Celtics Notes: Garnett, Pierce, Rondo
Could the early conclusion to the Celtics' 2012/13 season spell the end of the Big Three era? Here's the latest out of Boston..
- Boston needs to retool again, and Kevin Garnett could make it easy for them with retirement, writes Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. The big man has two years and $23.5MM left on a deal that includes a no-trade clause. Meanwhile, around the NBA, there's belief that the hire of Flip Saunders as GM of the Timberwolves will open the door for the club eventually offering KG the opportunity to invest in the franchise.
- If the C's don't believe that they can win with their existing core, they'll have to consider trading Rajon Rondo as he is their best asset, writes Ken Berger of CBSSports.com.
- Even if Garnett retires, the Celtics really aren’t left with a lot of options, writes Joel Brigham of HoopsWorld. Even if KG walks away and they amnesty Pierce, Boston still wouldn’t really have enough cap space to add a marquee free agent. With no other moves, the Celtics would basically be bringing back the same club sans Pierce and Garnett plus a player towards the bottom of free agency’s top tier.
- People close to Pierce are certain that he has played his final game as a Celtic, according to Greg Dickerson of CSNNE.com (on Twitter).
Clippers To Decide On Del Negro Soon
The Clippers' season ended last night with the Grizzlies' 118-105 victory and many have wondered if that would also spell the end for coach Vinny Del Negro's time in L.A. However, team sources insist that no decision has been made yet and that the club's early playoff exit won't be the only basis upon which he is judged, writes Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
While the first-round exit is obviously disappointing, Del Negro steered the team to a franchise-record 56 wins this season and has always had a good relationship with the team's ownership. The team is expected to take "about a week" to evaluate things before making a decision on Del Negro, according to one source.
The coach might not be in limbo right now had things gone differently last summer. According to a source, the Clippers had preliminary discussions with Del Negro about a contract extension, but tabled them indefinitely, putting him in a make-good situation.
Some have speculated that Phil Jackson could be a fit for the Clippers if they wind up searching for a new coach, but that's unlikely, according to one source with knowledge of the team's thinking. Because of the Zen Master's relationship with Lakers executive Jeanie Buss, "it would just be too creepy," says one source.
Of course, much of what happens with the Clippers this offseason hinges on whether Chris Paul stays or goes. While one source said the franchise is "as confident as we can be under the circumstances," it's still going to be a nailbiter for the club.
Odds & Ends: Celtics, Wolves, Blazers, Hunter
The Celtics made quite an attempt at a comeback, both in the series and in tonight's Game Six, but ultimately the Knicks polished off Boston this evening to set up a second-round date with the Pacers. The loss left some in Boston's locker room wondering about their futures as they spoke with reporters. Coach Doc Rivers isn't entirely sure he'll want to come back for next season, but he anticipates he'll opt to return to the bench when he makes up his mind this summer. Rivers isn't certain Kevin Garnett will come back, either, though that decision is up to KG. For his part, Garnett says he's not ready to make up his mind, but suggests the team's decision on whether to keep Paul Pierce will have heavy influence.
Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com rounds up more comments from the C's as they begin their offseason, and as they ponder their next moves, here's what's happening elsewhere across the NBA:
- Chip Scoggins of the Star Tribune examines Glen Taylor's decision to abandon the idea of selling the Wolves, and points out the owner's cryptic remarks about his plan to keep the team in Minnesota.
- Sources tell Henry Abbott of ESPN.com that the Trail Blazers paid the Wolves $1.5MM to settle their dispute over Martell Webster, and Abbott explains how the outcome can be considered a coup for ousted Wolves GM David Kahn.
- Lindsey Hunter isn't assured of remaining the coach of the Suns, but if he's bounced, he shouldn't count on a soft landing with the Pistons, writes Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press.
- On the eve of Game Seven against the Nets, Sam Smith of Bulls.com answers reader questions about Derrick Rose and the Bulls' offseason plans.
- Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times wonders if soon-to-be free agent Kirk Hinrich's postseason performance has made him too expensive for the Bulls to re-sign.
Pacific Links: Warriors, Kings, Kobe, Hornacek
The Clippers are fighting for their playoff lives tonight against the Grizzlies, but their division rivals aren't far from the spotlight. The playoff triumph of the Warriors, the future of the Kings, an offseason of uncertainty for the Lakers, and a possible coaching vacancy for the Suns are all making headlines out of the Pacific tonight:
- Andrew Bogut's performance as the Warriors' sealed their upset of the Nuggets last night provided vindication for Golden State co-owner Joe Lacob, who signed off on the unpopular swap of Monta Ellis for Bogut last year, as Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports examines.
- The Sacramento bidders for the Kings, led by Vivek Ranadive, have placed half of the purchase price for the team into escrow, tweets Dale Kasler of The Sacramento Bee.
- A group of Sacramento arena opponents have filed suit claiming the city withheld documents that show secret "sweeteners" in the deal with investors that enhance the public contribution to the project, as Kasler and fellow Bee scribe Tony Bizjak write. In a separate piece, Bizjak, Kasler and Ryan Lillis explain the dispute. Aaron Bruski of NBCSports.com hears an attorney involved in the suit has already received the sought-after documents (Twitter link).
- In his NBA PM piece, HoopsWorld's Bill Ingram outlines the reasons why he thinks the idea that the Lakers would amnesty Kobe Bryant is "ludicrous." I don't think the team will do it, either, though I'm not certain the Lakers are as unwilling to save money as Ingram suggests.
- Steve Luhm of The Salt Lake Tribune notes Jazz assistant Jeff Hornacek's candidacy for coaching jobs with the Bobcats and Sixers, and speculates that the former Suns player could draw interest from Phoenix if the new GM there decides to change coaches.
Market Grim For First-Round Busts
Among free agents this offseason will be several former first-round picks whose teams elected not to exercise the options on their rookie-scale contracts. Those rookie deals are usually some of the best bargains in the league, but when a draft choice doesn't pan out, even the cheapest of contracts can become unappealing.
Rooke-scale contracts include team options for the third and fourth seasons, but clubs must decide on those options before the player's second and third seasons, respectively. That lead time allows some of those players, like Earl Clark, whom I profiled earlier tonight, to redeem themselves and wind up with another contract. Still, the market for these discarded former prospects isn't hospitable. As this year's option declinees prepare for an offseason of uncertainty, here's what happened to the former first-rounders whose options were declined before last season:
- Hasheem Thabeet quickly established a reputation as one of the worst draft busts of all time soon after the Grizzlies took him second overall in 2009. He saw the floor for just 13.1 minutes per game as a rookie, and got even fewer minutes in his second season, during which Memphis traded him to Houston. Thabeet only appeared in two games the rest of that year, and the following summer the Rockets declined his fourth-year option. Thabeet endured another trade at last year's deadline, heading to the Trail Blazers, but still wound up with more than the minimum salary this summer when the Thunder signed him to a three-year, $3.65MM contract.
- After David Kahn's tenure with the Timberwolves ended this week, he addressed the thinking that went into his ill-fated decision to draft Jonny Flynn sixth overall in 2009. The pick appeared OK in Flynn's first season, when the point guard started 81 games and averaged 13.5 PPG and 4.4 APG, but he made just eight starts the next season, after which Minnesota traded him to the Rockets, who declined his fourth-year option. He wound up joining Thabeet in the trade to Portland last year, but unlike the No. 2 pick, Flynn didn't stick after joining the Pistons as a training camp invitee. He spent this season playing in Australia.
- The Knicks passed up DeMar DeRozan and Brandon Jennings, among others, to take Jordan Hill eighth overall in 2009. New York promptly traded him to Houston just 24 games into his rookie season. The Rockets picked up his third-year option, but despite a career-high 11 starts in 2010/11, the team decided against bringing him back for a fourth year and shipped him to the Lakers at the deadline last year. Hill blossomed in L.A. and earned a two-year, $7.127MM contract to return to the Lakers.
- Terrence Williams was a lottery pick in 2009, going 11th overall to the Nets, who traded him to Houston midway through his second season. The Rockets declined his fourth-year option, and he wound up in China before hooking on with the Celtics, first on a 10-day deal, and then for the rest of the season and beyond.
- Even the vaunted Spurs can have a draft miss now and again. They drafted James Anderson 20th overall in 2010, but declined their third-year option on him after he totaled just 94 points in 26 games as a rookie. He saw action in about twice as many contests the next year, though his per-minute production didn't increase. San Antonio re-signed him as an injury fill-in early this season, but let him go again once Kawhi Leonard got healthy. Still, the Rockets saw something they liked, and signed him for the minimum in January, cutting Daequan Cook to make room.
- Craig Brackins went 21st overall to the Thunder in 2010, who traded him to the Pelicans (nee Hornets) as part of a draft-night deal. New Orleans swapped him again, to the Sixers, later that summer, and it became apparent Philadelphia wasn't high on him, either. The Sixers declined his third-year option after he appeared in only three games as a rookie. He didn't see much more time in his second season, and he didn't return to the NBA this year, playing in Italy and the D-League.
- Damion James, the 24th overall pick by the Nets in 2010, showed enough promise in 2010/11 to garner nine starts, but a foot injury limited him to just 25 games. The same foot caused him to miss most of the next season after the team declined his third-year option. The Nets brought him back on a 10-day contract this January, but elected not to re-sign him when it expired.
- Injury prevented Daniel Orton, the Magic's 29th overall pick in 2010, from seeing the floor at all for the team in his rookie season, and Orlando decided against picking up his third-year option. He wound up with the Thunder as a training camp invitee this fall, and the roster spots left open in the wake of the James Harden trade allowed Oklahoma City to re-sign him to a minimum-salary deal just days after cutting him.
Nuggets Rumors: Free Agency, Karl, Iguodala
While the Nuggets' playoff run came to a disappointingly early end, the team is set up well fiscally for free agency, writes Chris Dempsey of the Denver Post. Among the Nuggets headed for the open market this summer are Corey Brewer, Timofey Mozgov, and perhaps Andre Iguodala, who is a decent bet to exercise his early-termination option and get out of his contract for 2013/14. Here's more on the Nuggets and their plans moving forward:
- Dempsey notes that outside shooting will be an area of focus for the Nuggets in free agency this offseason, and Grantland's Zach Lowe agrees, tweeting that he'd be "shocked if they don't make a meaningful upgrade" there this summer.
- Nuggets president Josh Kroenke shot down any notion that the team will dump coach George Karl, telling Post scribe Benjamin Hochman that Karl should "hands down be the NBA coach of the year."
- If Iguodala opts out, Hochman speculates that the Nuggets would offer four years and $48MM while other teams might be willing to do $50MM.
Luke Adams contributed to this post.
Free Agent Stock Watch: Earl Clark
Twice it's seemed Earl Clark was on a fast track out of the NBA. The Suns, who made him the last pick of the lottery in 2009, declined their third-year option on his rookie contract, a maneuver usually reserved only for the most egregious of draft busts. A midseason trade to the Magic in 2010 opened up more playing time, and in the summer of 2011, Orlando saw fit to give Clark a two-year, $2.4MM contract. His scoring output in 2011/12 went back down to the same 2.7 points per game that prompted the Suns to turn down the option on his rookie contract, and he appeared to be little more than salary ballast accompanying Dwight Howard in the trade that sent both from the Magic to the Lakers.
When Howard and Pau Gasol were both injured earlier this season, that opened up playing time for Clark, who responded with an average of 11.6 points and 9.2 rebounds over a 22-game stretch in January in February. His playing time and shooting percentages took a nosedive for the rest of the season as the Lakers' star big men returned to health, and Clark put up just 6.1 PPG and 4.3 RPG over the final 27 regular season games. He totaled just 14 points and 11 rebounds in 82 minutes over L.A.'s four-game playoff ouster, leaving suitors for the unrestricted free agent to wonder whether his midseason emergence was simply a mirage.
What's indisputable is the 6'10" Clark's renewed willingness to shoot three-pointers. He took just 15 shots from behind the arc over his first three NBA seasons, making two of them, but this year he averaged 1.8 attempts per game, the same number of long-distance attempts he averaged during his college career. While at Louisville, launching from the shorter college distance, he made just 29.8% of his treys, but this season he nailed 33.7% of them, capably filling the role of the stretch power forward in coach Mike D'Antoni's offense. He was particularly fond of the right corner, as his Basketball-Reference.com shot chart shows, and shot 37.8% on all of his three-point attempts during his hot stretch in the middle of the season.
Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak told Clark during their exit interview this week that he'll have plenty of teams lining up to sign him in the offseason, but the 25-year-old has expressed a desire to remain with the Lakers, even if it means coming back at a discount. Still, Clark changed agents this spring, jumping from Happy Walters and Relativity Sports to Kevin Bradbury of BDA Sports. The Lakers have full Bird rights on Clark, but HoopsWorld's Steve Kyler predicts a one-year deal without much of a raise if he elects to return to L.A., given the team's luxury tax constraints. I'd be surprised if Clark bothered to change agents if he's simply seeking whatever the Lakers can give him. I also doubt that all of those suitors that Kupchak told Clark about are willing to pay him too much more than the Lakers are, especially if Clark's seeking a long-term deal.
Clubs that will take a look at Clark this summer will note his versatility on defense, where he guarded both wing and post players this season. He was often involved in cross-matches with Metta World Peace in which Clark guarded the other team's small forward while the older World Peace took the power forward. The net effect of the Lakers' defense wasn't pretty this season, as the team was 22nd in points allowed, so it's hard to give Clark too much credit, even though his defensive rating of 105 was tied with Jordan Hill for second-best on the team among players who saw significant minutes.
Clark seems well-suited to the Bi-Annual Exception amount of about $2MM a year, and if a team used that exception to sign him, it could offer a two-year deal. That would be long enough to give Clark some stable footing in the league, but allow the team a relatively early out if the former lottery pick can't duplicate his midseason success from this year.
Coaching Notes: Pistons, Bucks, Sampson
We'll have to wait until July for most of this summer's player movement, but a handful of coaches are already on the move. Here's the latest on a pair of head coaching searches and a Trail Blazers assistant heading south:
- A new candidate has emerged in the Pistons' head coaching search, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, who reports that Detroit is eyeing Spurs assistant Mike Budenholzer. Wojnarowski says Joe Dumars traveled to San Antonio and met for several hours with Gregg Popovich's top assistant earlier this week. The Pistons are also expected to line up a meeting with Rockets assistant Kelvin Sampson when possible, says the Yahoo! scribe.
- Despite their reported interest in Sampson, the Bucks haven't asked for permission to speak to him yet, tweets Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times, noting that the Bucks are still free to talk to Sampson's agent.
- Sampson himself told reporters, including John Rohde of the Oklahoman, that he won't talk to any interested teams until the Rockets/Thunder series is over "one way or the other."
- The Bobcats have requested and received permission to interview Lakers assistant Steve Clifford, reports Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer.
- Former Blazers interim head coach and current assistant Kaleb Canales is leaving Portland to take on a similar assistant role with the Mavericks, according to Jason Quick of the Oregonian (Twitter link). Canales will replace offensive coordinator Jim O'Brien, who is retiring from coaching, Rick Carlisle tells Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com (Twitter link). As TNT's David Aldridge points out (via Twitter), this isn't the first time Carlisle attempted to get Canales to Dallas.
Qualifying Offers
Players eligible for restricted free agency don’t become restricted free agents by default. In order to make a player a restricted free agent, a team must extend a qualifying offer to him. The qualifying offer, which is essentially just a one-year contract offer, varies in amount depending on a player’s service time and previous contract status.
If a player has played three seasons or less in the NBA, his qualifying offer will be worth 125% of his prior salary, or his minimum salary plus $200K, whichever is greater. For instance, after making $473,604 this season, Pablo Prigioni will be eligible for a qualifying offer worth $988,872 for next year — calculated by adding $200,000 to his minimum salary for next season ($788,872). Tiago Splitter‘s 2012/13 salary, meanwhile, was $3,944,000, so his qualifying offer will be worth 125% of that figure, or $4,930,000.
The qualifying offer for a player coming off his rookie scale contract is determined by his draft position. The qualifying offer for a first overall pick is 130% of his fourth-year salary, while the QO for a 30th overall pick is 150% of his previous salary. The full first-round scale for the class of 2009, who will be hitting free agency this summer, can be found here, courtesy of RealGM.
A pair of examples for this season, based on RealGM’s chart: 2009 fourth overall pick Tyreke Evans, coming off a fourth-year salary of $5,251,825, must be extended a qualifying offer of $6,927,157 (a 31.9% increase) to become a restricted free agent. 28th overall pick Wayne Ellington will be eligible for a qualifying offer of $3,103,733, a 49.0% increase on this season’s $2,083,042 salary.
A wrinkle in the new Collective Bargaining Agreement complicates matters — as of last summer, a player’s previous performance can affect the amount of his qualifying offer. The new CBA identifies the “starter criteria” as starting 41 games or playing 2000 minutes per season, and rewards players for meeting those criteria. A player meets the starter criteria if he compiles at least 41 starts or 2,000 minutes in the season prior to his free agency, or averages at least that many starts or minutes over the two seasons before he becomes a free agent. Here’s how the starter criteria affect qualifying offers:
- A top-14 pick who does not meet the starter criteria will receive a same qualifying offer equal to 120% of the amount applicable to the 15th overall pick.
- A player picked between 10th and 30th who meets the starter criteria will receive a qualifying offer equal to 120% of the amount applicable to the ninth overall pick.
- A second-round pick or undrafted player who meets the criteria will receive a qualifying offer equal to 100% of the amount applicable to the 21st overall pick.
You can find examples of free-agents-to-be to whom these conditions apply right here.
A qualifying offer is designed to give a player’s team the right of first refusal. Because the qualifying offer acts as the first formal contract offer a free agent receives, his team then receives the option to match any offer sheet the player signs with another club.
A player can also accept his qualifying offer, if he so chooses. He then plays the following season on a one-year contract worth the amount of the QO, and becomes an unrestricted free agent at season’s end. A player can go this route if he wants to hit unrestricted free agency as early as possible, or if he feels like the QO is the best offer he’ll receive. Accepting the qualifying offer also gives a player the right to veto trades for the season.
For instance, Brandon Jennings has strongly hinted on multiple occasions that he would prefer not to sign a long-term contract with the Bucks. If he’s serious about that stance, and is concerned about the Bucks matching a long-term offer sheet from a rival club, he could accept his one-year qualifying offer from Milwaukee this summer. Because he met the starter criteria in 2012/13, his QO will be worth $4,531,459. Accepting that one-year deal would make him an unrestricted free agent in the summer of ’14.
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 and Storyteller’s Contracts were used in the creation of this post.
This post was initially published on May 3rd, 2012.
Draft Updates: Saric, Karasev, Len
Today's round of draft-related links has an international feel, with updates on a French forward, a Russian shooting guard, and a Ukranian-born big man….
- The top international prospect on Chad Ford's board at ESPN.com is Dario Saric, who is the subject of Ford's latest Insider-only blog entry. Scouts and GMs rave about Saric's upside, and the 19-year-old is expected to immediately come stateside when he's drafted, according to Ford, who notes that there will be a buyout of $1.2 million euros for Saric.
- According to Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times (Twitter link), the draft's fastest riser is Sergey Karasev, who currently ranks 25th on Ford's big board. At least two NBA executives believe Karasev may end up being a lottery pick, according to Woelfel.
- Potential lottery pick Alex Len has undergone surgery to stabilize a stress fracture in his ankle and will miss four to six months, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports tweets. Jeff Goodman of CBSSports.com wonders (via Twitter) how much the big man's stock will be affected, noting that his game would have translated well to predraft works. Meanwhile, Chris Mannix of SI.com suggests (via Twitter) that a late-lottery team could end up with a steal if Len slips on draft night.