Week In Review: 4/22/13 – 4/28/13
Will one of the greatest coaches of all-time return to the NBA in a front office capacity? We'll look at that and more in our weekly recap..
- Coach Phil Jackson said that he has spoken to three or four teams about a potential front office position. Later in the week, we learned that the Raptors are among the clubs that are making a run at the legendary coach. Meanwhile, a return to the Lakers still looks highly unlikely for the Zen Master.
- The Cavs were said to be interested in Jackson but wound up bringing Mike Brown back. The coach will get $20-25MM over five years from Cleveland. Brown was said to turn down the Suns not once, but twice.
- The Wolves are expected to replace David Kahn with Flip Saunders. The move comes as something of a surprise as it was recently reported that Kahn would return.
- The Bobcats ousted Mike Dunlap.
- The Nets signed GM Billy King to a multi-year extension.
- There are a number of candidates for the Suns' GM opening after Lance Blanks was let go.
- Alvin Gentry is interested in the Bobcats job.
- Lindsey Hunter will interview with the Pistons but could still return to the Suns. Yes, you read that right.
- Brandon Jennings has softened his stance.
- Gregg Popovich may walk away from the Spurs when Tim Duncan does.
- The Raptors will keep Bryan Colangelo and Dwane Casey.
- The Pelicans won't rule out an Eric Gordon trade.
- Tony DiLeo's status in Philly is up in the air. Meanwhile, the 76ers have a pair of experienced coaches at the top of their wish list.
- Nate McMillan might be the frontrunner in Detroit.
- LeBron James is unlikely to sign with Jay-Z.
- The Bulls want Nazr Mohammed back.
- Miami's Shane Larkin is going pro.
- Marcus Smart will return to Oklahoma State.
- The Birdman hopes to touch down in Miami again next year.
- A recommendation on the Kings will come tomorrow.
- David Stern wants to see the Zen Master back in the NBA.
- Marc Gasol is the DPOY.
- Paul George was named the Most Improved Player of the year.
- Samuel Dalembert likes the Heat.
- J.R. Smith is the sixth man of the year.
- Andres Nocioni reportedly turned down an NBA offer.
- The Sixers will announce a new D-League affiliate.
Hoops Rumors Originals: 4/22/13 – 4/28/13
Here's a look back at the original analysis provided by the Hoops Rumors staff this week..
- Luke Adams explained the non-bird rights exception.
- I looked at N.C. State's C.J. Leslie, who is coming out at a time when his stock is at its lowest in three years.
- Ryan Raroque checked in on J.R. Smith's free agent stock.
- Chuck Myron evaluated Mike Dunleavy as he looks ahead to the open market.
- Chuck and Luke broke down the minimum salary exception.
- Mo Williams is likely to end up with the full mid-level this summer, Chuck Myron writes.
- I profiled Michigan's Trey Burke.
- Louis Williams was among the best mid-level signings, according to Chuck.
- Chuck looked at midseason signees on playoff rosters, including Kenyon Martin of the Knicks.
- Most of you said that the Grizzlies are the 0-2 team with the best chance of coming back to win.
- We've updated the 2013/14 free agent list.
- Here are the protected picks transferring over to 2014.
- Here's a reminder of all the great features you'll find on Hoops Rumors.
- If you missed out on Luke's weekly chat, you can check out the transcript here.
Blair Says He’ll Be Better Off Leaving Spurs
DeJuan Blair will be thrust into the playoff spotlight for the Spurs with Tiago Splitter out indefinitely because of a sprained ankle, and Blair sees the opportunity as an audition for other clubs, observes Buck Harvey of the San Antonio Express-News. The 24-year-old, who'll be an unrestricted free agent this summer, thinks "the better situation" for him will be to sign with another team that can expand his role.
The stance is one that Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors predicted Blair would take when he examined the power forward's free agent stock last summer. Blair saw declines in just about every category this season, as his minutes and games started both hit career lows. When he did see the floor this year, he was less efficient than in the past, notching a 14.6 PER compared to the 17.5 PER he posted over his first three seasons. Blair appeared a likely trade candidate before the deadline this season, but according to Harvey, the Spurs were in no rush to trade him, in part because of his paltry $1.054MM salary. The team also believes he's shown increased maturity off the court, Harvey writes.
Unlike many other fourth-year players, the Spurs won't have the right to match offers for Blair in free agency this summer because he was originally a second-round draft choice. Second-rounders become eligible for unrestricted free agency after only three years in the league. I'm not sure the Spurs, despite their affection for Blair, would be likely to try to bring him back either way, but unrestricted free agency will allow him to make a clean break if he so chooses. He could have plenty of suitors, since the Hawks, Raptors, Pistons, Celtics, Heat, Blazers and Warriors were all linked to Blair before the deadline this year.
Blair thinks the Spurs would have traded him if they could have found the right deal, but the consensus among other teams at the deadline was that the Spurs' asking price was too high.
Odds & Ends: J.R. Smith, Celtics, Davis, Jack
J.R. Smith is likely to opt out of his deal for next season with the Knicks, and once he does, he'll be looking for a long-term deal, writes Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe. While Smith's comments suggest he'd favor the Knicks over other teams, New York can't do any better than a four-year deal worth about $25MM, since they only have his Early Bird rights. As our Ryan Raroque surmised when he looked at Smith's free agent stock, the Sixth Man of the Year will be able to command a hefty raise on his $2.8MM salary this season. We'll soon find out whether the Knicks' best offer will be enough.
Washburn has more on the NBA as part of his weekly column, and we'll round that up along with other Sunday afternoon tidbits here:
- Washburn gets former NBA executive Tom Penn's take on the future of the Celtics, and hears from Glen Davis of the Magic, who says he's willing to stick it out through the team's rebuilding process.
- Jarrett Jack is adamant that he'll prioritize a return to the Warriors in free agency this summer, even if it means passing up the opportunity to become a starter elsewhere, as he tells Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com.
- Bucks center Joel Przybilla saw a total of just 68 minutes this season, but he says he's healthy and believes he can still play in the NBA next season, reports Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times. He'll be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
- Shooting guard Trey Johnson and Italian club Angelico Biella have parted ways, Sportando's Emiliano Carchia reports (Twitter link). Johnson appeared in 11 games with the Pelicans in 2011/12, and has also spent time with the Cavaliers, Raptors and Lakers.
- Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress already had Giannis Adetokunbo on his list of early entrants for the draft, as did we, and agent Giorgos Dimitropoulos confirms the Greek swingman has officially declared, Givony tweets.
Minimum Salary Exception
As its name suggests, the minimum salary exception can be used by an over-the-cap team to sign a player to a one- or two-year minimum-salary deal. The exception can also be used to acquire minimum-salary players via trade, without the players being counted for salary-matching purposes.
Players are entitled to varying minimum salaries based on how long they've been in the NBA. In 2012/13, a player with no prior NBA experience was eligible for a $473,604 minimum salary, while a player with 10+ years of experience was eligible for $1,352,181. Over the course of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement, the minimum salary will increase each season, as Larry Coon's CBA FAQ outlines. For both this season and next season, the breakdown is as follows:
Because the NBA doesn't want clubs to shy away from signing more expensive veteran players, the league reimburses teams for a portion of a minimum-salary player's cost if he has three or more years of experience, as long as the contract isn't a multiyear deal. The minimum salary for a player with two years experience is the most a team will pay, and the largest cap hit it will take, for a one-year minimum contract. For instance, when the Lakers signed 14-year veteran Antawn Jamison for 2012/13 using the minimum salary exception, he earned $1,352,181, but the team's cap hit was just $854,389. The league will be reimbursing the Lakers for the remaining $497,792.
Most salary cap exceptions can only be used once each season. When a team uses its full mid-level exception to sign one or more players, the club can no longer use that exception until the following season. Unlike the mid-level and other cap exceptions, however, the minimum salary exception can be used any number of times in a single season. The Knicks, for example, currently have six players on minimum-salary deals.
Over-the-cap teams can use the minimum salary exception to acquire players in trades without having to worry about matching salaries. That's how the Thunder were able to trade for Ronnie Brewer and give up only a second-round pick.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post, which was initially published on May 7th, 2012.
Note: This is a Hoops Rumors Glossary entry. Our glossary posts will explain specific rules relating to trades, free agency, or other aspects of the NBA's Collective Bargaining Agreement. Larry Coon's Salary Cap FAQ was used in the creation of this post.
Cavs Rumors: Trades, Speights, Livingston, Miles
The Cavaliers missed the playoffs and have already hired Mike Brown as their new coach. The draft lottery, in which they'll have a 15.6% chance at the top pick, is more than three weeks away. Still, the rumor mill is far from dry in Cleveland. Bob Finnan of The News-Herald rounds up the latest:
- Finnan doesn't believe rumors that the Cavs are willing to part with young talent like Dion Waiters and Tristan Thompson in return for All-Stars LaMarcus Aldridge or Kevin Love, in part because Cleveland would have to give up too much to swing such a deal.
- Finnan thinks Marreese Speights might not fit the Cavs culture, and the scribe believes the team is hoping Speights turns down his $4.515MM player option for next season.
- A source tells Finnan that Shaun Livingston will likely ask for $3MM to $4MM this summer and settle for $2MM to $2.5MM.
- It's no longer a given that the Cavs will bring back C.J. Miles next season. His $2.225MM contract for 2013/14 is fully non-guaranteed.
- John Kuester has been expected to join new Brown's staff, but sources tell Finnan he might be reluctant to coach again in the NBA after negative experiences as head coach of the Pistons and as an assistant with the Lakers.
- Donyell Marshall, a player under Brown from 2005 to 2008, has likely inquired about a position on Brown's coaching staff, according to Finnan, who suggests Eric Snow, Jamahl Mosley, Nate Tibbetts and Alex Jensen as other possible assistant coaching candidates for the team.
Larry Drew Interested In Coaching Sixers
Larry Drew wants to become a candidate for the Sixers head coaching job if the Hawks let him go, a source tells John Mitchell of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Drew is in the final season of his contract with Atlanta, and he hasn't had any discussions with GM Danny Ferry about an extension, Mitchell hears.
Ferry said in November that he was "fully engaged with Larry and our partnership," but rumors persisted that the GM would replace Drew with close associate Mike Brown at season's end. Brown's hiring in Cleveland hasn't ended speculation that Ferry may change coaches, as Grantland's Zach Lowe this week linked the Hawks to Quin Snyder.
The Sixers appear to be taking it slow with their search for Doug Collins' replacement, and that could allow Drew, who's still coaching the Hawks in the playoffs, to enter the picture. For now, assistant coaches Michael Malone of the Warriors and Brian Shaw of the Pacers appear to be the top candidates for the job. Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe believes Aaron McKie, who served as an assistant on Collins' staff, may receive consideration as well. Mitchell hinted earlier this week that the team could replace GM Tony DiLeo as well.
Ray McCallum To Enter Draft
University of Detroit point guard Ray McCallum will enter the NBA draft, tweets Aran Smith of NBADraft.net. The junior is ranked 40th on Chad Ford's ESPN.com list of the top 100 prospects, while Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress has him at No. 57.
McCallum displayed an all-around game in three seasons with the Titans, and averaged 18.7 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game this year. The Michigan native led Detroit to a 20-13 record and a berth in the NIT, but he struggled in his team's final two games, going 5-for-20 from the floor and totaling 21 points in 77 minutes over a pair of losses to Wright State and Arizona State.
Underclassmen like McCallum face an 11:00pm Central time deadline tonight to declare for the draft. Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv had McCallum on a list of four key undecided prospects, along a trio of power forwards: Isaiah Austin of Baylor, Adreian Payne of Michigan State and Andre Roberson of Colorado. We'll update our full list of early entrants throughout the day as players reach their decisions.
Odds & Ends: Brown, Turkoglu, Celtics, Cavs
The Cavaliers bringing Mike Brown back as coach in an effort to woo LeBron James in the summer of 2014 is just the latest example of the NBA being a player's league, writes Jan Hubbard of Sheridan Hoops. Of course, Brown was fired three years ago in an effort to appease James, but since the star appears to be fond of him once again, Cleveland hopes that the hire will be enough to move the needle in their direction. Here's more from around the league..
- Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel outlined the issues facing the Magic this offseason. One of Orlando's toughest tasks will be finding a taker for Hedo Turkoglu and his $12MM salary for next season. Only half of the veteran's salary is guaranteed, however, and the club is expected to waive him if they cannot work out a trade.
- In time, aging Celtics veterans Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Jason Terry will have to evaluate their futures in the league, writes Tom Layman of the Boston Herald. If the C's wind up getting eliminated in the first round by the Knicks, they may be forced to make significant changes this offseason.
- Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Plain Dealer looked at the journey that Brown took from being the head coach of the Lakers to rehired by the Cavs.
Draft Notes: Porter, Smart, Stokes
Sixteen teams are fighting for their chance to come away with the 2013 Larry O'Brien trophy, but the rest of the NBA is looking ahead to the draft in June. Here's the latest draft news..
- Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld updates his mock draft, and has Georgetown small forward Otto Porter in the top three in place of Oklahoma State point guard Marcus Smart. That might change if Smart goes back on his decision to return to school, which he has until Sunday night to do.
- Tennessee junior power forward Jarnell Stokes is returning to school, notes Gary Parrish of CBSSports.com. Stokes checks in at No. 68 on Jonathan Givony's DraftExpress list of the top 100 prospects.
- Earlier tonight, I profiled Michigan standout Trey Burke in the latest installment of Hoops Rumors' Prospect Profile series.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.