Eastern Notes: Bosh, Beasley, Rose, Love
Chris Bosh is expected to resume full basketball activities next September, the Heat announced. It’s great news for the 30-year-old big man, who admits he initially had doubts he’d ever return to the hardwood when he found out about the blood clots in his lungs, as Tom Haberstroh of ESPN.com details. We’ve got more on the Heat within tonight’s look around the Eastern Conference:
- Michael Beasley does not feel like he has a roster spot locked up with the Heat despite his recent strong play, according to Michael Lee of the Washington Post. Beasley, who is on his second 10-day contract with the club, is averaging 10.5 points and 4.2 rebounds since returning to the NBA after a stint in China. “You’re talking to a No. 2 pick. One of the best players in college basketball — not to toot my own horn. But to go from there to now be on a 10-day is definitely humbling,” Beasley said to Lee. “They always say, it could be gone tomorrow.”
- Derrick Rose expects to return to the Bulls from his latest knee surgery sometime this season, but he offered no assurances that will happen, Teddy Greenstein of the Chicago Tribune reports. Rose was expected to miss four to six weeks after tearing meniscus in his right knee last month. “Whenever I’m ready to back, I’ll come back,” he said to a contingent of reporters on Monday.
- Kevin Love may not receive a maximum salary offer from the Cavs, even if he wants to stay with the team next year, Sam Smith of Bulls.com opines. The power forward, who will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, has been mainly employed as a three-point shooter and his averages of 16.9 points and 12.9 shot attempts are his lowest since the 2009/10 season, notes Smith, who also adds that Love also rode the bench during crunch time against Toronto last week. Love recently expressed his unhappiness about being labelled a stretch four and will have plenty of suitors on the open market.
Charlie Adams contributed to this post.
Eastern Notes: Beasley, Gasol, Mo Williams, Cavs
Michael Beasley signed his second 10-day contract with the Heat on Sunday, a move that the Heat had no hestitation in making, according to coach Erik Spoelstra, as Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald observes.
“He stepped out of his comfort zone and was fantastic in that zone,” Spoelstra said of Beasley’s play during his first 10-day deal. “I feel very comfortable with Mike. We have gotten to know each other extremely well over the years. We felt it was a no-brainer. We’ve been running the majority of our offense through him, a la Chris Bosh. He’s a close facsimile in our system.”
That would seem to bode well for Beasley’s chances of receiving a deal through at least the rest of the season once his latest 10-day deal runs out. Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- Pau Gasol said Sunday that the Thunder and Spurs were his other top choices this summer before he made his decision to sign with the Bulls in what he described as a “close call,” as Sam Smith of Bulls.com relays.
- Mo Williams has been sensational for the Hornets since they traded for him a month ago, averaging 21.7 points, 8.7 assists and 2.8 turnovers in 35.4 minutes per game, but coach Steve Clifford anticipates a regression to the mean, notes Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (Twitter link). Williams will be a free agent at season’s end.
- The Cavs‘ January overhaul, featuring a pair of significant trades, has resulted in a team that takes more non-corner three-pointers and fewer point-blank looks, as Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal examines. The results have been successful, though coach David Blatt has concerns about the preponderance of outside looks that LeBron James doesn’t appear to share, Lloyd notes.
Will Kevin Love Stay In Cleveland?
In a clash of Eastern Conference powers, the Hawks beat the Cavs on Friday night by a score of 106-97. Kevin Love, who took 11 shots from behind the arc in the loss but only amassed 14 points, seems to be uneasy about his role on the team, as he tells Chris Hayes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group. “I heard some people calling me that but I know I’m not a stretch-four,” Love said. “I’m a post player who can shoot. Right now I’m just doing what I’m called to do. For good, bad or indifferent, I’m playing my role and doing what’s asked of me.”
Hayes’ article prompted Grantland’s Bill Simmons to ask where Kevin Love is going to live in Boston next season and suggest rental properties in the area (Twitter links). While Simmons, who is a well-known Celtics fan, was obviously being frivolous and a bit partial, he points a spotlight on Love’s situation. The 26-year old is experiencing one of his worst seasons as a pro. Love has been playing a good chuck of his minutes away from the basket, causing his rebounding numbers to drop to 10.2 per game, his worst mark since his rookie year. He isn’t getting many post up opportunities and it has hurt his offense. He is only scoring 16.9 points per game, the lowest amount since the 2009/10 season.
Although the Celtics are planning to target Love in the offseason, along with other marquee free agents, it doesn’t mean the power forward will be heading to Boston if he does decide to leave town. There will be no shortage of suitors for the UCLA product. Los Angeles and New York are both projected to have cap room for at least one maximum level salary contract and they both would likely get meetings with Love should he hit the open market. The Suns could potentially be another team to enter the Love sweepstakes. After clearing nearly $12.4MM from next season’s payroll with the trades at this year’s deadline, Phoenix will only have about $41MM in commitments for 2015/16 against a projected $68MM salary cap, which as Chuck Myron of Hoops Rumors notes, is more than enough to dangle a maximum salary contract offer at a free agent.
Love’s first season as a Cavalier has been a roller coaster ride. When he was traded to the Cleveland for a package of players, including No. 1 overall pick Andrew Wiggins, he undoubtedly knew the team’s philosophy would be centered around LeBron James and even incumbent star Kyrie Irving. Yet, Love probably didn’t believe he would be relegated to such a complementary role that he is currently playing.
None of this means he will leave Cleveland. Love has a player option worth slightly more than $16.744MM next season and it was reported about two months ago that he plans to opt in. However, a lot can change between January and the end of the league year, and how successful the Cavs are this season will likely have an impact on his decision. Winning cures many ails. If Cleveland takes home the Larry O’Brien trophy, I’d speculate that Love stays put and embraces his role on a championship team. Anything less will certainly probe more questions about Love’s future and how much he is willing to sacrifice for a team that’s not playing in June.
Do you believe Kevin Love will be a Cavalier next season?
Will Kevin Love Stay In Cleveland Next Season?
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No 54% (759)
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Yes 46% (649)
Total votes: 1,408
Central Notes: Love, George, Sanders, Jackson
The Cavaliers‘ Kevin Love is shooting a higher rate of threes lately, but he doesn’t take kindly to the label of stretch-four, according to Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group. Love didn’t have any post-up opportunities in the game, and 10 of his 11 shot attempts were from three-point range. “I heard some people calling me that but I know I’m not a stretch-four,” Love said. “I’m a post player who can shoot. Right now I’m just doing what I’m called to do. For good, bad or indifferent, I’m playing my role and doing what’s asked of me.” With Love entering free agency this offseason, any hint of unhappiness has to cause concern in Cleveland.
There’s more from the Central Division:
- Many in Indiana are hoping Paul George can return to help the Pacers‘ playoff charge, but Candace Buckner of The Indianapolis Star tweets that coach Frank Vogel isn’t thinking that way. “Honestly, we’re not even thinking about Paul George,” Vogel said of his star, who hasn’t played since breaking his leg during an exhibition game with Team USA last summer. “Our whole approach has been he’s not going to play for us this year,” Vogel added, “even right now we’re just trying to become the best possible team without him.” (Twitter link). At 27-34, the Pacers are tied with the Heat for the final playoff spot entering Saturday’s action.
- The Bucks plan to stretch Larry Sanders‘ contract over the full allotment of years, reports Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times. That means Milwaukee can pay its departed center $1.9MM a year over the next seven years, affecting the team’s salary cap through the 2021/22 season. Sanders, who was in the middle of a four-year, $44MM deal, was waived Feb. 21.
- The Pistons have long-term plans for Reggie Jackson, according to Brendan Savage of MLive.com. Jackson came to Detroit in a deadline-day trade from the Thunder in exchange for Kyle Singler and D.J. Augustin. Team president and coach Stan Van Gundy plans to sign the free-agent-to-be to a lengthy contract this summer. “We’re committed to him,” Van Gundy said. “It’s a long-term thing. This isn’t a tryout.”
Clippers Sign Nate Robinson To 10-Day Pact
2:04pm: The signing is official, the Clippers announced.
1:04pm: The Clippers have signed free agent Nate Robinson, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link). The two sides reached an agreement after meeting earlier this morning, Shams Charania of RealGM tweets. The deal is a 10-day contract, and not one for the remainder of the season, Spears adds in a separate tweet. The Clippers have an open roster spot, so no corresponding move will be necessary in order to bring Robinson aboard.
The diminutive point guard became a free agent after reaching a buyout arrangement with the Celtics, who had acquired Robinson from the Nuggets in return for Jameer Nelson. The Clippers were reportedly the 30-year-old’s preferred destination. The Heat, Wizards, Bulls and Cavs were also mentioned as possibilities to ink Robinson.
In 33 games for the Nuggets this season, Robinson averaged 5.8 points, 1.2 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in 14.1 minutes per contest. His career numbers over nine seasons in the league are 11.1 PPG, 2.1 RPG, and 3.0 APG. His career slash line is .424/.360/.796.
Ray Allen Says He Won’t Play This Season
Ray Allen will not play this season, as he says in a statement released through agent Jim Tanner and the Tandem Sports and Entertainment agency. He’s not ruling out a return for 2015/16 but adds that he’ll take rest of this season and the offseason ahead to decide about that, suggesting that it’ll again be a long wait before we know if, much less where, Allen will play again. The 39-year-old has languished as the most sought-after free agent since the start of training camp, though the Cavs, long the front-runner for the friend and former teammate of LeBron James, recently appeared to drop out of the running. They were one of of 14 teams who expressed serious interest, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).
“Over the past several months, I have taken a lot of time to deliberate what is best for me,” Allen said in the statement. “I’ve ultimately decided that I will not play this NBA season. I’m going to take the remainder of this season, as well as the upcoming off-season, to reassess my situation, spend time with my family and determine if I will play in the 2015/16 season.”
The Grizzlies, too, appeared no longer to be in the Allen sweepstakes as of this weekend, not long after executives around the league reportedly began losing faith that he’d sign. The Warriors, Wizards, Spurs, Heat and Hawks were keeping in touch with Allen’s camp as of early February, and Clippers coach/executive Doc Rivers said at about that time that he’d recently spoken to him.
Just about every playoff-bound team reportedly reached out to Allen at some point this season. The Wizards were apparently the most aggressive suitor as of January, though LeBron visited Allen’s home in Miami to woo the sharpshooter while the four-time MVP was in town for rehabilitation.
The Bulls were another suitor, though a trip he made to Chicago earlier this season wasn’t basketball-related, Tanner said. Tanner batted down reports that indicated his intentions regarding one team or another all throughout the process that began when he became a free agent in July. Allen said over the summer that it would take a “perfect storm scenario” for him to play this season, and he pointed to a desire for a veteran coach and more than the minimum salary.
Allen was seemingly leaning toward retirement in late December, though he indicated during the middle of last season that he wasn’t planning to retire so soon. If he doesn’t return, he’ll walk away as the NBA’s all-time leader in three-pointers made and career earnings in excess of $184.356MM, according to Basketball-Reference.
Kyler’s Latest: Love, Monroe, Gasol, Leonard
The trade deadline is in the past and the focus is shifting to the draft and this year’s class of free agents. Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders takes a broad look at free agency for the summer ahead, passing along a number of noteworthy tidbits from his conversations around the league. His entire NBA AM piece is worth a read as he examines the outlook for several teams, and we’ll hit the highlights here:
- The Celtics are planning to target marquee free agents this summer, with Kevin Love atop their list, followed by Greg Monroe, Kyler writes. Marc Gasol and restricted free agents Kawhi Leonard and Jimmy Butler are others in Boston’s sights, sources tell Kyler. It appears the Celtics will look to re-sign Brandon Bass to a salary lower than the $6.9MM he’s making this season, Kyler suggests, also indicating a likelihood that the Celtics renounce Jonas Jerebko‘s rights. That wouldn’t preclude a new deal with Jerebko, something that Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald reported earlier that the Celtics would like, though it does indicate that the C’s aim to open cap space. That’s a path of questionable merit, as I examined.
- There’s a “sense” that the Sixers will make a play for Monroe, too, as well as Butler, Tobias Harris and Reggie Jackson, according to Kyler.
- Monroe, Love and Rajon Rondo are at least willing to meet with the Lakers this summer, Kyler hears, though Gasol and LaMarcus Aldridge are long shots for the team, the Basketball Insiders scribe cautions. Still, chatter is connecting the Lakers to just about every would-be free agent, including Jackson and Brandon Knight.
- It’s unlikely that Rondo gets a full maximum-salary deal in free agency this summer, league sources tell Kyler, who surmises that teams would float short-term max offers instead. A full max from the Mavs would entail a five-year deal with 7.5% raises, while other teams can offer four years and 4.5% raises.
- Sources also tell Kyler that they believe Monta Ellis will opt out this summer, which is no surprise given his level of play and the $8.72MM value of his player option.
- Kyler also gets the sense that Paul Millsap is content with the Hawks and would like to stay for the long term, though it appears Atlanta is eyeing an upgrade at DeMarre Carroll‘s small forward position.
- The Spurs will make Gasol their top free agent priority this summer, Kyler writes, though the team will have trouble signing him if Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili return at salaries comparable to the ones they’re making. In any case, San Antonio was believed to be the team with the most interest in Monroe last summer, Kyler adds.
Central Notes: Monroe, Pistons, Rose
After getting kicked below the belt by James Harden, LeBron James is predictably none too pleased with the Rockets guard. “Obviously that’s not a basketball play,” the Cavs star said, according to Joe Vardon of The Plain Dealer. “Obviously the league will probably take a look at it. I have no idea why he would do that, but you know, just two competitors trying to go at it and he won this one.” Ultimately, it was the Rockets that won the game, 105-103 in overtime. Here’s more from the Central Division..
- When asked if client Greg Monroe will consider the Pistons in free agency, agent David Falk responded, “absolutely, absolutely,” David Mayo of MLive.com writes. Meanwhile, he says that he hasn’t talked free agency with Monroe and only knows that finding the best fit will be the highest consideration. “Only the media discuss this kind of stuff during the season,” he said. “I don’t ever sit down game to game and take his temperature. It’s like the playoffs — the only thing that matters is where is his head at on July 1? We’ve got a long ways to go before we get there. It’s all speculation and he can change his mind 20 times between now and then. So I leave him alone. There’ll be a time for discussion and that time is not now.”
- Pistons coach/exec Stan Van Gundy believes in stats and wants to beef up the team’s analytics staff, Keith Langlois of Pistons.com writes. The Pistons were represented by four front-office members at the weekend’s Sloan Sports Analytics Conference and SVG was a guest in previous years when he was between coaching jobs.
- Just one day after having a meniscectomy to repair a torn medial meniscus in his right knee, Derrick Rose was back at the Bulls‘ training facility on Saturday beginning his rehab process, Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com writes. Rose is expected back on the floor within four-to-six weeks.
Central Notes: Sloan, Blatt, Ennis
Donald Sloan has proven to be a valuable find for the Pacers this season, writes Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders. Brigham compares Sloan’s path to the NBA to Hassan Whiteside‘s path. Both players came into the league with Sacramento in 2010, both spent time playing in the D-League and this season, both are playing major roles on their respective teams. Sloan hasn’t quite been as dominant as Whiteside, but the 27-year-old has started 21 games for Indiana this season. The Pacers are 24-34 on the season and currently own the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference. Sloan will become an unrestricted free agent after this season, in which he is making slightly more than $948K. The Texas A&M product is averaging 13.6 points, 6.2 assists and 5.0 rebounds per 36 minutes this year and with numbers like that, he should expect a raise on his minimum salary arrangement, although that is just my speculation.
Here’s more from the Central Division:
- Cavs coach David Blatt almost ended up as an assistant on Steve Kerr‘s staff in Golden State, but despite some early season difficulties, Blatt is happy to be in Cleveland, Chris Fedor of The Northeast Ohio Media Group writes. “Once I had the opportunity to come to the Cavaliers I really didn’t feel any regret,” Blatt said. “It’s really through the good graces of Steve Kerr and the Golden State staff that I had the opportunity to interview for the job and they were willing to let me follow this path. I still hold a really good feeling of appreciation for the way they handled that situation. It’s turned out pretty good for both sides.”
- Blatt heard all of the criticism levied at him when the Cavs began the season slowly, but he never felt the need to validate his coaching credentials, Fedor adds. “I’ve been a head coach for 22 years,” Blatt said. “People overlook that too easily and I think unfairly. I know I’m the new kid on the block in the NBA and I recognize the greatness of this league and the difficulty of this league and the fact that I’ve had to make, and am still going through the adjustment to coach in this league, but I am not now, nor have I been for quite some time, a rookie coach.”
- New addition Tyler Ennis was excited about coming to Milwaukee and is happy with his increased playing time, writes Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel. Ennis has played 88 minutes in his first five games with the Bucks after seeing only 58 minutes of NBA action during his time with the Suns this season.
Eddie Scarito contributed to this post
Central Notes: Sanders, Perkins, Pistons
Larry Sanders had a clause in his contract that would have allowed him to continue to be paid if he didn’t play for the Bucks as long as he received mental health treatment, according to Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN.com. Sanders this week acknowledged checking into a hospital to take part in a program for anxiety, depression and mood disorders, but Arnovitz indicates that he’s no longer in that facility, having departed shortly before he arranged his buyout from the Bucks. Before that, Sanders had broken off contact with the team, which nearly suspended him before the league did last month, Arnovitz also hears. One source who spoke with Arnovitz backed up a December report that Sanders was considering retirement, one Sanders quickly denied, though the center this week hinted that he might not play again. While we wait to see if Sanders can overcome his troubles and return to the NBA, here’s more from the Central Division:
- Clippers coach/executive Doc Rivers pursued Kendrick Perkins even after he’d already committed to the Cavs, as Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com said today in an appearance on ESPN Cleveland radio (audio link at 32:10 mark).
- It’s doubtful that Brandon Jennings and Reggie Jackson both remain Pistons long-term, tweets Keith Langlois of Pistons.com, who nonetheless believes it’s a distinct possibility that the two of them are still on the team next season.
- The Pistons lavished more money on Jodie Meeks than they did with any of the team’s other free agent signees last summer in large measure for his outside shooting, but the slumping Meeks is knocking down a career-worst 30.1% of his three-point attempts, MLive’s David Mayo notes. Coach/executive Stan Van Gundy doesn’t regret failing to hire a shooting coach this summer but said he’ll consider it for next season, according to Mayo.