Southeast Notes: Heat, McGrady, Battier, Miller
Here's today's look at the Southeast Division..
- In today's mailbag, a reader asks Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel if he thinks the Heat's Big Three could dissolve after winning a three peat to prove themselves individually elsewhere. In Winderman's mind, there is no way anyone of consequence leaves if Miami wins a third straight title, except for older players who might retire.
- Former Magic star Tracy McGrady is done playing in the NBA but the possibility still exists that he might continue his career in China, writes Mary Perez of the Sun Herald. "I got a lot of fans over there, so we'll see," said the 34-year-old. We heard earlier this month that there's mutual interest between McGrady and the Sichuan Jinqiang Whale of China, so that could be T-Mac's landing spot if he continues his career overseas.
- While Shane Battier was sad to see Mike Miller leave the Heat after being amnestied, he feels that Miller is in a better situation where he can find more minutes with the Grizzlies, Winderman writes.
Atlantic Notes: Sixers, Lange, Raptors, Gay
In today's mailbag, Doug Smith of the Toronto Star writes that he doesn't like Chris Wright's chances of catching on with the Raptors in training camp. Smith views Wright as more of a perennial camp and summer league fixture, adding that if anyone is going to make the cut, he would put his money on Carlos Morais. Here's this morning's look at the Atlantic Division..
- The Sixers hired former Villanova assistant Billy Lange to join first-year head coach Brett Brown on his staff, writes Dei Lynam of CSNPhilly.com. Lange joins Chad Iske and Lloyd Pierce as assistants to Brown, who was the last head coach to be hired this offseason. Lange left Villanova in 2004 when he was hired as the head coach at Navy. Lange coached Navy for seven seasons, posting a 93-113 record during that span.
- Joel Brigham of HoopsWorld looks around the league to try and find who might be in line to make their first All-Star team in 2013/14. First on the list is the Raptors' prized acquisition from last season, Rudy Gay. He’s only averaged over 20 PPG once in his career, but he should get there this season on a team where he is the unequivocal leader.
- Jon Marks of Sheridan Hoops gives us five things to watch when it comes to the Sixers. Marks wonders when Nerlens Noel will make his debut and even throws out the idea that this Sixers team could put up one of the worst records in NBA history. That's a distinction belonging to the 9-73 Sixers of 1972-73 (.123) or the 7-59 Charlotte Bobcats of the 2011-12 lockout season, depending on who you ask.
Free Agent Stock Watch: Lou Amundson
Seventeen days have gone by since agent Mark Bartelstein said Lou Amundson would strike a deal within the week, and the veteran power forward remains unsigned. Amundson has one more week left before NBA training camps start, and it's beginning to look like he'll still be looking for work when the balls start bouncing.
The 30-year-old has never wowed with his ability in seven seasons after going undrafted out of UNLV. He's only once signed for more than the minimum salary, landing a two year, $4.6MM deal from the Warriors in 2010 after averaging career highs of 4.7 points and 4.4 rebounds per game for a Suns team that went to the Western Conference Finals. He's nonetheless maintained a consistent presence on NBA rosters, appearing in 327 games while making just seven starts in his career.
Amundson's shooting percentage has declined in each of the past four seasons, hitting an ugly 39.5% last year, when he split the season between the Timberwolves, Bulls and Pelicans. He has a better impact on the defensive end. During the three years in which Amundson saw his greatest amounts of minutes per contest, his Suns and Warriors teams were better defensively with him on the floor in terms of points allowed per 100 possessions, per NBA.com. That's somewhat misleading, since the opposite was true in 2011/12, the only other season he averaged at least 10 minutes a night. That year he was with the Pacers, a better defensive squad than the high-scoring outfits he'd been a part of in Phoenix and Golden State. It suggests Amundson is an average interior defender, which isn't necessarily unappealing if he's on the fringes of the rotation, as he has been the past couple of seasons.
The 6'9" Amundson has always been proficient on the boards, notching 10.1 rebounds per 36 minutes for his career. His 17.0% rebounding percentage would have put him fourth on the list of the top rebounders still available that Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors put together in early August if he'd averaged enough minutes last season to qualify. Such board work hasn't resulted in NBA jobs for Hamed Haddadi, Johan Petro or Lamar Odom, the three guys on the list who would have been ahead of Amundson, so it's certainly no harbinger of an NBA deal.
The Lakers and Clippers met with Amundson last month, the latest among a sizable group of teams reported to have had interest in him at some point this summer, one that includes the Knicks, Heat, Kings, Mavericks, Hawks, and Pacers. Many of those clubs also pursued Greg Oden, and it seemed then as though they considered Amundson as Plan B. Oden signed a fully guaranteed minimum-salary contract, an arrangement that was less player-friendly than the two-year deal with a player option that he initially agreed to. Perhaps Oden's concession drove down the price for Amundson, who might not be so willing to make a sacrifice of his own, though that's just my speculation.
Amundson signed a guaranteed minimum-salary pact with the Wolves last year, but I'd be surprised to see him do that this time around. He's probably looking at no better than a partial guarantee, if he gets a guarantee at all. Many jobs with overseas teams have been snapped up, but the international market is probably more favorable for Amundson now than it would be in another month or so if he found himself on the chopping block after opting to go to an NBA training camp on a non-guaranteed deal. His best bet is probably signing overseas, and while the idea of opening the season out of the NBA for the first time since 2007 might not appeal to him, it doesn't mean his career in the Association is over. If Amundson can ink a deal with an NBA out or in China, where the season ends early, he could find his way stateside again later in the season, perhaps on what would be the sixth 10-day contract of his career.
Western Rumors: Budinger, Lakers, Vasquez
A handful of teams were reportedly suitors of Chase Budinger this summer, but after just a single injury-shortened year in Minnesota, the Timberwolves had already won his heart, as he told reporters today, including Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune (video link).
"It was a fairly easy decision." Budinger said of re-signing with the Wolves. "I just fit perfectly in Rick Adelman's system. He trusts me. I know the coaching staff. I know what they expect of me. Just all in all, I was very comfortable here, and that was the main reason why I came back."
Zgoda's video also shows Budinger and Dante Cunningham talking about the club's offseason additions. Here's more from Minnesota's Western Conference rivals:
- Dave Murphy of Forum Blue & Gold confirms that Nick Minnerath will pass up a training camp invitation from the Lakers to play for Obradoiro in Spain (hat tip to Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times). We suspected as much when the Spanish team announced its deal last month with the undrafted former University of Detroit forward.
- Greivis Vasquez hasn't yet played a game for the Kings, who acquired him via trade from the Pelicans this summer, but the team already faces a decision about whether to extend his rookie-scale deal. Sacramento GM Pete D'Alessandro is among those who praises the Venezuelan point guard in Alex Kramers' piece for Kings.com, which chronicles Vasquez's unlikely journey to the team.
- The Kosta Koufos trade figures to open up the Nuggets starting center job for JaVale McGee, but Timofey Mozgov is also in line for more playing time as the primary backup at the position after inking a new three-year deal in the offseason. The big man recognizes the opportunity before him, as he tells Aaron J. Lopez of Nuggets.com.
Little Financial Incentive Exists For Many In 2013/14
The movitation of looming negotiations for a new contract can drive players to put a little extra into a season. Even guys who aren't in the final years of their deals may have a financial carrot on a stick, with team and player options and non-guaranteed seasons to be decided on for 2014/15. Former first-round draft picks entering their third seasons can look forward to the prospect of a lucrative extension.
Still, there are plenty of others who have no direct financial incentive to play well in 2013/14. They have contracts that include a fully guaranteed season in 2014/15, with no options to be decided upon next summer. No teams have more players in this situation than the Bucks, Nuggets, Timberwolves, and Trail Blazers, all of which hope eight of their guys can find something else to drive them. The Heat have the specter of a third straight championship to shoot for, but everyone on the team will be playing for a contract, too, since they're the only NBA franchise without anyone locked into his 2014/15 salary.
This compilation doesn't take into effect players who are up for veteran extensions, since those are rare under the new collective bargaining agreement. Over time, the latest CBA should curtail the number of players without a negotiation ahead, since it places stricter limits on the length of deals.
Everyone who signed a long-term, fully guaranteed free agent contract this summer is on the list. It also includes John Wall and Larry Sanders, who signed long-term rookie-scale extensions. There are a few of this year's second-round picks shown here, but none of the first-rounders, since they must sign rookie-scale contracts which call for either an option decision or an extension candidacy in each of the three offseasons between the four years of the deal. Since many guys on rookie-scale deals sign extensions, unlike other NBA players, we've included those who are set for rookie-scale extension eligibility in 2014.
Of course, just because a player doesn't have a tangible financial incentive to play for doesn't mean there isn't some money at stake. A player's off-court endorsement earnings are often affected by his play, and if a guy lollygags this season, only to ramp up his production when negotiations draw closer, front offices might not be fooled. Teams can get rid of them by trading them or waiving them, but these players will still be due their 2014/15 salaries:
- 76ers (1): Thaddeus Young
- Bobcats (3): Al Jefferson, Gerald Henderson, Brendan Haywood
- Bucks (8): O.J. Mayo, Ersan Ilyasova, Zaza Pachulia, Carlos Delfino, Gary Neal, Larry Sanders, Miroslav Raduljica, Nate Wolters
- Bulls (6): Derrick Rose, Carlos Boozer, Joakim Noah, Taj Gibson, Mike Dunleavy, Tony Snell
- Cavaliers (2): Jarrett Jack, Carrick Felix
- Celtics (6): Rajon Rondo, Gerald Wallace, Jeff Green, Brandon Bass, Courtney Lee, Vitor Faverani
- Clippers (6): Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, J.J. Redick, Jared Dudley, Matt Barnes
- Grizzlies (6): Marc Gasol, Mike Conley, Tayshaun Prince, Tony Allen, Jon Leuer, Jamaal Franklin
- Hawks (6): Al Horford, Paul Millsap, Jeff Teague, Kyle Korver, Lou Williams, DeMarre Carroll
- Heat: None
- Jazz (1): Jeremy Evans
- Kings (7): Marcus Thornton, Carl Landry, Chuck Hayes, Jason Thompson, Luc Mbah A Moute, Travis Outlaw, Ray McCallum
- Knicks (4): Tyson Chandler, J.R. Smith, Raymond Felton, Pablo Prigioni
- Lakers (2): Steve Nash, Robert Sacre
- Magic (2): Arron Afflalo, Glen Davis
- Mavericks (6): Monta Ellis, Jose Calderon, Brandan Wright, Wayne Ellington, Ricky Ledo, Gal Mekel
- Nets (7): Joe Johnson, Deron Williams, Brook Lopez, Kevin Garnett, Jason Terry, Mirza Teletovic, Reggie Evans
- Nuggets (8): Ty Lawson, JaVale McGee, Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, J.J. Hickson, Timofey Mozgov, Randy Foye, Anthony Randolph
- Pacers (7): Roy Hibbert, David West, George Hill, Ian Mahinmi, Chris Copeland, C.J. Watson, Donald Sloan
- Pelicans (4): Eric Gordon, Tyreke Evans, Jrue Holiday, Ryan Anderson
- Pistons (6): Josh Smith, Brandon Jennings, Will Bynum, Luigi Datome, Kyle Singler, Tony Mitchell
- Raptors (3): DeMar DeRozan, Landry Fields, Steve Novak,
- Rockets (5): Dwight Howard, James Harden, Omer Asik, Jeremy Lin, Isaiah Canaan
- Spurs (5): Tiago Splitter, Manu Ginobili, Danny Green, Marco Belinelli, Jeff Ayres
- Suns (2): Goran Dragic, Gerald Green
- Thunder (5): Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Serge Ibaka, Kendrick Perkins, Nick Collison
- Timberwolves (8): Kevin Love, Nikola Pekovic, Kevin Martin, Chase Budinger, J.J. Barea, Corey Brewer, Alexey Shved, Ronny Turiaf
- Trail Blazers (8): LaMarcus Aldridge, Nicolas Batum, Wesley Matthews, Robin Lopez, Dorell Wright, Joel Freeland, Victor Claver, Allen Crabbe
- Warriors (4): David Lee, Andre Iguodala, Stephen Curry, Marreese Speights,
- Wizards (3): Nene, John Wall, Martell Webster
ShamSports was used in the creation of this post.
Southeast Notes: Hawks, Wilkins, Bobcats, Oden
- There's no timetable for Lou Williams' return from a torn ACL, and he's unlikely to be ready to fill his sixth-man role for the Hawks at the start of the regular season. That's probably why the team is bringing Damien Wilkins to camp, writes Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. If the team fills its 15th opening-night roster spot, it would probably be with a swingman like Wilkins, Vivlamore adds. That could also be an auspicious sign for David Lighty, another camp invitee.
- New Bobcats head coach Steve Clifford talks to Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer about integrating offseason additions Al Jefferson and Cody Zeller, as well as several other 'Cats related items.
- HoopsWorld's Alex Kennedy chronicles Greg Oden's journey from near-retirement to the cusp of training camp with the Heat. Oden is seeing a familiar face in Miami, as former Blazers teammate Juwan Howard remains unsigned but is still hanging around the Heat. organization, as Kennedy notes.
Lakers Sign Ryan Kelly
5:49pm: It'll be a non-guaranteed one-year contract for Kelly, tweets Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times. That means he's essentially no more than a training camp invitee.
3:20pm: The Lakers have officially signed second-round pick Ryan Kelly to a contract, the team announced today in a press release. Kelly had been dealing with foot issues and it was unclear if he'd be healthy enough to join the team this fall, but it looks like he'll get a camp audition, at the very least.
Kelly, the 48th overall pick in this June's draft, played his senior year at Duke in 2012/13, averaging 12.9 PPG and 5.3 RPG in 23 contests. Since the Lakers only have 11 players on fully guaranteed contracts, the 6'11" forward should have a good chance to earn a regular-season roster spot, depending on his health and production in October. In addition to those 11 guys and Kelly, Los Angeles is also bringing Shawne Williams, Marcus Landry, Xavier Henry, and Elias Harris to camp.
Details of Kelly's deal with the Lakers aren't known, but since the team is into tax territory and has used its mid-level exception, it'll have to be a minimum salary contract of some sort for the rookie. It can be for either one or two years, and will likely only have a small partial guarantee.
Teams With 15 Or More Guaranteed Contracts
With most of the offseason's heavy lifting behind them, NBA teams are focusing on finalizing their camp rosters, adding players on non-guaranteed contracts to compete for the last spot or two on their benches. While clubs can carry up to 20 players during the preseason, that number must be reduced to between 13 and 15 by opening night.
For a team like the Hawks, October should be interesting, since the team currently only has 12 players whose salaries are fully guaranteed, with seven more players on partially guaranteed or non-guaranteed deals. Assuming Atlanta plans to carry 14 or 15 players, a player's performance in camp could be the difference between whether he's playing in the NBA and playing in Europe this season.
However, for several other teams, there will be little October drama, since some clubs will head into camp already carrying 15 or more players on guaranteed contracts. In those instances, a non-guaranteed camp invitee could play well enough to stick around for the regular season, but his team would have to trade or release a guaranteed contract to clear room. Waiving a player on a guaranteed deal would mean eating his salary and cap hit for at least the 2013/14 season.
Using our lists of roster counts and non-guaranteed deals for this season, let's take a look at the six teams already carrying at least 15 guaranteed contracts, along with what we can expect from them in the next few weeks:
Brooklyn Nets
Guaranteed contracts: 15
Camp invitees: 0
There's not a whole to watch here. The Nets will probably bring in two or three camp invitees in the hopes of sending them to the D-League's Springfield Armor, but the 15-man roster looks pretty set heading into the season.
Dallas Mavericks
Guaranteed contracts: 15
Camp invitees: 4 (Devin Ebanks, D.J. Kennedy, Mickey McConnell, Fab Melo)
The Mavericks' roster is fascinating at the moment, since three of their four camp invitees have previous NBA experience, and Ebanks and Melo seem like they should be on a roster this season. Nearly two-thirds of the team's 15 guaranteed players signed free agent contracts this summer, and can't be traded until at least December, and that doesn't include Dirk Nowitzki, who isn't going anywhere.
I doubt Dallas will trade Shawn Marion or Vince Carter, and waiving Jae Crowder seems unlikely. In other words, there's no obvious way to clear a roster spot for Ebanks, Melo, or any other camp invitees, so it will be interesting to see what happens if one of them blows the Mavs away in the preseason.
Milwaukee Bucks
Guaranteed contracts: 15
Camp invitees: 3 (Junior Cadougan, Olek Czyz, Trey McKinney Jones)
When they sent Brandon Jennings to the Pistons in exchange for three players, the Bucks looked like they'd be carrying one too many guaranteed deals into camp, but the team managed to make a two-for-one trade for Caron Butler, reducing the roster count to 15. Many of Milwaukee's players recently signed, and therefore can't be traded and won't be cut anytime soon, so the club is virtually certain to roll with its current 15. That means the camp invitees will likely just be extra bodies, particularly since the Bucks don't run their own D-League affiliate.
Phoenix Suns
Guaranteed contracts: 16
Camp invitees: 1 (Dionte Christmas)
The Suns are the only team on this list carrying more than 15 guaranteed deals, in part because of the aforementioned two-for-one trade with the Bucks. They'll have to trade or cut a player before the regular season, and I'd guess it will be either Ishmael Smith or Malcolm Lee, who were both included in offseason trades for salary purposes.
Given the team's depth at point guard, Phoenix may prefer to hang on to Lee, who is more of a two, rather than Smith, who would be playing behind Eric Bledsoe, Goran Dragic, and Kendall Marshall at the point. A Marshall trade is another possibility, albeit a less likely one.
Portland Trail Blazers
Guaranteed contracts: 15
Camp invitees: 4 (Dee Bost, Terrel Harris, Richard Howell, E.J. Singler)
Harris doesn't technically qualify as a camp invitee, but he's on a non-guaranteed deal, which Portland will likely drop soon. Bost, Howell, and Singler figure to be cut eventually as well, but it's interesting that the Blazers would give small guarantees to Bost and Howell. Perhaps those guarantees will act as incentives for those players to join the Idaho Stampede, the Blazers' D-League affiliate.
Of the Blazers' guaranteed players, Will Barton has the least money owed to him, and doesn't figure to play a huge role for this year's team, so he's probably the most likely candidate to be cut, if Portland wants to add someone else.
Washington Wizards
Guaranteed contracts: 15
Camp invitees: 0
Like the Nets, the Wizards looked to have a fairly straightforward roster situation until this week, when the team announced that Chris Singleton and Emeka Okafor were both expected to miss the preseason with injuries. That still leaves the team with plenty of healthy bodies for now, so I don't imagine any major roster shakeups are on the way. But if another frontcourt player or two goes down, a move may become necessary.
Dominique Jones, Jonny Flynn To Play In China
With NBA opportunites drying up, two former first-round picks are set to play in China for the coming season. Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld reports (via Twitter) that Dominique Jones has decided to sign with a Chinese team, while Jonny Flynn's high school coach tells Mike Waters of The Post-Standard that the point guard will play for the Sichuan Blue Whales.
Jones spent three seasons with the Mavericks after being drafted 25th overall in 2010. The 24-year-old never saw significant minutes in Dallas, appearing in just 80 total games and averaging 3.1 PPG and 1.8 APG. Jones recorded a decent 11.9 PER for his career, but seemingly didn't show enough in his first three seasons to draw strong interest among NBA teams this summer.
Flynn, meanwhile, played for the Melbourne Tigers in Australia last season, and was reportedly hoping to break camp with an NBA team this fall. It's not clear if interest didn't materialize, or whether he simply received a more lucrative offer from Sichuan, but it seems he'll be spending the year in China, just four years removed from being selected sixth overall by the T-Wolves.
As our international player movement tracker shows, Jones will join a handful of other players who spent 2012/13 with an NBA team and have signed to play in China for '13/14. Donte Greene, Ivan Johnson, and Johan Petro are the others.
Odds & Ends: Grizzlies, Sixers, Wolves, Kennedy
Few NBA teams had less roster turnover this offseason than the Grizzlies. As our free agent tracker shows, the only player who signed with the team for more than the minimum was Tony Allen, who has played in Memphis since 2010 and emerged as one of the club's leaders. However, the team will be in for some changes on the bench, where former assistant Dave Joerger takes over the head coaching job from the departed Lionel Hollins. Joerger tells Lang Greene of HoopsWorld that while he'll stick to many of the things that made last year's team successful, he expects to add a few new wrinkles to the mix as well.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the NBA:
- Former Pistons head coach John Kuester is currently the top candidate to be hired as Brett Brown's lead assistant with the 76ers, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
- Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype spoke to Ricky Rubio, who identified the Timberwolves' new deals with Nikola Pekovic and Chase Budinger as the club's best signings of the summer.
- Rebuilding is often a necessary process, but it has to give way to something substantial eventually, writes Mark Deeks of ShamSports.com. Deeks examines the free agent fates of Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson, noting that the Hawks were able to land Millsap for fewer years and dollars than the Bobcats signed Jefferson in part because Charlotte is paying a sort of "Bobcats tax" based on its reputation as a perennial lottery team.
- In an Insider-only piece for ESPN.com, Larry Coon lists the Nets, Bobcats, and Rockets among the winners of the league's new CBA, while placing the Celtics, Bulls, and Thunder in the losers column.
- Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside takes a look at D.J. Kennedy's persistent quest to earn a spot on an NBA roster. Kennedy will be in camp with the Mavericks in October.