Hoops Rumors Features
Hoops Rumors passes along the latest news and rumors on NBA player movement 365 days a year, but those aren't the only updates you'll see on the site. On our right sidebar, you'll find a number of additional features and featured posts. Here's a rundown of a few of them:
- You can follow all our updates about your favorite teams or players on your iPhone or iPad using the Hoops Rumors app.
- We're still keeping a close eye on free agency with the help of our list of 2013 free agents. If you want to look ahead to the summer of 2014 or 2015, we've rounded up those free agents as well. All of these FA lists will continue to be modified as needed.
- Our Free Agent Tracker, which features data sortable by team, position, contract years, and contract amount, has been continually updated to include all of this summer's deals, including training camp invites.
- Free agents aren't the only players signing contracts. This year's draft picks are also inking their deals, and we've broken down the likely salaries for first-round picks, while we continue to follow which prospects have been locked up and which remain unsigned.
- If you're interested in monitoring the status of non-NBA players, be sure to check out our International Player Movement Tracker, developed with the help of Mark Porcaro. It includes data on thousands of players, and continues to be updated daily.
- Not all the players currently on NBA rosters have guaranteed deals. We've provided a schedule of contract guarantee dates so you can keep track of when teams will have to make decisions on those non-guaranteed players. We also have them broken down by team.
- Our list of 2013/14 roster counts is a convenient tool for keeping tabs on how many players your favorite NBA team is carrying, and how many guaranteed contracts are on each club's books.
- As players like John Wall and Larry Sanders lock up new deals with their current teams, we'll continue to examine this offseason's other extension-eligible players in our Extension Candidate series.
- If you missed any trades made since the 2012/13 season ended, you can catch up using our list of 2013 offseason swaps.
- Our agency database is a handy reference point for determining the representation for virtually every NBA player.
- Using our 10-day contract tracker, you can find any 10-day contract signed since 2007, sorting by player, team, year, and other variables.
- On Mondays at 4:00pm CT, I answer readers' questions in a live chat. These weekly live chats are on hiatus for the time being, but will return in October when camps get underway. In the meantime, you can check out transcripts of our past live discussions here.
- Our list of outstanding traded player exceptions is updated whenever a trade exception is created, is used, or expires.
- We're tracking teams' amnesty provisions — using our complete list, you can check to see which clubs have used the amnesty clause and which will have it available next summer.
- The Hoops Rumors glossary helps explain some of the more complex concepts in the NBA's Collective Bargaining Agreement.
- Zach Links rounds up the best of the blogosphere every Sunday in his weekly Hoops Links feature.
- If you're looking to catch up on a few days worth of content, our Week in Review posts round up the week's news and rumors, while our Hoops Rumors Originals posts recap the site's original content for the week. Both round-ups are published every Sunday.
- Be sure to check out the Featured Posts section on the right sidebar for more original pieces from the Hoops Rumors writing team. Recently, we explored how and why the Sixers have managed to stay above the cap this offseason, discovered that sign-and-trades are up despite limitations in the new CBA, and took a closer look at upcoming rookie-scale option decisions.
Poll: Will Paul George Sign A Max Extension?
While there were a few rumors linking Paul George to the Lakers earlier this offseason, that always seemed to be wishful thinking on the part of L.A. fans, rather than a realistic scenario. Even if he were to hit the open market next summer, George would be a restricted free agent, meaning the Pacers could match any offer sheet he signs. And with Danny Granger's big contract set to come off the books in 2014, there's no reason why Indiana wouldn't have matched any offer for George.
However, it looks like it won't even come to that. George recently indicated that he plans to ink a new long-term extension with the Pacers before the season begins. The two sides are still negotiating, but they appear on track to get something done before the Halloween deadline.
The question now becomes what sort of deal George will sign. The rising star was named the league's Most Improved Player this past spring, and at age 23, there's still plenty of room for further growth. I'd be a little surprised if he ever won an MVP award, but when we posed that question in a June poll, over 38% of the respondents said they believe he'll earn that honor at some point — those results at least show that it's not entirely out of the realm of possibility.
In other words, in a league where Eric Gordon receives a maximum-salary contract offer coming off an injury-plagued season, there's little doubt that George would receive the same sort of offer as a free agent. But will the small-market Pacers be willing to guarantee him that much money ahead of free agency? If so, you might assume the two sides would've already finalized an agreement. After all, it didn't take long for John Wall to ink his maximum-salary extension with the Wizards. A year ago, Blake Griffin signed his max deal with the Clippers as soon as free agency opened, and James Harden finalized his own max extension with the Rockets immediately after the team acquired him.
Of course, money likely won't be the only sticking point in contract talks. The Pacers will also have the option of offering George a five-year extension, making him the franchise's designated player. As we explain in our glossary entry on designated players, that means the team couldn't give a five-year rookie-scale extension to another player during the duration of George's new contract.
At this point, there are no candidates for that designated player tag on the Pacers' roster besides George, unless Solomon Hill is a lot better than we think. So my guess is that Indiana gives George that fifth year, and he compromises by agreeing to sign for a little less than the max — perhaps something in the five-year, $70MM range gets it done.
As we wait to see what sort of compromises the two sides are willing to make, let's get your thoughts. Where do you think George and the Pacers will eventually land?
What sort of extension will Paul George sign?
-
Five-year max 46% (191)
-
Four-year max 22% (89)
-
Five years, less than the max 16% (66)
-
Four years, less than the max 10% (41)
-
No extension this fall 6% (24)
Total votes: 411
Contract Details: Melo, Sixers, Williams, Morris
With most of the top free agents off the board by mid-July, September generally consists of minimum-salary signings with little or no guaranteed money. That's certainly the case for most of the contracts mentioned below, but since we at Hoops Rumors are interested in the minutiae of teams' cap moves, we'll pass along these updates nonetheless. Courtesy of Eric Pincus of HoopsWorld, here are a few notes on recent signings:
- Fab Melo actually signed a two-year contract with the Mavericks, albeit one that's entirely non-guaranteed, says Pincus (via Sulia). Dallas still has 15 players on fully guaranteed deals, so it'll be an uphill battle for Melo to earn a spot on the roster, but if he does, the Mavs will have him under team control for two seasons at the minimum salary.
- After I devoted a post yesterday to explaining how and why the Sixers have stayed above the cap and could continue to do so this offseason, Pincus renders my points moot (via Sulia), writing that the team has dipped below the threshold and started using cap room.
- It's interesting that the Sixers would choose this point to claim its cap space — unless the team was caught off guard by Royal Ivey and Damien Wilkins signing with the Hawks and coming off Philadelphia's books, it seems the Sixers could've stayed above the cap line, since they recently finalized their deals with Rodney Williams and Darius Morris. Of course, I'm not privy to what's going on behind the scenes in Philadelphia, so perhaps it wasn't possible or the club felt it was no longer worthwhile.
- In any case, getting back to Pincus' notes: He passes along the specifics on Williams' and Morris' deals with the Sixers, noting that both players signed four-year pacts. For Williams, it's a minimum-salary contract with a $35K guarantee in year one. Years two and three are fully non-guaranteed, while year four is a team option.
- Morris' deal is worth slightly more than the minimum, and will pay him exactly $4.2MM if he plays out his full contract without being released. The first season is guaranteed for $200K, and the remainder is structured in the same way as Williams' — two non-guaranteed seasons plus a fourth-year team option.
Odds & Ends: Dwight, Bulls, Deron
Amidst the buzz surrounding the 2013 Basketball Hall of Fame induction a little over a week ago, you may have heard legendary Brazilian basketball player Oscar Schmidt proclaim that he could have been one of the best 10 players ever if he had joined the NBA. In hindsight, it's interesting to ponder some of the 'what ifs' and how they may have altered the landscape and history of the league.
One could think about how the NBA would have been different if Larry Bird didn't fall five spots to the Celtics during the 1978 draft, if Kobe Bryant hadn't fallen to number 13 in 1996, or if Michael Jordan hadn't retired before the 1993/94 season to name a few. Regardless, there are plenty of other possibilities to consider.
Jonathan Abrams of Grantland sheds light on one particular what-could-have-been, chronicling the rise and fall of Korleone Young, a promising 6'7" small forward who like Kobe, Tracy McGrady, and Kevin Garnett before him attempted to make the jump from high school to the NBA in 1998. In his comprehensive piece, Abrams supplements Young's story with commentary from several people who had crossed paths with him along his journey, including Young's prep-school rival Al Harrington, former Pistons head coach Alvin Gentry, and former Pistons assistant (and current Bucks GM) John Hammond, who had this to share based on what he'd seen in practices:
"We used to talk about the way in which (Young) defended (then-star) Grant Hill on a daily basis. We used to say it tongue-in-cheek but [also] somewhat seriously: 'No one defended Grant Hill in this league as well as Korleone Young."
With that aside, let's round up the rest of tonight's miscellaneous links from the NBA:
- Sam Amick of USA Today writes about how Dwight Howard has found greener pastures in Houston and why the rest of the NBA will have to lament the reality that another Western Conference contender has been born.
- A handful of HoopsWorld panelists put together a season preview of the Bulls for 2013/14. With much of the team's success hinging on how much Derrick Rose can return to form, three writers pick Chicago to finish second in the Central Division, while two have them running away with the division title.
- Nets guard Deron Williams was spotted at his charity dodgeball event earlier today with a walking boot over the same ankle that had been giving him problems last season, though he insisted that the boot was just precautionary: “As long as I’m ready (for the season opener), that’s all that matters to me…If it was up to me, I would be playing right now. I can walk fine. It doesn’t hurt. It’s just protecting me from myself” (Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News).
- Eddie Sefko of SportsDayDFW says that with Dirk Nowitzki healthy, the Mavericks won't take a backseat to anybody in the league in terms of talent at the power forward position.
- Tommy Dee of Ridiculous Upside presents a scouting report of free agent big man Hassan Whiteside, who had recently drawn reported interest from the Knicks, Heat, and Bucks.
- Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside explains why the NBDL will continue to develop front office executives at a much more efficient rate than players at this point, mentioning that while prospective staffers can work to rise up the ranks while committed to a specific NBA franchise, the players can be called up at anytime and by any NBA team regardless of D-League affiliation.
- HoopsWorld's Moke Hamilton held his weekly chat with readers earlier this evening, offering his thoughts on why he thinks the Knicks will repeat as Atlantic Division champions, why teams might be shying away from Renaldo Balkman, the Western Conference playoff race, and the Warriors' ceiling among other topics.
- Jim Eichenhofer of Pelicans.com continues his countdown of reasons why New Orleans fans should be excited about training camp, placing the offseason progress made by the team's quartet of sophomores – namely Anthony Davis, Austin Rivers, Brian Roberts, and Darius Miller – at number 13.
T-Wolves Mulling Offer To A.J. Price?
1500 ESPN's Darren Wolfson reports, per a source, that the Timberwolves are discussing the possibility of bringing point guard A.J. Price into training camp, adding that the 6'2" guard had a nice year with the Wizards while current Minnesota GM Milt Newton had been a team executive in Washington. According to Wolfson, Price's agent Jeff Schwartz had also spent plenty of time speaking with president of basketball operations Flip Saunders this past summer (Twitter links).
In 57 games and 22 starts for the Wizards last season, Price put up career highs in minutes (22.4), points (7.7), assists (3.6), and three point field goal percentage (35.0%).
76ers To Sign Vander Blue
According to Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski, the 76ers have agreed to sign undrafted guard Vander Blue to a partially guaranteed contract (Twitter link). The 6'4" guard participated in both the Orlando and Las Vegas Summer League this year, averaging 23.5 MPG, 11.5 PPG and 5.5 RPG in two games for Houston and 21.2 MPG, 11.0 PPG, 3.7 RPG, and 37.5% shooting from long distance in 6 games for the Grizzlies respectively.
Philadelphia's roster now stands at 17, though several of those players will be on partially guaranteed or non-guaranteed deals. Only 10 Sixers currently have fully guaranteed deals, though that number will increase by one when Michael Carter-Williams officially signs.
In addition to Blue, the 76ers have added a handful of guards this offseason (including Tony Wroten, James Anderson, Khalif Wyatt, and Darius Morris to name a few), which should make for an interesting and competitive camp as far as the back court is concerned. Also, Blue's partial guarantee might not be much of a surprise, as we discussed earlier today why it'd be in the team's best interests to find a way to remain above the salary cap this season.
Eastern Notes: George, Pacers, Deng
Hoopsworld's Yannis Koutroupis explores the possible implications from a potential contract extension for Paul George and suggests that Danny Granger has now become an expendable piece. Losing Lance Stephenson - who is coming off of a career year and may have likely played himself out of Indiana's price range next summer – would be a bitter pill to swallow, opines Koutroupis. Here's more out of the Eastern Conference:
- Granger believes that Indiana can contend for a title next season and calls the addition of Luis Scola "our biggest free agent pickup" (Scott Agness of NBA.com).
- ESPN's Chad Ford (via Twitter) notes that Luol Deng has been working out at BYU-Hawaii over the last several weeks and says that the Bulls forward appears to be in fantastic shape.
- Erildas Budraitis of RealGM catches up with CSKA Moscow's Jeremy Pargo, who last played for the 76ers and Cavaliers during the 2012/13 season. The 6'2" point guard admitted that he probably won't think of returning to the NBA for another one or two years and calls his exit from Cleveland "unfortunate."
- Earlier today, Yahoo's Marc J. Spears reported that Cavs number one overall pick Anthony Bennett resumed playing five-on-five basketball this week.
- Nets star Deron Williams is even more eager to get the season started after hearing head coach Jason Kidd and teammate Jason Terry say they expect him to be a part of the MVP conversation in 2013/14 (link via Jared Zwerling of Bleacher Report).
- Despite NBA commissioner David Stern's recent efforts to quell tension between the Knicks and Nets owners, the players don't seem to be necessarily following suit. When Paul Pierce was asked today about J.R. Smith calling him a bitter person recently, the Brooklyn forward tersely responded with "Who? Who are we talking about right now? Exactly" (Tim Bontempts of the New York Post).
Western Notes: Kobe, Kelly, Parker
- As for most recent second-round pick Ryan Kelly (whom Vitti says is "asymptomatic"), the trainers have still decided to take a conservative approach with his rehab and aren't sure when he'll be returning to action either.
- Tony Parker tells Mark Woods of ESPN that general manager R.C. Buford wants him to play less minutes at Eurobasket, but added that he has a great relationship with the Spurs and appreciates them letting him play for the French national team.
- Dan McCarney of Spurs Nation relays a snippet of Marco Belinelli's interview with HoopsHype, noting that the 27-year-old guard chose San Antonio over several other teams because of the opportunity to play for Gregg Popovich and a chance to win a championship.
- Rockets guard Jeremy Lin tells Mark Berman of Fox 26 about how great it was to work out with Hakeem Olajuwon and says that "anybody with (Dwight Howard) is a deadly combination" in response to the 50-year-old's recent comments about Lin and Howard being a potent duo next season (All Twitter links).
Hawks Sign James Johnson
According to a congratulatory tweet from sports agency firm Priority Sports, James Johnson has signed a contract with the Hawks. Though the terms of the deal were not mentioned, the pact could likely be a training camp invitation or a partially guaranteed deal. In 54 games and 11 starts for the Kings last season, the 6'9 power forward averaged 5.1 PPG, 2.7 RPG, and shot 41.3% from the field in 16.3 MPG. With the addition of Johnson, Atlanta currently has a total of 19 players heading into training camp.
Drafted 16th overall by the Bulls in 2009, Johnson hasn't lasted more than two seasons with an NBA team since then, splitting his first four years in the league between Chicago and Toronto before landing with Sacramento in 2012/13. To date, the Wake Forest product's best season was arguably with the Raptors in 2011/12, where he played a total of 62 games with 40 starts, averaging 9.1 PPG, 4.7 RPG, and 1.4 BPG in 25.2 MPG.
Hoops Rumors On Facebook/Twitter/RSS
With a number of option decisions due by the end of October and several extension candidates in talks on new deals, there should be plenty of notable stories to follow on Hoops Rumors before opening night. There are a handful of different ways you can follow us to keep tabs on the latest NBA news and rumors this summer and throughout the year.
You can Like us on Facebook, and receive headlines and links for all our posts via your Facebook account. You can also follow us on Twitter to have all our posts and updates sent directly to your Twitter feed. And our RSS feed is located here, if you'd like to follow us using your RSS reader of choice.
If you prefer to receive updates only on roster moves such as signings, cuts, and trades, you can follow our transactions-only feeds via RSS and Twitter.