Knicks Notes: Kidd, Selby, Draft
Knicks fans got a bit of surprising news earlier today when Jason Kidd announced that he is retiring. The future Hall of Famer still had two seasons and $6.18MM remaining on his three-year contract with the Knicks and despite his shooting woes to close out the Knicks' season, he had a strong 2012/13 campaign on the whole. Here's more on Kidd and other notes out of MSG..
- The NBA will miss Kidd’s presence on the court, but don’t be surprised if he surfaces in the NBA next season as a coach, writes Bill Ingram of HoopsWorld. I could certainly see Kidd taking a run at coaching, but it may not be right away.
- Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com (viaTwitter) says to keep an eye on Josh Selby in free agency. The guard's priority is figuring out his summer league and then signing with a team, though its not known if the Knicks have interest yet. For what it's worth, Selby and Carmelo Anthony are friends from their days in Baltimore and are still close. Anthony was hoping the Knicks would draft Selby in 2011, but he went to the Grizzlies in the second round instead.
- Point guard prospect Nate Wolters out of South Dakota State will be working out for the Knicks, Zwerling tweets. Wolters is a projected late first/early second round pick.
- Nets GM Billy King issued a statement on Kidd's retirement. "[Kidd] was the captain of the Nets during their most successful period in the NBA, and is considered the greatest player in the Nets' NBA history. On behalf of the entire Brooklyn Nets organization, we congratulate him on his Hall of Fame career," King said, according to the AP. With all due respect for Kidd, Drazen Petrovic is considered by some to be the greatest Nets player in their NBA history.
Draft Notes: Burke, Kings, Gobert, Karasev
The buzz on the smaller point guards in the 2013 Draft has not been positive, writes Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld. Michigan's Trey Burke is widely regarded as the top one-guard in this year's class, but he's getting a lot of criticism for being too slow at the next level. Despite his lack of a fifth-gear, Burke's still likely to land somewhere in the top ten. Here's more on the draft..
- Here's a surprising bit of news: the Kings, who own the No. 7 pick, are showing interest in French center Rudy Gobert, according to Sean Deveney of the Sporting News. Most mock drafts have him as a late lottery/mid-first round pick, but none have him pegged for the top ten.
- More from Kyler, who writes that reviews are mixed on Sergey Karasev's performance this weekend in Las Vegas. Two big concerns from NBA teams were his rather slender frame and his overall feel for the game. The guard/forward is pegged as a late first-round pick in most mock drafts.
- Vegas wasn't an ideal setting for Karasev, writes Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider sub. req'd). Karasev had visa issues in Russia and wasn't able to get to Vegas until after midnight on the day of the event and was clearly sluggish from the long trip. Ford sees his draft range Karasev's draft range starting with the Timberwolves at No. 9 and the floor being the Nets at No. 22.
- Prospect Steven Adams is in Oklahoma City and worked out for the Thunder today, writes Royce Young of DailyThunder.com. The Pitt center made it clear that he'd like to land in OKC, saying in a Facebook video: “I’d love to be drafted here, man, straight up." Adams could be on the board when the Thunder draft at No. 12, but it's not a certainty.
- Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld (Twitter link) pegs the odds of the Cavs dealing the No. 1 pick at just 10% based on the overall lack of interest in it.
- Point guard prospect Isaiah Canaan will work out for the Knicks and Nets soon, tweets Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com. The Murray State product is projected to go towards the end of the first round or early in the second.
- Cody Zeller impressed in his workout for the Jazz, writes Steve Luhm of the Salt Lake Tribune. The Jazz pick at No. 14.
- Today, the Blazers worked out guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, forward Jared Berggren, guard Sherwood Brown, forward Brandon Davies, guard Abdul Gaddy, and guard Elijah Johnson, tweets Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com.
Latest On Lionel Hollins
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported yesterday that the Grizzlies had given head coach Lionel Hollins permission to speak to other suitors, after talks between Hollins and the team reached an impasse. With Hollins seemingly unlikely to return to Memphis, plenty of this morning's links relate to the futures of the coach and the club. Here are a few of them:
- Hollins' representatives called the Clippers today to inquire on their coaching vacancy, two NBA execs told Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. Hollins and his agent are waiting for the Clippers’ front office to hear back from owner Donald Sterling before any decisions could be made, one executive said. Meanwhile, the Clippers' reported interest in Nuggets Coach George Karl appears to be going nowhere, another NBA executive says.
Earlier Updates:
- Appearing on AM 560 Sports 56 WHBQ in Memphis, Hollins told Peter Edmiston (Twitter link) that he's not really interested in speaking to other teams, and would prefer to work out a fair deal to return to the Grizzlies, unlikely as that seems. The full conversation with Hollins, which featured a number of other interesting comments, can be found under "Featured Audio" on the right-hand sidebar here.
- Among the other comments made by Hollins, according to Ken Berger of CBSSports.com, was this one, in reference to Grizzlies assistant Dave Joerger: "Why would you move a proven coach, who has shown what he can do, to bring in an 'upcoming superstar?' To me, that's ludicrous. … It's puzzling when I hear comments like that."
- Chris Herrington of the Memphis Flyer takes an extended look at the Hollins situation, concluding that it appears a divorce between the Grizzlies and their head coach is likely. Herrington also thinks there's a scenario possible in which Hollins isn't an NBA coach next season.
- The reason Hollins' time in Memphis appears over is because of a difference in philosophy between Hollins and management, rather than the coach's increasing price tag, writes Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld.
- The way Hollins needled the front office throughout the year made it virtually impossible for the Grizzlies to bring him back, according to Tom Ziller of SBNation.com, who thinks team management will be unfairly blamed if the team doesn't return to the Western Finals next year without Hollins.
Offseason Outlook: Golden State Warriors
Guaranteed Contracts
- Andrew Bogut ($14,000,000)
- David Lee ($13,878,000)
- Stephen Curry ($9,887,642)
- Harrison Barnes ($2,923,920)
- Klay Thompson ($2,317,920)
- Festus Ezeli ($1,066,920)
- Draymond Green ($875,500)
Options
- Richard Jefferson ($11,046,000, Player)1
- Andris Biedrins ($9,000,000, ETO)1
- Carl Landry ($4,000,000, Player)
- Brandon Rush ($4,000,000, Player)
Non-Guaranteed Contracts
- Dwayne Jones ($1,106,942)2
- Scott Machado ($788,872)2
- Kent Bazemore ($788,872; guaranteed for $25,000)3
Free Agents / Cap Holds
- Jarrett Jack ($8,100,000)
Draft Picks
- None
Cap Outlook
- Guaranteed Salary: $44,974,902
- Options: $28,046,000
- Non-Guaranteed Salary: $2,659,686
- Cap Holds: $8,100,000
- Total: $83,780,588
Of all the pleasant surprises in the NBA's 2012/13 season, the emergence of the Warriors may have been the most entertaining. While some pundits predicted Golden State would earn a low-seeded playoff spot in the West, few – if any – had the team advancing to the second round and giving the Finals-bound Spurs a run for their money before eventually being eliminated.
As this year's results show, there are plenty of reasons to be excited about the Warriors. Three-point king Stephen Curry has already been locked up to a four-year extension for significantly less money than the Warriors would have paid had they waited until this summer to negotiate a new deal. Klay Thompson and Harrison Barnes will both earn less than $3MM apiece in 2013/14 and remain under contract through 2015 and 2016, respectively. Draymond Green is one of the league's best players on a six-digit salary, in line for a salary worth just $876K next season.
Of course, with just a fraction of team salary committed to many of Golden State's young core pieces, the club isn't exactly maximizing the rest of its money. If they're healthy to begin next season, Andrew Bogut and David Lee figure to be in the Warriors' starting frontcourt, and will make nearly $28MM between them. Both players are solid, albeit much more productive on one end of the court than the other (Bogut on defense and Lee on offense). But Bogut missed significant time in the regular season with injuries, while Lee missed a good chunk of the postseason, and the team didn't necessarily suffer in their absence.
Bogut and Lee may be on big contracts, but you could make the case that neither player is necessarily overpaid. The same can't be said of Richard Jefferson or Andris Biedrins, who will make more than $20MM between them in 2013/14, a year after they scored a total of 200 points in 109 combined games — good for an average of 1.8 PPG. Both players are finally in the last year of their respective contracts, but their presence could seriously hinder the team's ability to make other roster moves.
Consider that Biedrins would have been amnesty-eligible had the Warriors not amnestied Charlie Bell's $4MM salary in an effort to land DeAndre Jordan two years ago. Additionally, Jefferson came over in exchange for Stephen Jackson in the deal that also netted Golden State the first-round pick that turned into Festus Ezeli. Ezeli is a nice young prospect, but I wonder if the Warriors would still do that move, knowing that they could have had an extra $11MM in cap flexibility when Jackson's deal expired this summer (a year before Jefferson's).
Without Jefferson and Biedrins on their books, the Warriors likely would have had the room to comfortably bring back unrestricted free agent point guard Jarrett Jack and power forward Carl Landry, who will likely decline his $4MM player option. Instead, both players' futures are up in the air. Assuming Brandon Rush exercises his own $4MM player option, the Warriors will have $69MM+ committed to 10 players. With the tax line projected to be at $71.6MM, it will be virtually impossible for Golden State to avoid the tax unless the team can shed salary in a trade or fills out its roster with minimum-salary players.
If the team is comfortable going into the tax, re-signing Jack and/or Landry should be doable. Both players, Jack in particular, may be in line for modest raises based on their performance this past year, but I don't think their prices will be exorbitant. If Golden State is willing to push payroll up to the $80MM range and pay the necessary taxes this year, knowing significant money will be coming off the books in the summer of 2014, the team could bring back all of its important pieces for next year. Taking into account further growth from guys like Curry, Barnes, Thompson, and Green, a return to health for the sharpshooting Rush, and the possibility of using the taxpayer MLE to bring in one more veteran, and the Warriors could be a force to be reckoned with again in the West, even with $20MM+ in dead money committed to a pair of players on the end of the bench.
If the Warriors are averse to becoming a taxpayer even for one season, there are plenty of alternative options at their disposal. They'd almost certainly be able to find a taker for Jefferson's or Biedrins' contract if they attached a player like Thompson or Barnes to the offer. But given how well the team's young core played together down the stretch in 2012/13, you'd hope such a scenario could be avoided, and that ownership is willing to pay the price this year for the team's past cap mismanagement, knowing that it doesn't have to be a long-term problem.
Additional notes:
- When considering whether the Warriors will pay the tax, it's worth noting that the team made a pair of deadline deals to get under the threshold this past season. I don't think that necessarily reflects a permanent philosophy though — it allowed the team to receive the benefits that non-taxpayers do, and if there's a risk of being exposed to the repeater tax down the line, not being a taxpayer this past season could be huge.
- If it seems like I didn't spend much time talking about potential outside targets for the Warriors, that's because I don't expect that to be a major part of the team's plan. Golden State has no picks in the draft and has 14 players either under contract or with some form of option for next season, so significant turnover is extremely unlikely.
Cap footnotes:
- While the team hasn't made any official announcements, it has already been reported that both Jefferson and Biedrins will opt in for 2013/14, so we can essentially consider their salaries guaranteed. Doing so would increase the team's guaranteed salaries to $65,020,902.
- Jones' and Machado's contracts are currently fully non-guaranteed. If they aren't waived on or before August 1st, their salaries will become fully guaranteed.
- Bazemore's contract is currently guaranteed for $25K, but has no full-guarantee date, so the team won't have to make a decision on him until next January.
Storytellers Contracts and Sham Sports were used in the creation of this post.
Coaching Rumors: Karl, JVG, Clips, Hollins, Nets
After we heard yesterday that there are some question marks surrounding George Karl's future in Denver, TNT's David Aldridge echoes that report, writing that the head coach is "antsy" about his current situation. According to Aldridge, the Nuggets don't plan to exercise the 2014/15 option on Karl's contract, which means he'll be on an expiring contract in '13/14.
"They want to play it out and see where they're at," one league source tells Aldridge. "And they're not going to budge on that."
As Aldridge notes, the Nuggets don't appear to actively be seeking a replacement for Karl, but if he wants to leave for a more lucrative opportunity when his current deal runs out, the team may not be inclined to stop him.
Here are a few more of the latest coaching-related rumblings from around the league:
- Jeff Van Gundy and the Clippers talked multiple times about the team's head coaching job, but discussions are now dormant, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Van Gundy was reportedly at or near the top of L.A.'s wish list, but it doesn't sound as if he's a serious candidate at this point.
- Two of the Nets' top coaching targets may become available for interviews within the next few days, as Tim Bontemps of the New York Post writes, pointing to Lionel Hollins and Brian Shaw. In fact, according to ESPN.com's Marc Stein (via Twitter), the Nets formally requested permission today to interview Hollins.
- The newly-retired Jason Kidd has interest in coaching, tweets Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News.
- Vitaly Potapenko, who was a Cavaliers lottery pick way back in 1996, will return to Cleveland as an assistant coach to Mike Brown, tweets Wojnarowski.
Kings Hire Michael Malone
MONDAY, 2:24pm: The Kings have made Malone's hiring official, announcing the move today in a press release.
"Hiring Coach Malone is our first step in giving the best fans in sports the excellence they deserve," Ranadive said as part of a statement.
THURSDAY, 8:48pm: Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski reports that Michael Malone has reached an agreement in principle on a four-year deal to coach the Kings. The fourth year deal will be a team option (Twitter links). Sam Amick of USA Today tweets that the deal will be worth more than $9MM if the fourth year option is picked up. Ken Berger of CBS Sports (via Twitter) says that the hiring won't be official until the sale of the Kings to the Vivek Ranadive-led investment group is official, adding that the sale is expected to close tomorrow.
This will be Malone's first opportunity as a head coach in the NBA, but it's worth mentioning that he's had plenty of experience in the league since joining then-Knicks head coach Jeff Van Gundy as a coaching associate in 2001. Malone has also worked as a top assistant for Mike Brown in Cleveland, Monty Williams in New Orleans, and most recently, Mark Jackson in Golden State.
The next presumable step for the Kings is to hire a general manager, and a few days ago we heard that the Spurs President R.C. Buford, Warriors assistant GM Travis Schlenk, and Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace, and former Pacers GM David Morway figure to be among the team's top targets. Berger tweets that while Malone's hiring comes without a team president in place, no candidate would object to that decision considering that Malone has been highly regarded as one of the league's top assistant coaches.
Wojnarowski reports that Malone is expected to hire his father, longtime NBA assistant Brendan Malone, to join him on his coaching staff. A formal announcement on the younger Malone's hiring is expected on Friday.
Latest On Kings’ GM Search
Following up on his story from last week, ESPN.com's Marc Stein reported earlier today that Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace appeared to be strengthening his position as the frontrunner for the Kings' general manager opening. According to Stein, the sense was that "something would have to go awry" to keep Sacramento from hiring Wallace for the job.
Ken Berger of CBSSports.com suggests, however, the Kings have contacted a number of high-profile candidates as part of their search. In addition to formally interviewing Wallace, Warriors assistant GM Travis Schlenk, and former NBA coach Mike Dunleavy, the Kings have been in contact with former Pacers GM David Morway, and have had "exploratory conversations" with former Pacers president Larry Bird and former Warriors GM Chris Mullin. Both Bird and Mullin have been previously mentioned as potential candidates for the Kings.
One source tells Berger that the process remains "very fluid" while another says that it's still "wide open," with the potential to expand beyond the current group of candidates. With Warriors assistant Michael Malone having already reached an agreement to coach the team, Berger adds that there's some concern within the Kings organization about installing both a first-time coach and a first-time GM, meaning the club would prefer someone with past experience running a team.
According to Berger, there's also some concern about bringing in too many transplants from the Warriors organization. Vivek Ranadive, of course, was a part owner in Golden State before assuming control of the Kings, and there was some speculation that Warriors advisor Jerry West may have some input in the Kings' GM search, which West admantly denied to Sam Amick of USA Today.
"For some reason, I've gotten two or three calls from people (wanting the job) saying that (they) want to get in front of (Ranadive) and could you help, and I think it's ludicrous," West said. "I sent back to them and said that in no way, shape or form am I advising him — period."
While West's role in assisting Ranadive seems to be minimal at best, Berger writes that the new Kings owner may be interested in bringing in a "an experienced, recognizable leader" in an advisory role, similar to the position West has in Golden State.
Implications Of Projected ’13/14 Cap, Tax Figures
Last night, ESPN.com's Marc Stein reported (via Twitter) that the early estimates given to NBA owners and general managers have the 2013/14 salary cap rising to a projected $58.5MM from this year's $58.04MM. That figure isn't set in stone yet, and won't be until the first week of July, but if it's accurate, it's a tighter cap than we had expected — previous reports had estimated a figure in the neighborhood of $60MM.
Following up on that report, Stein adds today (via Twitter) that teams are being told the projected tax threshold for next season will be about $71.6MM. That wouldn't be a huge leap either, but it'd be more significant than the projected cap increase, considering this past season's tax line was about $70.31MM.
As mentioned, we won't officially know 2013/14's cap, tax, and salary restrictions for a few more weeks, but if we assume that Stein's reported figures end up being accurate, what will that mean for the free agent period this summer? Let's examine a few ways that teams and players could be affected…
- Even with a $60MM cap, teams like the Rockets and Mavericks, who hope to make a run at Dwight Howard, would have had a hard time squeezing a maximum-salary offer in under the cap. With a $58.5MM cap, each team would have to make at least one trade to clear the room necessary for Howard's max first-year salary (about $20.51MM). The Hawks would also need to clear a little salary to make room for max offers for Howard and Chris Paul.
- A year ago, player's maximum salaries rose by about 5.78%. I'd expect a smaller increase this year if the cap increase is as modest as Stein suggests. That won't affect players like Howard or Paul, who are eligible to make 105% of their previous salaries, since they're already earning more than the maximum. But it could impact the earning potential of other players who will be seeking the max, such as Nikola Pekovic, Josh Smith, and Brandon Jennings.
- As Jeff Kramer of Storyteller's Contracts points out (via Twitter), projected taxpayers wouldn't mind seeing the tax threshold increase a little more, since the new CBA's more punitive tax penalties will be in effect for the first time in 2013/14. The higher the threshold, the less expensive the bill would be for a taxpaying team. The Nets, Bulls, Lakers, Heat, and Knicks are among the clubs that figure to be affected by the new tax rates.
- If the tax threshold is at $71.6MM, that would put the apron ($4MM above the tax line) at $75.6MM. That would mean that teams acquiring a player via sign-and-trade, using the bi-annual exception, or using more than $3,182,700 in first-year mid-level exception money wouldn't be able to exceed that $75.6MM hard cap for the remainder of the season.
Despite a modest projected increase for 2013/14, the cap and tax lines are expected to increase substantially for the '14/15 season, according to cap expert Larry Coon. Coon tweets that the current projected figures for '14/15 are a $62.1MM cap and $75.7MM tax line.
Based on those numbers, it's possible we see teams maneuvering to avoid handing out big salaries this season, preferring instead to spend money in the summer of 2014 and beyond, when they'll have more cap flexibility. Additionally, the free agent class of '14 figures to be more star-studded than this year's class, with LeBron James and his early termination option leading a group that could also include Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Dirk Nowitzki, John Wall, and DeMarcus Cousins.
Jason Kidd Retires
Jason Kidd has decided to end his playing career and has retired, the Knicks officially announced today (Twitter link). The veteran point guard still had two seasons and $6.18MM remaining on his three-year contract with New York.
"[Agent] Jeff [Schwartz] and I and my family had been talking this past weekend," Kidd told Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPNNewYork.com. "We talked a lot and we felt it was the right time to move on and so we notified the Knicks. They were kind of taken aback. We told them [earlier] that I wanted to come back and play. But this weekend was when we got a chance to relax [and really think about it]. It is the right thing to do."
As recently as last Thursday, we heard that Kidd remained undecided about his future, though it sounded as if he was leaning toward returning next season with the Knicks. While the 40-year-old played a key role for the Knicks during the regular season, he struggled mightily during the playoffs, making just three baskets overall and going for 0-for-17 from the field with no points in the team's final 10 games.
For his career, the future Hall-of-Famer averaged 12.6 PPG, 8.7 APG, and 6.3 RPG in nearly 1400 total contests. He was named to 10 All-Star teams, won a championship in 2011 with the Mavericks, and also earned co-Rookie of the Year honors back in 1995 with Grant Hill, who also retired this week. As Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com notes (via Twitter), Kidd currently ranks second overall among the NBA's all-time assists and steals leaders, and ranks third in career triple doubles.
Kidd's retirement could slightly reduce the Knicks' luxury-tax bill, depending on whether or not his full annual salaries of $3.09MM remain on the team's books for each of the next two seasons. However, the club will now have a hole to fill at the point — with Pablo Prigioni facing free agency, Raymond Felton will be the only point guard still on the roster.
Chris Wallace Frontrunner For Kings GM Job
MONDAY, 11:13am: Wallace's lead for the Kings' GM position only increased over the weekend, according to ESPN.com's Marc Stein, who thinks something would have to go awry now for Wallace not to be hired by Sacramento (Twitter links).
FRIDAY, 8:53am: In a reversal of the usual process, the Kings have decided on a coach, having reached an agreement with Michael Malone, and now intend to secure a general manager. And according to ESPN.com's Marc Stein, Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace has emerged as the frontrunner for the position.
Stein reports that Wallace's interview with new Kings owner Vivek Ranadive earlier this week went so well that it stretched into a second day. Although Wallace remains under contract with the Grizzlies, he has been somewhat marginalized in Memphis' front office since new owner Robert Pera assumed control of the franchise and brought in his own executives, including CEO Jason Levien.
In addition to interviewing Wallace, the Kings have also met with Warriors assistant GM Travis Schlenk and plan to meet with Mike Dunleavy, according to Stein (Twitter link). The team was said to be targeting Thunder assistant GM Troy Weaver and Spurs president R.C. Buford as well, but OKC reportedly denied permission to speak to Weaver, while Buford said he wasn't interested in leaving San Antonio.
Whoever eventually lands the Kings' GM job will be taking the place of Geoff Petrie, who had been the longest-tenured head of basketball operations in the NBA.