Eastern Rumors: Allen, Wizards, Sixers
A person close to Ray Allen told J. Michael of CSNWashington.com that “nothing has changed” for the veteran shooting guard, who has yet to decide whether to retire or join up with one several teams seeking his services. The Cavs remain the front runners for Allen, and GM David Griffin was in contact with Allen’s people a few days ago according to Michael. Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference, including more on the Allen front:
- The CSNWashington.com scribe reveals that the Thunder and Bucks have contacted Allen’s representatives, in addition to previously reported interest from the Cavs, Wizards, Bulls, and Spurs. Michael notes that Milwaukee’s homecoming pitch fell flat.
- Michael doesn’t think a starting role with the Wizards while Bradley Beal recovers from his wrist injury will make Washington any more enticing to Allen. A source also tells Michael that Wizards won’t pursue a “knee-jerk” trade, which jibes with early reporter reactions to news of Beal’s injury.
- While Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer doesn’t expect the Sixers to be a good team in the near future, coach Brett Brown tells Pompey that he sees “daylight” ahead for the club. “I see a big bright light at the end of this,” Brown said. “I see [Dario] Saric around the corner. I see [Joel] Embiid getting healthy. I see more draft picks. I see [Michael] Carter-Williams and Nerlens [Noel] getting older. I see an abundance of money and flexibility to look at free agents.”
- Sam Amick of USA Today (video link) asked 27 GMs around the league whom they would start their team with, if given the choice, and the majority of them selected LeBron James despite cornerstones like Kevin Durant and Anthony Davis having youth on their side.
And-Ones: TV Deal, Shved, Mavs, Rondo
The NBA’s new TV deal will bring the league $24.4 billion over the next nine years, but may also usher in a new labor fight, notes Jesse Blancarte of Basketball Insiders. After the deal with ESPN and Turner was announced Monday, several of the league’s top players made it clear that they expect their fair share of the money. “The whole thing that went on with the last negotiation process was the owners [were] telling us that they were losing money.” said the Cavaliers‘ LeBron James. “There’s no way they can sit in front of us and tell us that right now after we continue to see teams selling for billions of dollars, being purchased for $200 million, [selling] for $550 [million], $750 [million], $2 billion.” While the players want to eliminate maximum contracts, owners like the Mavericks‘ Mark Cuban say the trade-off may be the end of guaranteed deals. Both the owners and players can opt out of the current collective bargaining agreement in 2017.
Here’s more from around the league:
- Alexey Shved expects a greater opportunity to prove himself in Philadelphia, reports Andy Greder of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Shved, who came to the Sixers from the Timberwolves in the three-team Kevin Love deal in August, hopes to rebound from a subpar 2013/14 season, notes Greder. “For me, it’s much better because I can show my potential in the game,” Shved said. Sixers coach Brett Brown called Shved a “skilled guard” and said the team is challenging him defensively and on his shot selection.
- The new TV deal will have an impact on free agents beginning next summer, writes Brian Robb of Boston.com. He says a potential $80MM salary cap by 2016/17 could make the Celtics more agreeable to Rajon Rondo‘s contract demands. The free agent is seeking a five-year max deal in excess of $100MM. He adds that other teams could be similarly motivated if Boston declines to meet Rondo’s demands.
- Offseason additions have made the Mavs a legitimate contender in the Western Conference, Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio writes in his season preview. Amico says that while Dallas didn’t bring in any superstars, the under-the-radar deals that landed Chandler Parsons, Jameer Nelson, Tyson Chandler, Raymond Felton and Al-Farouq Aminu will provide nice complements for Dirk Nowitzki. Although Amico has concerns about the Mavericks’ defense and bench scoring, he sees hope for “something special” this season in Dallas.
Arthur Hill contributed to this post.
Eastern Notes: LeBron, Caldwell-Pope, Brand
LeBron James and the Heat organization didn’t always see eye to eye, but he doesn’t harbor bitterness toward the team even though he’s entirely comfortable with his choice to head back to the Cavs, writes Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. His departure from Miami this summer surprised the Heat organization and left his old teammates feeling stung, but it’s a stretch to say there’s true animosity between them and the four-time MVP, as Windhorst explains. Chris Bosh backtracked an earlier claim that he hadn’t spoken to James since he left for Cleveland and said today that they did talk briefly in August, Windhorst notes in a separate piece.
Here’s more from the east:
- Pistons guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has signed with Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, Brian Windhorst reports (Twitter link). Caldwell-Pope was formerly represented by Thad Foucher of The Wasserman Media Group.
- Veteran forward Elton Brand is entering his 16th season, but he’s not ready to say that this will be his last in the league, Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports (Twitter link). Brand re-signed with the Hawks this summer for one year, $2MM after averaging 5.7 PPG and 4.9 RPG last season. Brand also told Vivlamore (Twitter link) that he talked to “five or six” teams before deciding to return to Atlanta.
- Sixers signees Malcolm Lee and Drew Gordon are on four-year deals that pay the minimum salary each year, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). They have partial guarantees of $50K and $40K, respectively, for this season, but their money is otherwise non-guaranteed. The Sixers also put a team option on the final season of each of their contracts.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Eastern Notes: Nets, Allen, Cavs, Muscala, Wright
Nets GM Billy King took questions from reporters today, including Tim Bontemps of the New York Post. While King originally refused to comment on the Guggenheim ownership talks, he would eventually say Mikhail Prokhorov “isn’t selling” and described the current ownership’s commitment to winning as “unwavering” (Twitter links here). This further confirms the majority of reports over the last week that Prokhorov intends to remain the majority owner.
Let’s take a look at what else is coming out of the Eastern Conference on Tuesday night:
- Jim Tanner, the agent for free agent Ray Allen, shot down any speculation that his client has or is about to sign with the Cavaliers. After speaking with Allen today, Tanner, through the Twitter account of Tandem Sports and Entertainment, indicated that Allen has yet to decide whether or not he will play this season (Twitter links here). Allen was linked to several teams this summer, but as of last month Cleveland still believed they will land the veteran sniper.
- Speaking of the Cavaliers, the team isn’t panicked about their need for rim-protection, writes Grantland’s Zach Lowe, who suggests the Cavs aren’t going to rush to remedy the situation via trade. Instead, they’re more likely to target a wing defender whose salary would fit into their nearly $5.3MM Keith Bogans trade exception, according to Lowe.
- The Hawks are high on the development of Mike Muscala, writes Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Atlanta has 14 guaranteed contracts on the books for the upcoming season and Vivlamore’s report is just the latest evidence that they will award the final spot to Muscala, whose contract is partially guaranteed.
- Greek’s Panathinaikos took a pass on Chris Wright, who’s decided to leave the Bucks, and the small forward rejected a $200K offer from Besiktas in Turkey, Sportando’s Orazio Cauchi reports. That seemingly leaves Wright in a limbo of sorts, but the Bucks have yet to formally place his non-guaranteed contract on waivers.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Stein’s Latest: Parsons, Cavs, Mavs, Rockets
Rockets GM Daryl Morey and Mavs owner Mark Cuban downplay the intensity of their personal rivalry in interviews with Marc Stein of ESPN.com, even though both have made some incendiary statements about the other. Their teams have been involved in a tug-of-war over high-powered free agents in the past few summers, and the case of Chandler Parsons brought the rivalry into focus. Stein’s piece sheds light on many unreported aspects of Parsons’ free agency, and the entire piece is worth a read, particularly for Mavs and Rockets fans. We’ll share the most newsworthy tidbits here:
- The Cavs were the most fervent suitor of Parsons early in free agency this summer, viewing him as a plan B if LeBron James didn’t return, and Kyrie Irving, a friend of Parsons’, tried to recruit him to Cleveland, as Stein chronicles. The Mavs weren’t willing to wait on a definitive “no” from either LeBron or Carmelo Anthony before swooping in with their offer sheet, one that Parsons agreed to rather than sign a two-year max deal that the Rockets offered, Stein also reports.
- Parsons told Stein he would have re-signed with the Rockets for less early in free agency, and Stein hears he sought a four-year, $48MM deal from Houston, which was instead engaged in a pursuit of more established stars.
- Cuban was honest with Parsons about the risk that he was taking, as he explains to Stein. “I told Chandler from the start [of free agency]: ‘Do you want me to be brutally honest with you?'” Cuban said. “And he said yes. So I told him with as much granularity as I could that I think it’s a 10% chance at best that we could get ‘Melo, but we had to try. Then, we started hearing our percentage was getting higher, and I told Chandler that, too. But then, when we weren’t hearing a whole lot from the Melo camp, we knew we were pretty much out. So I told Chandler [on July 9th]: ‘I could end up being the dumbest idiot in NBA history, but even if LeBron comes back to us and says he’s choosing us, I’m committing to you.'”
- The Mavs were also high on Gordon Hayward and Eric Bledsoe, but they found Parsons the most obtainable of the three restricted free agents they wanted most, Stein writes.
- Morey pursued Kyle Lowry early in free agency, but cooled on him and turned his attention to Chris Bosh instead, as Stein explains. Bosh seemed on his way to the Rockets before he inked a five-year max deal with the Heat, and even Morey thought that he had Bosh within his clutches, as he admits to Stein. “Given our understanding of where things were,” Morey said, “we felt like we were 95 percent-plus to potentially having the best team in the league. There was nothing promised, but I did believe [Bosh] was coming in almost every scenario except the one that happened at the last minute [Miami trumping Houston’s offer with a five-year max].”
- The Rockets agreed to trade Jeremy Lin to the Lakers before receiving a commitment from Bosh because the Lakers refused to wait any longer and because a trade proposal from the Sixers instead would have cost multiple first-rounders instead of just one.
- The Rockets, like many teams, are turning their eyes to 2016, and they plan to let James Harden act as the primary recruiter for former teammate Kevin Durant, who can hit free agency that summer, Stein writes.
- Agent Dan Fegan proposed the structure of the three-year offer sheet that Parsons signed with the Mavs, and the three-year length, in particular, drew raves from Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace, who noted its contrast with the typical four-year offer sheet, as Stein passed along. Cavs GM David Griffin also expressed admiration for the deal, as he tells Stein. “The contract structure was extremely creative,” Griffin said. “I think it will be a significant moment in the way restricted free agency discussions are handled in the future.”
Eastern Notes: MCW, Miller, Hornets, LeBron
The 76ers appear to be a very future-minded organization, but Michael Carter-Williams is only focused on winning in the present, writes Michael Kaskey-Blomain of Philly.com. “I can’t sit here and look too far in the future,” Carter-Williams explained. “I know that it may seem that that’s where the hope is, in the future, and a lot of people are focused on that, but we won’t get to that future if we don’t go through what we need to go through now.” As we wait to see if MCW can help the Sixers surprise people this season, let’s have a look at the latest from the East:
- Wizards guard Andre Miller refuses to say that the upcoming season will be his last, observes J. Michael of CSNWashington.com. Miller, 38, hopes to continue playing beyond this season and says that he feels good as 2014/15 fast approaches. The veteran averaged career lows of 4.9 points and 3.4 assists last season.
- The offseason addition of Lance Stephenson should help the Hornets take the next step towards becoming an Eastern Conference contender, writes Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. The controversial forward averaged 13.8 points, 7.2 rebounds and 4.6 assists while shooting 49.1 percent from the field last season, and at 24 years old, he has plenty of room to grow.
- Just like a new TV deal was negotiated years in advance, Cavs star LeBron James says he would like to see a new CBA hammered out ahead of time, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com. “We would love to do it sooner than later,” said James.
Charlie Adams contributed to this post.
Western Notes: Mavs, Grizzlies, Aldridge, Barea
Charlie Villanueva has impressed Mavs coach Rick Carlisle, who insists Villanueva’s lack of guaranteed money won’t prevent the team from keeping him for opening night, as Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com chronicles.
“It’s going to come down to who plays the best, who fills needs,” Carlisle said. “And we’ll go from there. Mark [Cuban]’s the kind of owner, he’s not going to let a few dollars get in the way of keeping the right team together.”
Still, it’d cost the Mavs, who have 15 guaranteed contracts plus partial guarantees with Eric Griffin and Ivan Johnson, at least $991,482 in dead money to waive the players necessary for them to keep Villanueva, unless they can work out some sort of trade. While we wait to see just how much Cuban is willing to sacrifice, here’s more from the Western Conference:
- Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace told Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal that he wasn’t explicitly told not to perform his duties while former CEO Jason Levien was in charge of the team, as Tillery writes in a subscription-only piece. Wallace clarified that he made his own choice to remove himself from player personnel, Tillery notes. Wallace also made a run at openings with the Kings last year and Cavs earlier this year, according to Tillery.
- The new TV deal won’t affect LaMarcus Aldridge‘s plan to sign a long-term deal with the Blazers this summer, a source tells The Oregonian’s Joe Freeman, pointing out that the maximum salary goes up as the salary cap does. Still, it’s worth noting that cap figures only affect the amount of a max contract for the first season of the deal, and since it appears unlikely the cap will rise dramatically until the summer of 2016, there’s still plenty of incentive for Aldridge to sign a short-term deal instead.
- Wolves coach/executive Flip Saunders didn’t seem merely to be trying to up J.J. Barea‘s trade value when he said the guard was one of the team’s best performers in camp again this year, writes Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune.
- The NBA’s national TV deal isn’t the only one due for a sharp increase, as some predictions have the Clippers local TV rights fees increasing to $80MM annually from the $20MM the team receives each year under the current arrangement, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. The existing deal is up after the 2015/16 season, Kennedy notes (on Twitter).
Heat Rumors: 2016, Brown, Beasley, LeBron
The Heat aren’t title favorites anymore, but they remain a compelling team as the 2014/15 season approaches, with questions surrounding just how well they can play without LeBron James and whether Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade can fill the superstar void. Here’s the latest from South Beach:
- Team president Pat Riley says he isn’t planning to make moves that cut into the team’s cap flexibility for the summer of 2016, observes Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel. That’s when the NBA starts receiving new TV revenue and several of the contracts Miami signed this summer come off the books. The Heat have about $29.5MM in commitments for the 2016/17 season.
- Riley praised the way Shannon Brown, who’s on a non-guaranteed deal, performed so far in training camp, as Winderman writes in a separate piece. Riley also expressed pleasure about Shawne Williams, whose addition largely assured Michael Beasley wouldn’t be back, Winderman notes. “I love Mike, but we’re moving on,” Riley said. “When [LeBron James] left, we just cleaned the table. It’s time to move on. It really had nothing to do with anything but we’re just moving in another direction, in another way, and it was nothing punitive, there was nothing bad. I wish him nothing but the best. But we decided, in the long run, Josh McRoberts and Shawne, Chris [Bosh], Chris Andersen, Udonis [Haslem] and the guys we had there, I didn’t want him to be put in the position of not playing, maybe.” An earlier report indicated that some in the Heat organization had concerns about Beasley’s defense and maturity.
- There are also some within the Heat who are upset that James ignored many of Riley’s attempts to communicate during his free agency this summer, reports Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Some of them believe that the four-time MVP already knew he was going to sign with the Cavs when he met with Riley shortly before announcing his decision.
Eastern Notes: Thompson, Rondo, Hornets
The results of the starting center competition in Cleveland might have an impact on the team’s roster next season, Jason Lloyd of The Akron Beacon Journal writes. Tristan Thompson and Anderson Varejao are both entering the final year of their contracts as well as competing to tip off games at the pivot. Varejao should come a bit cheaper, but Thompson is nine years younger and has a much higher upside, notes Lloyd, and Thompson needs minutes to put up numbers worthy of a deal in the four-year, $49MM range that Derrick Favors signed with the Jazz, which will be the likely starting point in negotiations with the Cavs.
Here’s more from the east:
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Though he doesn’t get a vote in the matter, Celtics legend Bob Cousy is among those who thinks the team should hold onto Rajon Rondo, Bill Doyle of The News Telegram writes. Cousy, who knows a bit about point guard play said, “Guys like Rondo come along only every 20 years. So I would do everything I could to keep him. Obviously you don’t want to lose a talent like that and get nothing for him. I’m a big Ainge fan. I think Danny has done an excellent job since he’s been there. He’s a hard worker, he’s a good guy, he’s smart. If he really thinks he’s [Rondo] going, then sure try to salvage something.”
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One item that didn’t factor into LeBron James‘ decision to return to the Cavs was who the head coach was, Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com writes. Discussing his new head coach David Blatt, James said, “Him being here, it wasn’t part of my process of coming back. Obviously, I was excited once I made the decision to get to know him, get to know what he’s about and it’s been good so far.” James also added that he feels like he can work with any coach regardless of how impressive or pedestrian their past might be, notes McMenamin.
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The Hornets talent level has improved over last season but the team also hopes that the remarkable locker room chemistry last year’s squad had will carry forward to this season, Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer writes. “It’s not going to be easy,” said Jannero Pargo. “If you change one player, one aspect of a team, you change the whole dynamic. But we have a good core of guys, so it can be done.”
Poll: Which Summer Moves Will Flop?
There’s no more optimistic period for NBA fans than the summer, when draft picks, free agency additions, trades, coaching hires, and other maneuvers boost expectations around the league. Of course, there are no shortage of teams that have deflated those expectations as previous seasons have unfolded. Just last season, the return of Derrick Rose to the Bulls was cut short just 10 games in, the Knicks and Cavs disappointed at the bottom of the standings, the Bucks fell from a postseason appearance to owning the league’s very worst record, and the Nets’ ballooning blockbuster roster started the season 10-21, although Brooklyn managed to mostly salvage the year with a second-round playoff run.
This poll isn’t so much about individual performance as it is team expectations that might go unmet. While teams like the Rockets, Pacers, and Heat appear vulnerable to severe dropoffs this year, their summers have been marked by offseason setbacks. I’ve rounded up some of the teams that are setting their sights higher for 2014/15 than they did last season thanks to offseason successes, with some factors that could potentially cause trouble for each.
- Cleveland Cavaliers. LeBron James‘ arrival was the NBA’s biggest move since he jumped to Miami four years ago, but the arrival of Kevin Love via trade set expectations in Cleveland even higher. While James, Love, and Kyrie Irving should form a deadly offensive foundation, whether first-year NBA coach David Blatt can manage a newly stirred cocktail of superstar personalities and coax strong defense out of the bunch remains to be seen. Missing the Finals would be a disappointment, and anything short of an Eastern Conference Finals appearance would be considered a massive flop for the star-laden team in the weaker conference.
- Chicago Bulls. They made a slew of additions in place of the amnestied Carlos Boozer, bringing in Pau Gasol, Nikola Mirotic, and Doug McDermott, while a hopeful full season from Rose is a virtual star addition. Mirotic and McDermott are unproven, and some are concerned that Gasol’s production has begun tapering off for good. The team still lacks much offensive pop on the wing or backcourt rotation, continuing the team’s annual need to lean on coach Tom Thibodeau‘s elite defensive guidance to overcome its struggles on the other end of the court. If the team remains a middle-of-the-pack team in the East, fans will be let down to say the least.
- Dallas Mavericks. The team won a lot of headlines this summer, acquiring Chandler Parsons and Tyson Chandler by outbidding the Rockets and trading with the Knicks, respectively. The team has also lost substantial talent, however, with Jose Calderon, Vince Carter, and Shawn Marion all signing elsewhere. Some think the Mavs could ascend to the upper echelon of the Western Conference, but if either Chandler fails to bring his full projected impact, the team could spend another season fighting for one of the final playoff spots.
- Golden State Warriors. The team’s brass wasn’t satisfied with the job former coach Mark Jackson had done through 2013/14, which concluded with a 51-31 record and a first-round exit from the playoffs. The team pursued Stan Van Gundy before signing Steve Kerr to coach the team to reach the next level. The most notable move from the offseason is the one that Golden State didn’t make: declining to deal for Love so they could hang on to Klay Thompson. While Kerr is expected to bring a more sophisticated offense to the team, the team’s defense might dwindle without Jackson on the sideline. Whether Harrison Barnes makes a developmental leap, Andrew Bogut stays healthy, and new addition Shaun Livingston can fit in will be paramount to the team moving up in the standings, rather than slipping under loftier expectations.
What do you think? Which team’s bubble is most likely to burst as the season unfolds?
Which Summer Moves Will Flop?
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Golden State Warriors 31% (229)
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Dallas Mavericks 30% (223)
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Chicago Bulls 23% (168)
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Cleveland Cavaliers 16% (120)
Total votes: 740