Odds & Ends: Paul, Cole, Heat, Celtics
All eyes will be on Clippers guard Chris Paul this summer and while the All-Star has been treated like royalty in L.A. and arguably has been given more pull than any other player in the league when it comes to personnel decisions, it's possible that CP3 will head elsewhere as he looks to win his first NBA title. Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld ran down the Clippers' biggest competition and identified the Mavericks, Hawks, Rockets, and Nuggets as the top threats to pull him away from La La Land. Here's tonight's look around the Association as the Clippers gear up for a very interesting summer..
- In today's mailbag, a reader asked Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sentinel if Norris Cole is essentially playing his way out of Miami. The Heat guard is under contract for next season with a club option for 2014/15, but his play could convince Miami that they can safely let Mario Chalmers go rather than exercise his $4MM option for next year. Alternatively, they could also exercise the option on the KU product and flip him elsewhere.
- Chris Wilcox is a free agent for a second consecutive season, but he says that he would like to return to the Celtics, writes Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald. “I would love to come back and be a part of this, because I just feel like I didn’t. . . . I wasn’t me, you know what I mean? So I want to come back healthy. I want to come back and be healthy right from the start of training camp," Wilcox said.
- The Nuggets' Quincy Miller recently had his contract for next season partially guaranteed at $150K, according to Sham Sports. Miller, who could earn up to $789K next year, had a clause in his deal that gave him a partial guarantee if he was not waived in the week following Denver's elimination from the playoffs.
Relocation Committee Sticks With Sacramento Side
The owners’ relocation and finance committees held a teleconference in the wake of several developments from the Seattle group that is trying to buy the Kings and relocate them. Despite a ramped up effort from Steve Ballmer & Co, the committees decided against their position to recommend the team be kept in Sacramento and not moved to Seattle, a source told Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com.
A final full vote on the matter is expected to come at the owners’ meetings on Wednesday in Dallas. Without a change in recommendation from the relocation and finance committees, however, it seems unlikely that the final vote will go in Seattle’s direction. Even a vote for Sacramento won’t put the team in billionaire Vivek Ranadive‘s hands, however, as the Maloofs still seem intent on selling to the Seattle side.
Last week, Seattle lead investor Chris Hansen increased his offer for 65 percent of the Kings to a record $409MM, up from $358 million. He also offered a relocation fee payout of roughly $116MM to sweeten the pot for owners who may be on the fence. Meanwhile, the Maloofs say if the Seattle move is blocked, they plan to sell a 20 percent share to Hansen’s group and keep controlling interest in the team.
Poll: Unrestricted Free Agent Shooting Guards
This year's free agent market is fairly underwhelming, especially if you believe that top unrestricted free agent Chris Paul will re-sign with the Clippers. However, it's a pretty solid crop at the two-guard position. Tyreke Evans is undoubtedly the premier restricted free agent in the group, unless you don't consider him to be an actual two-guard. Meanwhile, Monta Ellis, O.J. Mayo, and J.R. Smith all hold player options and could receive massive paydays if they opt out. Beyond those players, you have names such as Kevin Martin of the Thunder and J.J. Redick of the Bucks available as unrestricted free agents. We want to know how you rank the top UFAs at the two-guard position this summer…
Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey , the world's leading questionnaire tool.
Once you've voted, you can check out the results right here.
Odds & Ends: Wall, Wade, Union, Draft
Sports fans are still feeling the shockwaves from Jay-Z's announcement earlier this year that he would enter the world of player representation for basketball as well as baseball. Recently, Abraham D. Madkour of Sports Business Journal spoke with longtime Jay-Z business partner Steve Stoute, who believes that its high time that someone new got in the game. “His reputation as a businessman has obviously been well-documented, so I don’t need to get into that. I think that there needs to be a new sheriff…David Falk had a long run in basketball and that had to change. Scott Boras had a long run in baseball and that has to change. Those things have to change," Stoute said. Here's more from around the Association..
- The free agent class of 2014 is unbelievably stacked, writes Joel Brigham of HoopsWorld. Cap room for July 2014 will be tremendously important as John Wall (restricted), Dwyane Wade (early termination option), Kobe Bryant, LeBron James (ETO), Carmelo Anthony (ETO), Paul Pierce, Luol Deng, Rudy Gay (player option), Danny Granger, and many many more will be on the open market.
- The NBA players' union, who is still without a chief executive, will have its next meeting pushed back from June to August or September, according to Liz Mullen of the Sports Business Journal (via Twitter). The union has also yet to hire a firm to lead the search for the next chief.
- The ESPN Insider staff (sub. req'd) held a roundtable discussion on the 2013 draft and opinions are extremely split on who the best player in this class will be. Two of the five scribes like Otto Porter over everyone else but Ben McLemore, Nerlens Noel, and Anthony Bennett also received votes.
Bucks Met With Jerry Sloan
The Bucks aren't wasting any time exploring their head coaching options, having already interviewed Kelvin Sampson, Nate McMillan, J.B. Bickerstaff, and Steve Clifford. According to Sam Amick of USA Today, Milwaukee also has a higher-profile name on its radar. Amick reports that the Bucks have met with Jerry Sloan, who is being "seriously considered" by the team.
Milwaukee has reportedly been seeking a coach who will command respect in the team's locker room, following a postseason incident between Larry Sanders and Monta Ellis. As Amick notes, the Bucks' position is somewhat similar to the position Sloan held in Utah for more than two decades.
Sloan revealed last week that he had been contacted by a couple NBA teams, though he characterized the talks as "exploratory" rather than anything serious, and said no offers had been made. He also shot down rumors of a potential reunion with Deron Williams, confirming that he hadn't been in touch with the Nets at all.
Rockets To Decline Option On Francisco Garcia
The Rockets will not exercise their team option on Francisco Garcia for 2013/14, tweets Mark Berman of FOX 26 Houston. Given the price on the option ($6.4MM), the decision comes as no surprise for a Houston team that will have the opportunity to clear more than $15MM in cap space this summer.
With Garcia heading for unrestricted free agency, Houston will have about $39.33MM in guaranteed salaries and $9.18MM in non-guaranteed salaries remaining on its books for next season. Some of those non-guaranteed contracts, such as Chandler Parsons' and Patrick Beverley's, seem to be locks to become guaranteed, while others aren't so certain, as I outlined when I previewed the Rockets' offseason.
As for Garcia, the longtime Sacramento King was sent to Houston for salary purposes as part of the six-player deadline deal that also sent Thomas Robinson to the Rockets. In 58 total games this season, the 31-year-old Garcia averaged 5.5 PPG and shot 37.4% from three-point range. While the Louisville product has never been an exceptional scorer in the NBA, he can still contribute as an outside threat, leading Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com to speculate that he could be a fit for the Lakers. Garcia, for his part, has said he'd like to return to Houston.
NBA Announces All-Defensive Teams
The NBA has officially announced its First and Second All-Defensive teams for the 2012/13 season, as voted on by the league's 30 coaches. Here are the results, with the point totals in parentheses (two points for first-place vote, one point for second-place vote):
First team:
- Guard: Tony Allen (53)
- Guard: Chris Paul (37)
- Forward: LeBron James (52)
- Forward: Serge Ibaka (46)
- Center: Tyson Chandler / Joakim Noah (24 each)
Second team:
- Guard: Avery Bradley (25)
- Guard: Mike Conley (19)
- Forward: Paul George (27)
- Forward: Tim Duncan (20)
- Center: Marc Gasol (12)
For the second straight season, the voting by the coaches differed significantly from votes cast by the media for Defensive Player of the Year. A season ago, Defensive Player of the Year Tyson Chandler didn't earn a spot on either All-Defensive team, while this season, Marc Gasol was beaten out in voting by fellow centers Joakim Noah and Chandler.
You can check out the top five vote-getters for Defensive Player of the Year and the rest of this year's awards right here.
Pacific Notes: Kings, Madsen, Clifford, Howard
Earlier today, we passed along the latest developments in the saga that has Sacramento and Seattle investment groups vying to buy the Kings. Here are a few more of today's links relating to Pacific Division clubs:
- Brian Floyd of SBNation.com provides a helpful primer for the Kings situation, answering a number of frequently asked questions about where things stand.
- The Lakers' D-League affiliate has hired former Laker Mark Madsen as the team's new head coach. The L.A. D-Fenders made the move official today (link via Twitter).
- More coaching news for the Lakers: Assistant Steve Clifford is interviewing today for the Bucks' head coaching opening, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. According to Wojnarowski, Stan Van Gundy declined to interview for the position, but recommend Clifford to Bucks GM John Hammond.
- Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com explains why it doesn't make much sense for the Lakers to consider a sign-and-trade of Dwight Howard.
Maloofs Haven’t Closed Door On Sacramento Bid
The latest major development in the Sacramento Kings saga came on Saturday, when ESPN.com's Brian Windhorst reported that the Maloof family had a backup plan in place if the NBA shot down its sale of the Kings to a Seattle investment group. According to Windhorst, the Maloofs intended to sell a smaller share of the franchise to Chris Hansen's and Steve Ballmer's group, with the Kings owners apparently uninterested in selling to the Sacramento group led by Vivek Ranadive.
According to Tony Bizjak, Dale Kasler, and Ryan Lillis of the Sacramento Bee, however, the Maloofs haven't entirely closed the door on the Sacramento possibility. The Bee reports that the Maloofs "still have that option" (of selling to the Sacramento group), noting that the family was receiving updates from the NBA on the group's efforts as recently as this weekend. Nonetheless, the current Kings owners would still prefer to complete their deal with the Seattle group.
The NBA's relocation committee is scheduled to have a conference call today, and it's uncertain whether the committee will reconsider its recommendation not to allow the Kings to relocate. As long as that stance remains the same, it's unlikely that the Seattle group's increased efforts to create a bidding war will make a difference, as Sam Amick of USA Today writes. All along, commissioner David Stern has refused to endorse a bidding war or to pit the two cities against one another.
With the NBA's Board of Governors set to meet later this week to discuss and vote on the Kings' potential sale and relocation, Tom Ziller of SBNation.com argues giving Seattle an expansion team remains the most fair and logical solution, though it doesn't appear to be an option the league is seriously considering at the moment.
July Moratorium
The July moratorium is a period at the start of each NBA season during which teams aren't permitted to make trades or sign free agents. The specific dates vary from season to season, but for 2013, the moratorium will last from July 1st to July 9th. As of July 10th, teams can resume business as usual.
Each new NBA season officially begins on July 1st, which is also the day that free agents are freed from their previous contracts. However, before players can sign with new teams, the NBA must complete its audit, which establishes figures like the salary cap, luxury tax threshold, and average salary. Free agents are allowed to negotiate with clubs during the moratorium, and can agree to terms on new contracts, but they are unable to officially sign a new deal until the moratorium ends.
There are a number of types of signings that are permitted during the July moratorium, as follows:
- A first-round draft pick can sign a standard rookie scale contract with the team that drafted him.
- A second-round draft pick can accept the required tender, which is a one-year contract offer that allows a team to retain its rights to a drafted player.
- A restricted free agent can accept a qualifying offer from his team.
- A free agent can sign a minimum-salary contract for one or two seasons.
When the July moratorium ends, all free agents can officially sign contracts. Additionally, the new salary cap figures for the year take effect, and the seven-day amnesty period begins.
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.
This post was initially published on May 16th, 2012.