and what position he sees himself playing this season. ESPNNewYork.com's Ian Begely broke down what Anthony had to say here.
On the Atlantic Division: Anthony recognized that almost every team besides Toronto made drastic additions to improve themselves, but he's more focused on what the Knicks are doing than any outside opponent. "It makes it that much more fun. Brooklyn got better. Philly got better with Bynum. Boston is Boston. We'll see what happens. We're worrying about ourselves."
On the Knicks new roster: Anthony appears more than pleased with the veteran names New York acquired this offseason, including Kurt Thomas, Jason Kidd, and Marcus Camby. "Guys that already know how to play the game, that have been through wars, that know how to win. So it's just a matter of putting it all together."
On what position he'd play: Coming off a season where Anthony saw great success at the power forward position, many analysts believe that in the looming small ball era it should be his main focus going forward to learn the four and play it more often. But judging from his words, Anthony sees things differently. "I'm a wingman and everyone knows that. But it's an extra incentive that I can play the four position. It gives us more weapons and more flexibility."
Largest Pay Cuts From 2011/12 To 2012/13
For a good chunk of this summer's free agents, a newly-signed contract not only provided long-term security but also means a huge bump in annual salary. Take Roy Hibbert, for instance — after earning a salary of about $2.59MM in 2011/12, Hibbert will make close to $13.67MM in 2012/13, an increase of over $11MM.
Not every free agent made out nearly as well as Hibbert did though. For a handful of players, this offseason's free agency meant taking a significant pay cut in salary. Some players had no choice in the matter, while others were willing to accept a discount if it meant landing in the right situation. Here are the players whose annual salary will decrease the most from 2011/12 to 2012/13:
Antawn Jamison
11/12: $15,076,715 (Cavaliers)
12/13: $1,352,181 (Lakers)
Difference: $13,724,534
Tim Duncan
11/12: $21,164,619 (Spurs)
12/13: $9,638,554 (Spurs)
Difference: $11,526,065
Kevin Garnett
11/12: $21,247,044 (Celtics)
12/13: $11,550,000 (Celtics)
Difference: $9,697,044
Jason Kidd
11/12: $10,121,000 (Mavericks)
12/13: $3,090,000 (Knicks)
Difference: $7,031,000
Ray Allen
11/12: $10,000,000 (Celtics)
12/13: $3,090,000 (Heat)
Difference: $6,910,000
Marcus Camby
11/12: $11,227,250 (Rockets)
12/13: $4,590,338 (Knicks)
Difference: $6,636,912
Chris Kaman
11/12: $14,030,000 (Hornets)
12/13: $8,000,000 (Mavericks)
Difference: $6,030,000
Additional notes:
- Rashard Lewis' drop from $21,136,631 in 2011/12 to $1,352,181 in 2012/13 would be the largest decrease by far, if not for the buyout he received from the Hornets. Without seeing the specific wording in Lewis' contract(s), we can't know for sure what his exact 2012/13 salary will be, but even if he receives his reported $13,699,551 buyout in full this year, his overall annual salary still took a $6MM+ hit.
- Mehmet Okur and Leandro Barbosa are two more likely candidates to take significant pay cuts. They made $10.89MM and $7.6MM respectively a year ago, and remain unsigned so far this offseason.
- It should probably come as no surprise that every player listed above landed with a contending team. If productive veteran players are going to play for less money, most prefer to do it for contenders in major markets.
- Honorable mentions to Jason Terry, Kirk Hinrich, Carl Landry, Grant Hill, Raymond Felton, Kwame Brown, Hasheem Thabeet, Ronnie Brewer, and Martell Webster, who will all take pay cuts of $3.5MM+, by my calculations.
- Amnestied players are not included here, since they continue to receive pay checks based on their old contracts.
Odds & Ends: Magic, Wallace, McCants, Johnson
Let's round up a few Friday afternoon odds and ends from around the NBA….
- The Magic will hire former Hornets assistant James Borrego as an assistant coach for the coming year, according to an Associated Press report (link via The Sporting News).
- In a piece for the Detroit Free Press, Patrick Hayes of PistonPowered wonders if it makes sense for the Pistons to clear a roster spot to bring back Ben Wallace. That, of course, assumes that Wallace wants to continue his playing career.
- Former UNC star and NBA lottery pick Rashad McCants failed his physical with French team SIG Strasbourg, as Emiliano Carchia of Sportando writes. Strasbourg was set to sign McCants, but will now take another look at the market for other options.
- Joe Johnson talked to SI.com's Zach Lowe about finding out about being traded to the Nets, the team's expectations for 2012/13, and his contract.
- The Warriors have hired Ellen Warner as the team's VP of Development, according to a team release. Warner will oversee planning, design, and construction of the club's proposed San Francisco arena.
2014 NBA Free Agents
Hoops Rumors’ up-to-date list of 2014 free agents is below. These are players who are eligible for restricted or unrestricted free agency after the 2013/14 season. The player’s 2014 age is in parentheses. Players who are on our 2013 free agent list are not listed here.
Players with team or player options for the 2014/15 season are listed, unless they’re still on their rookie contracts. Players whose 2014/15 contracts aren’t fully guaranteed are listed and marked with (N), unless they have an earlier non-guaranteed season on their deals. Potential restricted free agents are marked with (R).
If you have any corrections or omissions, please contact us. For instant free agent updates, be sure to follow us on Twitter @hoopsrumors.
Updated 4-14-15
Point Guards
Keith Appling (22)
Deonte Burton (23)
Dwight Buycks (25)
Justin Cobbs (23)
Aaron Craft (23)
Larry Drew II (24)
Jordan Farmar (28)
Diante Garrett (26)
Ben Hansbrough (27)
Brady Heslip (24)
Stephen Holt (23)
Joe Jackson (22)
Pierre Jackson (23)
Mike James (39)
Kalin Lucas (25)
Kendall Marshall (23)
Eric Maynor (27)
Gal Mekel (26)
Steve Nash (40)
Jannero Pargo (35)
A.J. Price (28)
Akeem Richmond (23)
Nate Robinson (30)
Peyton Siva (24)
Marquis Teague (21)
Sebastian Telfair (29)
Jamaal Tinsley (36)
Yuki Togashi (21)
Casper Ware (24)
Nate Wolters (23)
Shooting Guards
Ray Allen (39)
Keith Bogans (34)
Josh Bostic (27)
Ronnie Brewer (29)
Shannon Brown (29)
Patrick Christopher (26)
Chris Crawford (22)
Drew Crawford (24)
Jared Cunningham (23)
Seth Curry (24)
Marquis Daniels (33)
Andre Dawkins (23)
Carrick Felix (24)
Daniel Gibson (28)
Richard Hamilton (36)
Manny Harris (25)
Royal Ivey (33)
Othyus Jeffers (29)
Michael Jenkins (28)
Geron Johnson (22)
Orlando Johnson (25)
Trey Johnson (30)
Darius Johnson-Odom (25)
Sean Kilpatrick (24)
Doron Lamb (23)
Malcolm Lee (23)
Rodney McGruder (23)
Roger Mason Jr. (34)
Kevin Murphy (24)
Toure’ Murry (25)
Xavier Silas (26)
D.J. Stephens (24)
Robert Vaden (29)
Sasha Vujacic (30)
Elliot Williams (25)
Small Forwards
Joe Alexander (28)
Shane Battier (36)
Victor Claver (26)
Carlos Delfino (32)
Chris Douglas-Roberts (27)
Jarell Eddie (23)
Shane Edwards (27)
Fuquan Edwin (23)
C.J. Fair (23)
Francisco Garcia (33)
Eric Griffin (24)
Luke Hancock (24)
Xavier Henry (23)
Scotty Hopson (25)
Damion James (27)
Jason Kapono (33)
Andrei Kirilenko (33)
Darius Miller (24)
Arinze Onuaku (27)
Travis Outlaw (30)
Mickael Pietrus (32)
Casey Prather (23)
Glen Rice Jr. (23)
John Salmons (34)
Chris Singleton (25)
Roscoe Smith (23)
Adonis Thomas (21)
David Wear (24)
Marcus Williams (28)
Jamil Wilson (24)
Power Forwards
Jeff Adrien (28)
Kadeem Batts (23)
Jerrelle Benimon (23)
Khem Birch (22)
Andray Blatche (28)
Brian Cook (34)
Brandon Davies (23)
Josh Davis (23)
Drew Gordon (24)
Antawn Jamison (38)
Ivan Johnson (30)
Kevin Jones (25)
Shawn Jones (22)
Solomon Jones (30)
Dallas Lauderdale (26)
Rashard Lewis (35)
Vernon Macklin (28)
Kenyon Martin (37)
Pops Mensah-Bonsu (31)
Akil Mitchell (22)
Tony Mitchell (22)
Brock Motum (24)
Arnett Moultrie (24)
Erik Murphy (24)
Lamar Odom (35)
Josh Powell (31)
Ronald Roberts Jr. (23)
Orlando Sanchez (26)
Richard Solomon (22)
Malcolm Thomas (26)
Tyrus Thomas (28)
Jarvis Varnado (26)
Christian Watford (23)
Mitchell Watt (25)
DJ White (28)
Royce White (23)
Patric Young (22)
Talib Zanna (24)
Centers
Sim Bhullar (22)
Andris Biedrins (28)
Andrew Bynum (27)
Marcus Camby (40)
Jason Collins (36)
Samuel Dalembert (33)
Micheal Eric (26)
Vitor Faverani (26)
Kyrylo Fesenko (28)
Aaron Gray (30)
Chris Johnson (29)
Alex Kirk (23)
D.J. Mbenga (34)
Fab Melo (24)
Hamady Ndiaye (27)
Jermaine O’Neal (36)
Greg Oden (26)
Emeka Okafor (32)
Daniel Orton (24)
Miroslav Raduljica (26)
Larry Sanders (26)
Hasheem Thabeet (27)
Ronny Turiaf (31)
Jeremy Tyler (23)
Jordan Vandenberg (24)
Storytellers Contracts was used in the creation of this list.
Michael Finley Joins Mavericks’ Front Office
Michael Finley never formally announced his retirement as an NBA player, and was still working out for teams as recently as earlier this year. However, it appears his playing days are over. The Mavericks announced today at Eduardo Najera's introductory press conference that Finley has also joined the team's front office (Twitter link via Marc Stein of ESPN.com).
Finley doesn't yet have an official title with the Mavs, but GM Donnie Nelson suggested at today's presser that owner Mark Cuban isn't "big on titles" (Twitter link via Stein). Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com tweets that Finley and Najera figure to have similar roles — while Finley obviously won't be coaching the D-League's Texas Legends like Najera is, it sounds as if both former Mavs will assist in making basketball decisions. Najera and Finley will be part of Dallas' draft-day decision-making as well, tweets Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
In Finley's 15-year playing career, he racked up over 17,300 career points for the Suns, Mavericks, Spurs, and Celtics. He played in 129 postseason games, winning a title with the Spurs in 2007, and earned over $138MM over the course of his career, according to Basketball-Reference.