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Kings Decline 2014/15 Option On Fredette

October 31st, 2013 at 3:34pm CST by Luke Adams

The Kings have informed Jimmer Fredette of their decision to turn down his option for 2014/15, reports Sam Amick of USA Today (via Twitter). The move ensures that Fredette will become an unrestricted free agent next summer.

Two years into his NBA career, Fredette, 24, hasn’t lived up to the lofty expectations placed on him when he was drafted 10th overall in 2011. Although the BYU product recorded a respectable 14.6 PER last season, his minutes per game were reduced from 18.6 in his rookie year to just 14.0 in 2012/13. In a Kings backcourt that features Greivis Vasquez, Isaiah Thomas, Ben McLemore, and Marcus Thornton, it doesn’t look like there’s a meaningful role for Fredette, who would have been in line for a $3.11MM salary in 2014/15.

As our rookie contract option tracker shows, it’s rare for teams to turn down options on rookie contracts. So the Kings’ decision still comes as a slight surprise, even though our Chuck Myron wrote last month that Fredette was in danger due in part to his defensive limitations and the new regime in Sacramento. The decision likely ensures that Fredette’s name will pop up in trade rumors frequently between now and February’s deadline.

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Eastern Links: Knicks, Sanders, Cavs, Heat

October 31st, 2013 at 2:21pm CST by Luke Adams

As we look forward to Derrick Rose and the Bulls hosting the Knicks in Chicago tonight, let’s round up a few Eastern Conference notes….

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

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Celtics Pick Up Option On Sullinger, Decline On Brooks

October 31st, 2013 at 1:48pm CST by Luke Adams

FRIDAY, 1:48pm: The Celtics have officially exercised their 2014/15 option on Sullinger, the team announced today in a press release. As Ainge suggested on Wednesday, Brooks’ option was not picked up.

WEDNESDAY, 1:43pm: Celtics GM Danny Ainge confirmed today that his team will exercise its 2014/15 option on Jared Sullinger‘s rookie contract, according to Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com (via Twitter). However, the C’s will turn down their option on offseason acquisition MarShon Brooks, says Forsberg.

The decision to pick up Sullinger’s third-year option comes as no surprise, following a productive rookie season that was cut short by back surgery. As our rookie contract option tracker shows, he’ll be in line for a 2014/15 salary of only about $1.42MM, so it will have a negligible impact on Boston’s cap flexibility.

As for Brooks, his $2.18MM fourth-year option is fairly inexpensive as well, but it seems the former Net isn’t in the Celtics’ long-term plans at the moment. Although the team will still be able to re-sign Brooks if he impresses in Boston this season, he’ll now be an unrestricted free agent next summer.

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Poll: Who Will Win The 2013/14 NBA MVP?

October 31st, 2013 at 12:53pm CST by Luke Adams

Several NBA stars have won back-to-back Most Valuable Player awards over the last three decades, but no player has won the award three times in a row since Larry Bird completed the feat in 1985/86. That’s not to say there weren’t times when a player could, or perhaps should, have won three consecutive MVPs — Michael Jordan immediately comes to mind. However, “voter fatigue” often works against repeat winners, as voters look for a fresh new face rather than choosing the same player year after year.

If voter fatigue is working against LeBron James, we haven’t seen it yet. Over the last five years, LeBron has won four MVP awards, with only Derrick Rose‘s excellent 2010/11 season preventing a clean sweep. Coming off back-to-back MVP and championship seasons, James still clearly looks like the NBA’s best player, and that’s why he was the ’13/14 MVP choice for four Hoops Rumors writers, myself included.

That still leaves four of us that didn’t choose LeBron though. Kevin Durant, whose Thunder will start the season without Russell Westbrook, was a popular MVP pick, and Chris Paul received a vote as well. It’s not hard to envision a scenario in which Durant leads the league in scoring and excels without Westbrook, building a strong case for himself. Similarly, if Paul leads the Clippers to more regular-season wins than Durant’s Thunder or LeBron’s Heat, his MVP narrative could gain momentum.

Of course, it’s possible that a dark horse candidate emerges as well. A healthy Rose should re-enter the picture, and I could imagine making a case for Carmelo Anthony if he repeats as the league’s scoring champ and helps the Knicks land home court for the first round of the playoffs. The same could be said of Stephen Curry and James Harden, if they were to challenge for the scoring title and lead their respective teams to a top-four seed in the West.

What do you think? Will LeBron become the first player since Bird to three-peat as NBA MVP, or will the award go to someone else this season?


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D-League Notes: Draft, Douby, Liggins, C’s

October 31st, 2013 at 11:20am CST by Luke Adams

The NBA D-League has released the official list of players eligible to be selected in tomorrow’s draft, which is set to take place at 7:00 pm ET in New York. There are plenty of intriguing names among the 180+ players hoping to be drafted, including a couple 2013 NBA draftees whose NBA rights are still held by their respective teams — Pierre Jackson (Pelicans) and Grant Jerrett (Thunder). Here’s more on the 2013 D-League draft class:

  • Potential top-10 picks include James Johnson, DeAndre Liggins, and Quincy Douby, tweets Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress. Johnson and Liggins were recently released by the Hawks and Thunder, respectively, while Douby averaged 31.6 PPG in China last season, including one 75-point game.
  • There are a handful of international players eligible to be drafted, such as Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s brother Athanasios Antetokounmpo, tweets Givony. Givony adds in another tweet that there are prospects from Croatia and Japan in the draft pool as well.
  • Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside notes that former NBA veterans Ricky Davis and Salim Stoudamire are among the draft hopefuls.
  • The Maine Red Claws, the Celtics‘ D-League affiliate, announced 11 players on their camp roster today, according to Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com (Twitter link). That list features Chris Babb, Damen Bell-Holter, and Kammron Taylor, who were in camp with Boston this month.
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Pacific Rumors: Kings, Vasquez, Warriors

October 31st, 2013 at 9:49am CST by Luke Adams

The Suns and Kings aren’t expected to be contenders in 2013/14, but both teams got off to good starts in their home openers last night, defeating the Trail Blazers and Nuggets, respectively. Two more Pacific teams are in action tonight, as the Clippers aim to become the last team in the division to get in the win column when they host the Warriors. While we look forward to that game, let’s round up a few items out of the Pacific….

  • In examining which rookie scale players will sign new contracts today, Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld discusses a pair of Kings, noting that extensions remain in play for Patrick Patterson and Greivis Vasquez. According to Kyler, the “framework” of a deal for Vasquez is in place, but it’s not clear whether or not Sacramento is interested in finalizing anything today.
  • The Warriors and Mark Jackson have not talked recently about an extension for the head coach, tweets Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News. Jackson is under contract through the 2014/15 season, so extension negotiations could wait until next year.
  • Dwight Howard decided to sign with the Rockets this summer despite “relentless negative campaigning” from rival suitors, including the Warriors, writes Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Wojnarowski hears from sources that Warriors advisor Jerry West was disparaging of James Harden during Golden State’s pitch to the free agent center. Asked about West’s comments on Harden, Howard laughed and replied, “Well, Jerry West said a lot of things.”
  • While Kings minority owner Shaquille O’Neal boldly predicted that the team would earn a playoff spot this season, Vivek Ranadive is more focused on the long term. According to Joe Davidson of the Sacramento Bee, Ranadive doesn’t plan to judge the season on wins and losses, but rather on whether the new system shows forward progress.
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Odds & Ends: Hayward, Mavs, Kings, Knicks

October 30th, 2013 at 10:58pm CST by Chuck Myron

The season is just two days old, but we may already have seen its most surprising result. The Sixers pulled off a stunning victory against Heat tonight — not too shabby for a team that’s still about $5MM shy of the minimum team salary, as HoopsWorld’s Eric Pincus notes in his look at teams with cap space remaining. Here’s more from a busy 14-game night:

  • The Jazz remain in talks with Gordon Hayward about an extension, with just one day left before the deadline for him to sign one, writes Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune.
  • Mark Cuban doesn’t intend to replace former Mavs GM Gersson Rosas, who resigned yesterday, reports Tim McMahon of ESPNDallas.com.
  • On “David Stern Day” in Sacramento, the commissioner weighed in on the NBA’s approval of the Kings‘ new ownership group instead of Seattle’s bid for the franchise, as Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com shares via Twitter. “… The owners did the right thing. They had a vote to cast and they cast it in favor of Sacramento,” Stern said.
  • Marc Berman of the New York Post hears from a source who says too much was made out of a report earlier today that said owner James Dolan expects the Knicks to win the title this season. Dolan was merely attempting to express his confidence in the team’s players, the source tells Berman.
  • Knicks GM Steve Mills isn’t looking to hire any more people to work under him in the team’s front office, but he does intend to restructure some of the roles of his existing staff, as Berman passes along in the same piece.
  • Gary Parrish of CBSSports.com points to Spurs second-round pick Deshaun Thomas as an example of why the NCAA need not allow early draft entrants back on their college teams if they don’t make an NBA roster. The agent for Thomas says he’ll make $150K on his contract with JSF Nanterre in France this season, Parrish notes.
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Knicks GM, Carmelo Agree Not To Talk Contract

October 30th, 2013 at 9:29pm CST by Chuck Myron

Knicks GM Steve Mills said he and Carmelo Anthony have agreed not to discuss a possible extension or Anthony’s upcoming early termination option, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post. It’s unclear whether the pact between Mills and Anthony covers the entire season, but it could mean Mills won’t even offer Anthony an extension when he becomes eligible in February, Berman writes.

“Carmelo and I, the first day of training camp, we both agreed we wouldn’t have any more conversations about his ability to opt out or us negotiating an extension,” the GM said. “I’ll stick to what I had agreed to and not talk about his contract status.”

It’s unlikely in any case that Anthony would sign an extension, as he did when he came to the Knicks from the Nuggets in an extend-and-trade deal at the 2011 trade deadline. The new CBA put in place later that year gives players like Anthony much greater incentive to hit free agency, as our Luke Adams explained when he detailed what Anthony could make in his next deal. Anthony has made it clear he wants to become a free agent, which he can do next summer, so the idea that he wouldn’t discuss an extension isn’t a surprise.

Still, it seems odd that Mills won’t at least be talking to Anthony about his plans for free agency, especially considering Mills’ ties to the Creative Artists Agency that represents Anthony. Part of the reason Mills was hired was to help keep Anthony in New York, Berman notes.

Anthony said today that he intends to try to recruit players to the Knicks this summer, a possible sign that he intends to stick around, as Berman surmises, so perhaps Mills and the Knicks are confident they can re-sign the star forward.

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Central Links: Cavs, Pistons, Bulls, Quinn

October 30th, 2013 at 8:33pm CST by Chuck Myron

Cavs owner Dan Gilbert held court with Cleveland-area reporters before tonight’s opener, touching on a variety of topics, as we noted this evening. Gilbert said he has yet to begin talking about a contract extension for Kyrie Irving, who’ll be eligible for one next summer. Of course, we’re a year and a day away from the deadline for the Cavs and Irving to strike a deal, so Gilbert has plenty of time. Here’s more from another NBA owner as we look around the Central Division:

  • Pistons owner Tom Gores followed up on his comments to Bob Wojnowski of the Detroit News with an address today before the media, including MLive’s David Mayo. He expressed support for Joe Dumars but says he doesn’t want to discuss an extension to the GM’s contract, can’t envision selling the Pistons at any point, and isn’t keen on the idea of moving the team downtown.
  • Gores also believes his own recruitment of free agents “has made a difference, in terms of folks coming on board, in knowing that ownership does care and we don’t just use our basketball players as assets.”
  • We heard from Shams Charania of RealGM.com earlier that Patrick Christopher will join the Bulls‘ D-League affiliate after failing to make Chicago’s opening-night roster, and the same is the case for Kalin Lucas, who’ll also play for the Iowa Energy, Charania reports. The Bulls waived both on the second day of training camp, leading Mark Deeks of ShamSports to speculate that the team signed them only to facilitate an out in case its other camp invitees got injured. It seems now that Chicago didn’t entirely view them as pawns, since the team apparently wants to keep an eye on their development.
  • The Cavs waived Chris Quinn this summer after he briefly reappeared in the NBA last season, and it looks like the 30-year-old is transitioning into his post-playing career. He’s joined the coaching staff at Northwestern, according to the Columbus Dispatch.
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Spurs Lead West With Twelve Returnees

October 30th, 2013 at 7:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

Success has bred stability for the San Antonio Spurs. They have the league’s longest-tenured head coach, its fourth-longest-tenured GM, three players leftover from their championship squad from more than 10 years ago, and a Western Conference-leading dozen players back from last year’s Finals. That’s more than any other team in the league except the Heat, who also bring back 12 of the guys who edged the Spurs for the championship in June.

The Nuggets have 11 returnees from the end of last season, just one fewer than the Spurs, but nearly every other part of Denver’s basketball operations is new, including GM Tim Connelly and coach Brian Shaw. The Thunder hemorrhaged more talent this summer, losing Kevin Martin just months after trading away James Harden, but they, too, kept 11 of the players from last year’s disappointing playoff exit.

The Rockets made the offseason’s most noteworthy addition in Dwight Howard, but they’ve otherwise remained relatively stable, keeping 10 players. All four Western Conference teams with 10 or more holdovers made the playoffs last season, in contrast to the Eastern Conference, where three of the four teams who returned at least 10 players were in the lottery.

A pair of Western teams that didn’t make the playoffs were particularly active in turning over their rosters. The Mavericks bring back just six guys from the team that made a late-season run at a playoff berth last year, while the Suns have only five players left from their worst season in 44 years. Five is also the number of trades new Phoenix GM Ryan McDonough has pulled off since he assumed his post in May.

Here are each Western Conference team’s holdovers from the end of last season. We also ran down the Eastern Conference returnees earlier this week.

Spurs (12): Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker, Tim Duncan, Boris Diaw, Tiago Splitter, Matt Bonner, Danny Green, Kawhi Leonard, Nando De Colo, Patty Mills, Cory Joseph, Aron Baynes

Nuggets (11): JaVale McGee, Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, Andre Miller, Timofey Mozgov, Ty Lawson, Anthony Randolph, Evan Fournier, Kenneth Faried, Jordan Hamilton, Quincy Miller

Thunder (11): Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Kendrick Perkins, Thabo Sefolosha, Nick Collison, Serge Ibaka, Jeremy Lamb, Reggie Jackson, Hasheem Thabeet, Perry Jones III, Derek Fisher

Rockets (10): Omer Asik, Jeremy Lin, Francisco Garcia, James Harden, Aaron Brooks, Terrence Jones, Donatas Motiejunas, Chandler Parsons, Greg Smith, Patrick Beverley

Grizzlies (9): Zach Randolph, Marc Gasol, Mike Conley, Tayshaun Prince, Tony Allen, Jerryd Bayless, Ed Davis, Quincy Pondexter, Jon Leuer

Kings (9): John Salmons, Marcus Thornton, Chuck Hayes, Jason Thompson, DeMarcus Cousins, Travis Outlaw, Jimmer Fredette, Patrick Patterson, Isaiah Thomas

Pelicans (9): Eric Gordon, Ryan Anderson, Anthony Davis, Al-Farouq Aminu, Jason Smith, Austin Rivers, Lance Thomas, Darius Miller, Brian Roberts

Clippers (8): Chris Paul, DeAndre Jordan, Blake Griffin, Jamal Crawford, Willie Green, Matt Barnes, Ryan Hollins, Maalik Wayns

Timberwolves (8): Kevin Love, Derrick Williams, Nikola Pekovic, Jose Barea, Ricky Rubio, Alexey Shved, Dante Cunningham, Chase Budinger

Trail Blazers (8): LaMarcus Aldridge, Nicolas Batum, Wesley Matthews, Damian Lillard, Joel Freeland, Meyers Leonard, Victor Claver, Will Barton

Warriors (8): Andrew Bogut, David Lee, Stephen Curry, Harrison Barnes, Klay Thompson, Festus Ezeli, Draymond Green, Kent Bazemore

Jazz (7): Marvin Williams, Derrick Favors, Enes Kanter, Gordon Hayward, Alec Burks, Jeremy Evans, Jamaal Tinsley

Lakers (7): Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Steve Nash, Steve Blake, Jordan Hill, Jodie Meeks, Robert Sacre

Mavericks (6): Dirk Nowitzki, Shawn Marion, Vince Carter, Brandan Wright, Jae Crowder, Bernard James

Suns (5): Goran Dragic, Channing Frye, Markieff Morris, Marcus Morris, P.J. Tucker

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