Eastern Notes: Dumars, Turner, Rondo
Matt Moore of CBSSports.com looks at a recent report from Ric Bucher of Bleacher Report about the future of Joe Dumars in Detroit. Dumars is weary of the criticism he has received in trying to rebuild the Pistons after constructing a franchise that went to the Eastern Conference Finals six years in a row. The criticism fails to account for the dismal Detroit economy and restraints placed on Dumars while the team was up for sale and changing ownership, as Bucher notes, and Moore points to the success the team had early in Dumars’ tenure. Still, Moore advocates for a change. The Pistons are currently 24-36, three games out of the 8th spot in the East.
More from around the league:
- During a rough season, Bucks GM John Hammond is being praised for drafting a “gem” in Giannis Antetokounmpo, tweets Chris Mannix of SI.com. The “Greek Freak” is averaging 7.2 PPG, 4.6 RPG, and 1.9 APG over 24.5 MPG.
- Evan Turner is still getting acclimated with the Pacers, but both he and the team think it’s been a good fit so far, writes Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. Turner has played in five games with the team, and has averaged 9.2 PPG, 4.4 RPG, and 1.6 APG in 22.2 MPG. How Turner adjusts to the Pacers will impact if he is in their plans going forward when he becomes a free-agent after the season, writes Kennedy.
- Danny Ainge said that the Celtics had asked Rajon Rondo to travel with the team last week, but instead Rondo chose to stay in Los Angeles to celebrate his 28th birthday, writes Royce Young of CBSSports.com. Ainge said, “In the end, him and I had a long talk about it. He planned it before and he had reason to believe it would be OK. I understand his reason because of what he’s grown up with and what he’s witnessed. You won’t see it happen again, and we’ve just moved on from it.” This isn’t expected to change the team’s immediate plans regarding keeping Rondo, according to Young.
D-League Notes: Byars, Karasev, Buycks
Derrick Byars has been acquired as a returning player by the Bakersfield Jam, according to Gino Pilato of D-League Digest. Byars’ last NBA action came during a call up by the Spurs during the 2011/2012 season. He attended training camp with the Grizzlies this season, and most recently had signed with the Russian club Krasny Oktybr, but left the team prior to ever playing in a game.
More from the D-League:
- Former Knicks and Erie Bayhawks guard Chris Smith tells Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (Twitter link) that he left Erie for “personal reasons” and intends to catch on with a team during the Summer League.
- The Cavaliers have assigned Sergey Karasev to the Canton Charge of the D-League they announced via press release. Karasev has appeared in 12 games for the Charge and has averaged 13.1 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 2.4 APG, and 1.2 SPG while logging 30 MPG.
- The Raptors have reassigned Dwight Buycks to the Bakersfield Jam of the D-League (Twitter link). Buycks has appeared in 13 games for the Raptors this year, averaging 3.2 PPG, 1.5 RPG, and 0.8 APG in 9.5 minutes per game.
Draft Notes: Embiid, Wiggins, Parker
Commissioner Adam Silver’s desire to raise the minimum draft age by another year has fueled plenty of talk about the most effective way to develop NBA prospects. Tom Ziller of SB Nation takes a look at Mavs owner Mark Cuban’s recent assertion that the D-League should supplant the NCAA. College basketball isn’t going away, as Cuban suggests it should, but Ziller thinks a higher minimum age could result in greater use of the D-League as a conduit to the draft. In the meantime, here’s the latest from a landscape still dominated by one-and-done collegians:
- Joel Embiid, Andrew Wiggins and Jabari Parker are Nos. 1, 2 and 3 in Jonathan Givony’s updated mock draft and top-100 prospects list at DraftExpress. Givony has Jahlil Okafor atop his new 2015 mock draft.
- Chad Ford of ESPN.com agrees with Givony through the first two picks for this year, but Ford has Dante Exum going No. 3 to the Magic in his Insider-only mock draft.
- Ford and Givony place Arizona shooting guard Nick Johnson 54th and 60th, respectively, in their prospect rankings for this year, but sources tell Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com that the junior is leaning toward entering the draft (Insider link).
Free Agent Stock Watch: Carmelo Anthony
Carmelo Anthony may be only No. 2 on the debut edition of the Hoops Rumors 2014 Free Agent Power Rankings, but no one’s summer plans have generated as much chatter as his have. Last year’s scoring champion touched off the conversation before the season when he declared he’d exercise his early termination option and hit the market after 2013/14. The refusal of LeBron James to discuss his own opportunity for free agency has combined with the New York media spotlight to put a sharp focus on Anthony ever since.
The Knicks star is no stranger to all the attention, having been at the center of “Melo-drama” as he pushed the Nuggets to trade him during the 2010/11 season, the last time he faced the prospect of unrestricted free agency the following summer. He signed an extension as part of the deal that brought him to New York, and he’s not putting nearly as much pressure on the Knicks as he put on Denver last time. He told reporters during the All-Star break that his priority is to remain with New York, and that he’d be willing to do so at a discount. At the same time, he said that he’d meet with Knicks management to discuss their plans to return the club to contention before making his final decision.
It’ll be hard for the Knicks to construct a convincing presentation for Anthony if he’s indeed focused on what the team can do this summer instead of 2015, as Tuesday night’s report from Frank Isola of the New York Daily News indicates. New York’s commitments for next season exceed the projected salary cap, and that doesn’t even take a new contract for Anthony into consideration. The team rejected an offer of a late first-round pick from the Thunder for Iman Shumpert before the deadline, demonstrating that while there are trade chips of at least moderate value on the Knicks roster, the team isn’t particularly anxious to use them. New York has little other assets capable of enticing a team to give up an intriguing player or draft pick in return. Tyson Chandler is questioning whether he’d want to re-sign with the Knicks in 2015, but if the team wants to get out ahead of the market and trade him this summer, it likely faces an uphill battle finding palatable offers for the 31-year-old who’s showing his age.
The Knicks appear stuck for 2014/15, capable of making only lateral moves, at best. That’s seemingly why so many New York-based writers have portrayed it as increasingly likely that Anthony would leave this summer with each successive loss this season, interpreting nearly every one of his postgame remarks as another hint at his intentions. When Anthony addressed the subject directly at the All-Star break, he made his affection for the Knicks clear. It’d be surprising if anything the Knicks do on the court between now and the end of the season influenced Anthony’s belief in the club’s long-term future. The concern is what happens once 2013/14 is in the books, and that’s cause for legitimate worry.
Anthony’s assertion that he’d take a discount to stay in New York suggests the financial advantage the Knicks have might not be as valuable as it would be if money were his chief concern. He can sign a five-year deal worth slightly more than $129MM if he stays with the Knicks, or a four-year contract worth nearly $95.9MM with another team, as Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors detailed earlier this season. Anthony could make up much of that more-than-$33MM difference in the first year of the contract that follows, but Anthony would still come out ahead financially if he took the max from the Knicks. He could be in line for even more money if he opts in for next season, when his contract calls for a salary higher than the one he’d make next year under a new deal, but Anthony has said multiple times he intends to hit free agency.
A recent report suggested the Knicks were the only team willing to make a max offer to the Leon Rose client, indicating that Anthony would have to give up quite a bundle of cash to pass on New York. I’d be surprised if a maximum-salary suitor doesn’t emerge at some point between now and July, even if there isn’t a team planning such an offer now. Still, some of the most appealing destinations might not be in play for the former No. 3 overall pick. The Lakers appear lukewarm, at best, on Anthony, and while he reportedly views a Chicago address as more tempting than L.A., the Bulls would have to unload key players via trade to clear room for a maximum-salary offer, making their pursuit unlikely. The Clippers would have to perform even more complicated salary cap gymnastics to accommodate a max deal for Anthony.
There are ways to acquire marquee free agents even for franchises that are capped out, as the Warriors demonstrated last season when they snagged Andre Iguodala via sign-and-trade. Such a move would require Anthony and at least two teams to come to an agreement, and other players and teams might have to get involved in the negotiations, too. Such an arrangement is hard to pull off, so Anthony will likely be limited to either re-signing with the Knicks or joining a team with cap space. There are plenty of intriguing clubs with a relatively easy path to clearing the room necessary to throw a max deal at Anthony, and perhaps the Heat could target him if Miami’s stars go their separate ways. Still, there’s been no legitimate suggestion from either the Heat or Anthony’s camp that any of them have seriously considered that.
Anthony won’t be without options. Just how many there will be for him likely depends on how much of a discount he’s willing to settle for. The future of the Knicks would look increasingly brighter with each dollar Anthony gives up, but that’s for 2015 and beyond. Anthony’s commitment to New York will likely be tested not just by his willingness to make a financial sacrifice, but also by his patience to play for a winner. He turns 30 on May 29th, a little more than a month before free agency begins. Whether he sees that milestone as just another day or as a warning that he’s on the backside of his career could be the most important question of the NBA’s summer ahead.
Pacific Links: Redick, Lakers, Warriors
Every team in the Pacific Division pulled off at least one trade during the season except the Suns, who’d already shaken up their roster with five offseason trades. All of that activity is over for the next couple of months at least, but it suggests that GMs feel the need to be aggressive in an ultra-competitive Western Conference. Here’s the latest from the Pacific:
- Doc Rivers won’t close the door on the prospect of J.J. Redick missing the rest of the season with a bulging disk in his back, as Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times observes. “I don’t know,” Rivers said. “I haven’t had that fear yet. I don’t want that fear, maybe would be a better way of putting it. But I don’t know. I just keep getting updates. I’m sure there is some thought of that. He’s been out for so long. But we’re just hoping for the best.”
- Wesley Johnson hopes he can re-sign with the Lakers this summer, as he tells Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. “Hopefully it’s a long-term thing,” Johnson said. “But we’ll have to see what happens with what the front office decides and how they move around things. I would like to be here.”
- The Warriors haven’t established themselves as a surefire playoff team in the Western Conference, but Mark Jackson doesn’t deserve the brunt of the blame, argues Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group.
Bogut’s Bonus Could Push Warriors Into Tax
Andrew Bogut will earn a contract bonus worth $425K if he lands a spot on either of the league’s two All-Defensive Teams this season, Grantland’s Zach Lowe reports, noting that it would be just enough to push the Warriors over the $71.748MM luxury tax threshold. The Bulls have a similar arrangement with Taj Gibson that would put them into tax territory, as Mark Deeks of ShamSports previously reported, but Lowe reveals that bonuses for Joakim Noah could also knock the Bulls over the line. A bonus that Lowe reports is a part of Serge Ibaka‘s deal wouldn’t force the Thunder to pay the tax, but it might have if the team had used a significant portion of its room under the tax at the trade deadline, as it appeared Oklahoma City attempted to do.
Bogut and a few of his teammates would also receive bonuses worth enough money to force the Warriors to pay the luxury tax if they make the Finals. Golden State has never paid the tax, as Deeks has noted, though co-owner Joe Lacob has said multiple times this season that he would be willing to do so under the proper circumstances.
A Finals berth would probably qualify under Lacob’s criteria, but an All-Defensive Team nod for Bogut during a season in which the team languishes near the bottom of the Western Conference playoff picture seems a paltry return on a tax investment. Bogut is third in the league in defensive rating and ninth in defensive win shares, according to Basketball-Reference.com, so there’s a realistic chance he receives the bonus and triggers the tax penalty. The team likely took that into account when it acquired Steve Blake and his $4MM salary at the trade deadline, Lowe observes, figuring that the Warriors sought a cheaper alternative but came up empty.
Noah will make $500K if he earns a first-team All-NBA selection, and with a case to be made that the Bulls center has been as valuable as anyone not named LeBron James or Kevin Durant this season, Noah stands a reasonable shot at receiving the bonus. The money would be more than enough to push the Bulls into the tax regardless of what happens with Gibson. Their recent signing of Jimmer Fredette for the season was an indication the team is betting that Gibson and Noah won’t trigger the bonuses this season, and there’s much at stake. The Bulls paid the tax last season, meaning the team would be in line for backbreaking repeat-offender tax rates if it pays the tax again this year and in 2014/15. Noah would also receive $250K if the Bulls win the title, according to Lowe, though that seems quite a long shot, and that bonus alone wouldn’t be enough to force Chicago to pay the tax.
Ibaka receives $250K if he wins Defensive Player of the Year honors, and while he’s not the favorite to do so, Lowe deems him a candidate, which is no stretch, considering he finished second in voting for the award in 2011/12 and third last season. The Knicks reportedly rejected a deadline offer that would have sent Iman Shumpert to the Thunder in exchange for Oklahoma City’s 2014 first-rounder. The exact proposal is unclear, Lowe writes, but if it was a straight exchange of Shumpert for a pick, it would have left the Thunder a few hundred thousand dollars under the tax even if Ibaka had received his bonus, by my calculations. Ibaka also gets a $100K bonus if he makes the All-Defensive First Team, but the league lists that as a likely bonus, meaning it’s already applied to team salary.
Knicks Rumors: Woodson, Anthony, Chris Smith
Mike Woodson was the odds-on favorite to be the first coaching casualty of 2013/14 until the Pistons axed Maurice Cheeks a month ago, and even then, there were sharks circling the Knicks coach. Still, Woodson remains, and with 21 games to go, it’s starting to look as if he’ll finish the season on the job. Here’s more on Woodson and other figures from around the Knicks:
- Woodson acknowledged his shortcomings but insisted he won’t quit and said he still feels like the man for the job, as he told reporters today, including Marc Berman of the New York Post.
- Fellow Post scribe Mike Vaccaro finds it vexing that the team hasn’t fired Woodson yet, but Sean Deveney of The Sporting News points to Carmelo Anthony‘s fondness for the coach as the reason why Woodson’s still around. Owner James Dolan has met with Anthony at least once this season to get his input on Woodson and the future of the team, Deveney notes.
- Chris Smith is set to clear D-League waivers today, and a source tells Gino Pilato of D-League Digest that it’s unlikely another D-League club takes a chance on him after the Knicks affiliate cut him loose Tuesday (Twitter link).
Central Notes: Onuaku, Bulls, Bucks
Indiana’s loss to the Warriors on Tuesday kept the Pacers from clinching a playoff berth, but the team will lock up a trip to the postseason the next time it wins a game. Once that happens, that means the team’s first-round pick is guaranteed to go to Phoenix, as I noted today when I looked at protected first-rounders that could be changing hands. Here’s more from the Central Division:
- The Cavs re-signed Arinze Onuaku to another 10-day contract Tuesday even though he saw just 50 seconds of playing time on his first 10-day deal, but the big man’s experience with the team’s D-League affiliate has already allowed the club to evaluate him. Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal has the details, noting that Onuaku’s presence on the roster is likely tied to the health of Anderson Varejao.
- The increasing value of Joakim Noah makes it less likely the Bulls would chase Carmelo Anthony this summer, as Mike McGraw of the Daily Herald explains.
- Improved chemistry with the additions of Ramon Sessions and Jeff Adrien has helped the Bucks improve their play since the trade deadline, observes Genaro C. Armas of The Associated Press. Of course, wins will come at the expense of the team’s lottery position. Our Reverse Standings show the Bucks have just one fewer loss than the Sixers as they try to hold off Philadelphia for the best chance at the No. 1 overall pick.
Nets Re-Sign Jason Collins To 10-Day Contract
WEDNESDAY, 9:12am: The Nets have officially signed Collins to a second 10-day deal, the team announced.
MARCH 3RD: The Nets will sign Collins to a second 10-day contract, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The signing will take place Wednesday, the day after his first deal ends.
FEBRUARY 27TH: Jason Collins is only four days and a pair of games into his first 10-day contract with the Nets, but it appears the team is ready to make a fuller commitment to the 35-year-old center. Brooklyn is “all but certain” to re-sign Collins for the rest of the season, writes Tim Bontemps of the New York Post. It’s not clear whether a contract for the balance of 2013/14 would come at the expiration of his current 10-day deal, or after the team issues him a second 10-day contract.
Collins made history shortly after signing Sunday when he entered Brooklyn’s game against the Lakers, becoming the first openly gay athlete to play in one of the four major North American professional sports. He’s had much less of an impact in box scores, having yet to tally a single point while grabbing just two rebounds in 18 total minutes. Still, Collins has long been known mostly for his inside presence and screen-setting, and has yet to reach 100 total points in any season since 2007/08.
The Nets still have an open roster spot even after the addition of Collins, so keeping him for the season won’t do much to hamper the team’s flexibility. Brooklyn is more than $30MM over the tax line, meaning the team is in line to pay $4.75 in tax for each dollar it spends. That didn’t stop the Nets from pursuing Jordan Hill and his $3.5MM salary before the trade deadline, so they probably won’t blink at what would likely be a minimum-salary arrangement for Collins that covers the rest of the season.
Updates On Protected 2014 First-Round Picks
College basketball takes center stage this time of year, but the NCAA Tournament might not have as much effect on what happens this June as the final six weeks of the NBA regular season will. Lottery position is in flux, as our Reverse Standings show, but a few teams that aren’t anywhere near the top of that table will jump up there at season’s end, thanks to trades that took place years ago.
The Nuggets are salivating with each Knicks loss, since New York owes Denver its pick, almost certain to end up in the lottery, from the Carmelo Anthony trade. The Nuggets’ own stumble from playoff contention is cause for smiles in Orlando, since the Magic get the least favorable of Denver’s own pick and the one the Nuggets receive from the Knicks. With New York and Denver having but a ghost of a chance at the playoffs, the Magic will almost certainly wind up with a lottery pick to go along with their own selection, which figures to be near the top.
The Jazz could also wind up with a pair of lottery picks, since the Warriors are surprisingly in a fight for one of the last playoff spots in the Western Conference. Golden State sent Utah its unprotected first-round pick this past summer. The Hawks also have an unprotected first-rounder coming their way, but the resurgence of the Nets has cooled Atlanta’s excitement.
All of the other traded 2014 first-rounders have protections attached to them. Following up on December‘s look at the likelihood each of those draft choices has of changing hands, here’s how they stack up with just a month and a half to go in the regular season:
Likely to change hands:
- Washington Wizards (to Suns if not in top 12). Current projection: 18th.
- Portland Trail Blazers (to Bobcats if not in top 12). Current projection: 26th.
- Indiana Pacers (to Suns if not in top 14). Current projection: 30th.
Indiana’s magic number to clinch a playoff berth is one, so the Pacers’ pick will soon be guaranteed to head to Phoenix. The Wizards appear to have accomplished what they set out to do in trading their 2014 first-rounder for Marcin Gortat, since they’re likely headed for the playoffs. The Blazers cooled a bit after their hot start, but they’re still among the elite in the Western Conference, and it would take a complete collapse for them to miss the playoffs by a margin wide enough to keep their pick from going to Charlotte.
Unlikely to change hands:
- Philadelphia 76ers (to Celtics if not in top 14). Current projection: 2nd.
- Sacramento Kings (to Bulls if not in top 12). Current projection: 7th.
The Sixers weren’t sniffing the playoffs even before they traded Evan Turner and Spencer Hawes at the deadline. The Kings have a reasonable chance to make up the four games separating them from Denver, which holds the 12th draft position, but there’s a nine-and-a-half-game chasm between Sacramento and spot No. 13.
Up in the air:
- Detroit Pistons (to Bobcats if not in top 8). Current projection: 11th.
- New Orleans Pelicans (to 76ers if not in top 5). Current projection: 10th.
- Minnesota Timberwolves (to Suns if not in top 13). Current projection: 13th.
- Charlotte Bobcats (to Bulls if not in top 10). Current projection: 16th.
- Dallas Mavericks (to Thunder if not in top 20). Current projection: 22nd.
The Pistons and Timberwolves are caught between uphill battles to make the playoffs and the prospect of keeping their lottery picks if they slide back far enough. There’s a strong chance that either team could wind up in no man’s land, without a playoff berth or a first-round pick. The Pelicans don’t have a realistic chance at the playoffs, but they’re three games up on the fifth draft position. The Bobcats have a three-game lead for a playoff berth and a three-and-a-half-game lead on the team with the 10th-worst record in the league. Dallas is in an unusual position, since the Mavs are fighting for a playoff berth even though they have one of the 10 best records in the NBA, thanks to the imbalance between the conferences. They could finish eighth in the West and still have to give up their pick.