Atlantic Notes: Nets, Kidd, Woodson, Noel
Amidst mounting criticism for Nets head coach Jason Kidd, Kevin Garnett told reporters, including Brian Lewis of the New York Post that the blame falls on the players’ shoulders and not just on Kidd. Paul Pierce echoed those sentiments, saying that everyone is accountable for the club’s slow start. Here’s this afternoon’s look at the Atlantic..
- There has been some speculation over Mike Woodson‘s job security with the Knicks, but as far as he’s concerned, it “shouldn’t be a discussion,” tweets Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com. Earlier today, Ken Berger of CBSSports.com spoke with some league execs who speculated that the Knicks could be gearing up to make a run at Kentucky coach John Calipari.
- Sixers coach Brett Brown argues that Spencer Hawes and Nerlens Noel can play together on the floor without any issues, tweets Tom Moore of Calkins Media. Unfortunately for Philly, they won’t know that for sure for quite a while.
- Kidd is preaching patience and reminding reporters that winning is a “process,” but Andy Vasquez of the Bergen Record says the Nets have to start racking up the wins in a hurry if they want to contend this season.
- Marc Berman of the New York Post (via Twitter) argues that the Nets and Knicks would be in better shape if Kidd had continued playing and fulfilled the remainder of his three-year contract.
- Jonathan Tjarks of RealGM looks to diagnose why the Knicks are a team in crisis.
Northwest Notes: Jazz, Nuggets, Faried
The Jazz are struggling quite a bit to start the season, but George Karl seems to think the Bucks will finish in the cellar and have the best odds at the top pick, writes Bob Wolfey of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. “Milwaukee keeps coming to me. They just don’t have enough talent right now. Injuries have taken their best players off the court. They could get into a position that they dig the hole so deep that, philosophically, it might be in their best interests for a poor season,” said the one-time Milwaukee coach. Here’s more out of the Northwest Division..
- In today’s mailbag, a reader asks Chris Dempsey of The Denver Post why the Nuggets would consider trading Kenneth Faried given the production that he has given Denver. Dempsey says that Faried isn’t going anywhere, though it won’t stop other teams from calling.
- Nuggets forward Danilo Gallinari, who has been sidelined for quite some time, gets homesick occasionally, but he told Italian outlet Il Corriere della Sera that he wants to play in the NBA for as long as possible, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando.
- Justin Holiday signed to play with Hungary’s Szolnoki Olajbanyasz, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Holiday, who was in training camp with the Jazz this summer, spent last season with Idaho Stampede and averaged 17.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.4 steals per game.
Pacific Notes: Kings, Cousins, McCallum
A quick look at the Pacific Division..
- It is clear that the Kings are trying to build their future around DeMarcus Cousins and rookie Ben McLemore, but beyond that, the right deal might pry loose almost anyone else on the roster, writes Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld. It has been reported that Sacramento is “aggressively” pursuing a trade early on in the season.
- Speaking of the Kings, they announced this afternoon that they have assigned Ray McCallum to the D-League’s Reno Bighorns. McCallum, the 36th overall pick of the 2013 NBA Draft, has not seen action in the Kings’ eleven games this season. He averaged 3.8 points, 1.0 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.20 steals and 12.2 minutes per game in five games off the bench for the Kings in the preseason. The move reunites him with former Kings training camp players Brandon Heath, DeQuan Jones, and Trent Lockett.
- The Warriors recalled Nemanja Nedovic, Ognjen Kuzmic, and the newly signed Dewayne Dedmon in advance of last night’s game against the Grizzlies, the team announced. In last night’s 88-81 loss, Kuzmic was the only one of the three to see playing time. To keep tabs on this year’s D-League assignments, check out Hoops Rumors’ running list for 2013/14.
Billy Hunter Accuses Derek Fisher Of Conspiring With NBA
Billy Hunter claimed that former players’ union president Derek Fisher conspired with the NBA on a 50-50 revenue split during the lockout, in a new court filing, tweets Howard Beck of Bleacher Report. Hunter names Kobe Bryant as the source of this information, saying Bryant and agent Rob Pelinka called to say the veteran point guard had to cut a deal at a 50-50 split of revenues (link).
The court filing includes statements of support for Hunter from Theo Ratliff, Etan Thomas and Maurice Evans, who were executive members of the NBPA, saying that Fisher had secret dealings with the owners during the lockout of 2011 (Twitter link).
Hunter was ousted as executive director in February amid accusations of him misappropriating funds. The former union head was said to have given cushy jobs to to his daughter, daughter-in-law, and other people close to him while raking in a $3MM yearly salary. That salary was higher than union chiefs in the NFL, NHL and Major League Baseball and it appears that he raised it from $2.4MM without proper union consent.
Atlantic Rumors: Calipari, Knicks, Sixers
The Knicks organization and CAA Sports have a well-publicized relationship which has led to a pipeline of sorts from the agency to the team. As the Hoops Rumors Agency Database shows, CAA represents Carmelo Anthony, J.R. Smith, and Andrea Bargnani, as well as Chris Smith, who, as Brandon Jennings will tell you, probably found his way on to the roster thanks to his older brother and agent Leon Rose. CAA also represents assistant GM Allan Houston, player personnel director Mark Warkentien, and coach Mike Woodson, but there could be another CAA client set to take Woodson’s place on the sidelines. More on that and other items out of the lowly Atlantic Division..
- Ousting Woodson and calling Kentucky head coach John Calipari could be the next step for the Knicks, writes Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. Some league executives agree with Berger’s thinking with one noting that the club will have to sell Anthony and free agents on hope, or the illusion of it, which can be accomplished by hiring Coach Cal. It won’t come cheap though – one exec says the bidding could start at $8MM per year.
- The Sixers shook things up yesterday by waiving veteran Kwame Brown and guard Darius Morris and signing free agent guards Elliot Williams and Lorenzo Brown. GM Sam Hinkie says talent evaluation is an ongoing process. “This is the stage we’re in,” Hinkie said, according to Tom Moore of the Bucks County Courier Times. “We’ll continue to evaluate players and find ones that can help us move forward and find others on our radar that we can add to our group.”
- No one should be surprised that Bargnani is giving the Knicks good defense down low since that has always been his strength, tweets Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun. His weakness, however, is poor help defense.
- Rudy Gay‘s passing performance last night helps his trade value, and Raptors GM Masai Ujiri certainly wants to see more of that, Wolstat tweets.
Nets Rumors: Kidd, AK47, Favors
After the Knicks retained J.R. Smith and added Andrea Bargnani and the Nets, well, got supercharged, it was supposed to be a tremendous year for basketball in New York CIty. Things haven’t quite worked out that way. After losing to the not-quite-as-glamorous Bobcats, the Nets have now dropped seven of their last eight. Let the finger pointing begin..
- The word from the Nets is that Jason Kidd’s job is not in danger, writes Stefan Bondy of the Daily News. The Nets invested too much into the idea of him as the long-term answer, but it’s worth noting that owner Mikhail Prokhorov hasn’t made a peep since he was in house for the Nets’ victory over Miami on Nov. 1.
- Offseason addition Andrei Kirilenko told Bondy that he had an injection in his back over a week ago that has delayed his return. AK47 has struggled with back spasms over the last few seasons, but was never out this long.
- Here’s a fun fact that will keep Nets fans up at night. Since 2010, the Nets’ list of traded draft picks includes Derrick Favors, Enes Kanter, Damian Lillard, Darius Morris, Gorgui Dieng, and Shane Larkin, tweets Devin Kharpertian of The Brooklyn Game. Brooklyn has also traded away their first-round picks in 2014, 2016, and 2018.
Knicks Notes: Shumpert, Anthony, Rockets
Last night at the Garden, the Knicks lost a heartbreaker to the Pacers – their sixth straight loss at home. New York had a three point lead in the waning seconds when Paul George heaved up a three and was fouled in the act by Iman Shumpert. George would go on to ice all three of the free throws and send the game into OT, where the Pacers won. Coach Mike Woodson was less-than-thrilled with Shumpert’s body control on that crucial play, writes Marc Berman of the New York Post.
“The worst that can happen is he hits a three over you and it goes into overtime like it did,’’ Woodson said. “But you can’t foul him. I looked at the tape and he got him on the elbow and Joey [Crawford] made the correct call.’’
Here’s more out of MSG, where the trade talk continues to swirl around Shump..
- Carmelo Anthony hopes that Shumpert will be a part of the Knicks’ future, writes Berman. “I think he is [part of the future],’’ Anthony said. “I hope so. We have a lot of expectations with Iman, especially the way he played tonight. That’s the Iman we need him to be [defensively]. He could take it in a good way. I hope he doesn’t think about it.’’
- For his part, Shumpert says there’s “nothing he can do” about the incessant trade talk, writes Josh Newman of SNY. Yesterday, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported that both Shumpert and the Knicks have privately acknowledged that a deal is inevitable.
- If the Knicks were ever to make Anthony available, the Rockets could put together an attractive trade offer for him, tweets Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld.
Odds & Ends: Morris Twins, Draft, Asik, Butler
As tonight’s action on the court winds down, a few notes around the league off the court.
- The Morris twins, Marcus Morris and Markieff Morris, have played on the same roster their entire lives, sans one and a half NBA seasons. However, Suns president Lon Babby revealed to Marc Spears of Yahoo! Sports that if it were up to him, the twins never would have been separated. The Suns drafted Markieff in the 2011 NBA draft and had it not been for such a high price tag, would have also traded for the draft rights to Marcus on draft night. Babby and the Suns believe the synergy of the brothers is “extraordinary” but reminded the twins prior to exercising both of their options this offseason that this unique opportunity comes with expectations.
- Looking forward to upcoming draft nights, Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld tweets that the Knicks and Nets, who both fell to 3-8 tonight, do not have a bright future if they continue to lose. Both teams are without a first-round pick in the 2014 draft, so losing won’t even better their chances of a franchise player next season.
- Bill Ingram of HoopsWorld believes (Twitter link) the Rockets are asking a high price for Omer Asik and a Mavericks‘ package of Shane Larkin and Shawn Marion would not be enough.
- According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, the Bulls will be without guard Jimmy Butler for at least two weeks due to turf toe suffered Monday against the Bobcats.
How They Were Signed: Bi-Annual Exception
Over the next several weeks Hoops Rumors will examine how all the players on each NBA roster were signed. We will look at whether space under the salary cap or one of the various cap exceptions listed below were used to sign each player.
The NBA utilizes a soft salary cap which allows teams without cap space the ability to go over that season’s cap using one of the following salary cap exceptions.
- Bird Exception
- Early Bird Exception
- Non-Bird Exception
- Mid-Level Exception
- Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception
- Bi-Annual Exception
- Mini Mid-Level Exception
- Minimum Salary Exception
- Rookie Scale
- Disabled Player Exception
- Traded Player Exception
First up in our overview of each player’s contracts: The bi-annual exception. As the name describes, the bi-annual exception is available to teams every other year and is typically used to sign players worth more than the minimum salary but less than the mid-level exception.
The bi-annual exception allows a team to sign a player to a max of two seasons for a salary amount determined by the league each year. For 2013/14 the maximum amount allowed for the bi-annual exception is $2.016MM. Additionally, teams can give a player who is signing a bi-annual exception contract up to a 4.5% raise for the second season of that contract.
The bi-annual exception is very restrictive in its uses and results. Only teams above the salary cap but below the tax apron ($4MM over the tax threshold) are allowed to use the bi-annual exception. After using this exception, these teams are limited to a hard cap for that season, disallowing them from exceeding the tax apron at any time during the year.
Below is a team-by-team list of which players on current NBA rosters were signed under the bi-annual exception.
- Atlanta Hawks
- None
- Boston Celtics
- None
- Brooklyn Nets
- None
- Charlotte Bobcats
- None
- Chicago Bulls
- None
- Cleveland Cavaliers
- None
- Dallas Mavericks
- None
- Denver Nuggets
- Nate Robinson ($2.016MM 13/14; $2.106MM 14/15)
- Detroit Pistons
- None
- Golden State
- Jermaine O’Neal ($2MM 13/14; None 14/15)
- Houston Rockets
- None
- Indiana Pacers
- C.J. Watson ($2.016MM 13/14; $2.077MM 14/15)
- Los Angeles Clippers
- None
- Los Angeles Lakers
- None
- Memphis Grizzlies
- None
- Miami Heat
- None
- Milwaukee Bucks
- None
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- Ronny Turiaf ($1.5MM 13/14; $1.5MM 14/15)
- New Orleans Pelicans
- None
- New York Knicks
- None
- Oklahoma City Thunder
- None
- Orlando Magic
- None
- Philadelphia 76ers
- None
- Phoenix Suns
- None
- Portland Trailblazers
- None
- Sacramento Kings
- None
- San Antonio Spurs
- Nando De Colo ($1.463MM 13/14; $1.828MM 14/15)
- Toronto Raptors
- None
- Utah Jazz
- None
- Washington Wizards
- Eric Maynor ($2.016MM 13/14; $2.106MM 14/15)
StorytellersContracts and ShamSports were used in the creation of this post.
Poll: Who Should The Kings Trade?
The Kings have been listed all season as a team looking to be active in the trade market but yesterday reports surfaced that Sacramento is “aggressively” pursuing trade possibilities well before the February deadline. The Kings seem to be shopping their veteran players in order to get more draft picks and younger players to build a team around Ben McLemore and DeMarcus Cousins.
Veteran players on the Kings roster include:
- Marcus Thornton (28.3 MPG, 10.3 PPG, 2.7 RPG)
- John Salmons (24.4 MPG, 4.9 PPG, 2.4 RPG)
- Chuck Hayes (9.2 MPG, 0.8 PPG, 1.9 RPG)
- Jason Thompson (20.5 MPG, 6.2 PPG, 5.7 RPG)
- Luc Mbah a Moute (18 MPG, 3.2 PPG, 2.5 RPG)
- Travis Outlaw (15.1 MPG, 6.4 PPG, 3.9 RPG)
Additionally, Jimmer Fredette (12.0 MPG, 3.0 PPG, 2.3 APG) has been listed as a potential candidate that the Kings will be looking to ship away this season considering they declined his 2014/15 team option.
Playing the role of Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro who do you think the Kings should trade this season?
Who Should the Kings Trade?
-
Marcus Thornton 21% (347)
-
Jimmer Fredette 20% (337)
-
John Salmons 18% (297)
-
Jason Thompson 13% (218)
-
Chuck Hayes 12% (204)
-
Travis Outlaw 8% (129)
-
Luc Mbah a Moute 6% (107)
-
Other 3% (45)
Total votes: 1,684