Jason Kapono Retires
Nine-year NBA veteran Jason Kapono has decided to retire, as David Pick of Eurobasket.com reports (Twitter link). The 33-year-old last played professionally for Panathinaikos of Greece in 2012/13 after appearing in 27 games for the Lakers in 2011/12. The Cavs acquired him in a trade at the 2012 deadline, waiving him soon after, and a series of workouts the following September with the Spurs was his last brush with the NBA.
Kapono was one of the league’s elite sharpshooters, leading the NBA in three-point percentage in 2006/07 and 2007/08 with the Heat and Raptors, respectively. The Cavs drafted him in the second round in 2003, and he played in Cleveland, Charlotte and Philadelphia in addition to his time with the Lakers, Miami and Toronto. He won a championship with the Heat in 2006, but he played in only one playoff game that year. He had a much greater role in the postseason for the Raptors two years later, averaging 15.6 points per game in 30.4 minutes per contest in a five-game first-round defeat.
The former UCLA Bruin made nearly $28.5MM for his career, according to Basketball-Reference. He drew his highest annual salary of $6.6MM for the Sixers in 2010/11, but he averaged a career-low 4.7 MPG that season.
Bulls, Warriors, Nets Eye Toure’ Murry
Toure’ Murry is set to hit free agency in July, and even though he made barely a ripple for the Knicks this season after making the team out of training camp, he’s drawing interest from the Bulls, Warriors and Nets, among others, reports Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com. Murry would become a restricted free agent if the Knicks extend a qualifying offer worth more than $1MM, about $200K more than he would make on the minimum salary next season. Rival suitors are hoping Knicks president Phil Jackson, who wasn’t around when the team signed Murry and elected to keep him past the leaguewide guarantee date, finds the qualifying offer too high and allows Murry to become an unrestricted free agent, Begley notes.
Murry averaged 2.7 points in 7.3 minutes per game in 51 appearances this past season, his first in the NBA after going undrafted out of Wichita State in 2012. The guard spent his first year after turning pro in the D-League, notching just 8.3 PPG in 23.4 MPG for the Rockets affiliate. Still, Murry beat out a handful of veterans with NBA experience in Knicks training camp this fall as owner James Dolan pushed for more youth on the team. The Knicks chose in December to retain Murry instead of Chris Smith, the brother of J.R. Smith, angering the former Sixth Man of the Year.
The Bernie Lee client took home the rookie minimum salary of $490,180 this year, making him cheaper than veteran options, but his minimum would be $816,482 next season, a relatively significant jump. Chicago, Golden State and Brooklyn no doubt have Murry fairly low on their wish lists, but even a modicum of interest at this point in the offseason indicates that there’s a chance he’ll make more than the minimum next season. It appears at least that, unlike this past summer, he’ll receive offers for guaranteed salary. There’s probably a decent chance he’ll become sign-and-trade fodder should the Knicks attempt to construct a larger swap with one of the teams that likes his game.
And-Ones: Draft, Yao, LeBron
James McAdoo, Roscoe Smith, James Bell, Chris Fouch, Luke Hancock, and Niels Giffey all worked out for the Sixers today, reports Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. All project to be selected in the second round at best, where Philadelphia owns five draft picks. Here’s a roundup of the night’s news, including plenty from the draft:
- The Bucks are having some difficulty scheduling pre-draft workouts with Joel Embiid, Andrew Wiggins, and Jabari Parker, director of scouting Billy McKinney tells Charles F. Gardner of The Journal Sentinel. “I still think there’s a lot of thinking on their agents’ part of, ‘Hey, he’s not going to be there [at No. 2].'” McKinney said. “We’re going to have to be a little creative…which you have to do certain times to go out and get your private discussion and workouts in. That’s all part of it.”
- C.J. Fair will workout for the Bucks and Hornets this week, tweets Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv.
- Wally Judge will work out for the Jazz, tweets Zagoria.
- A front office executive tells Gino Pilato of D-League Digest that P.J. Hairston is expected to go either late in the first round, or early in the second.
- Former Pelicans forward Lance Thomas will be among players participating in a mini-camp at the Nets facility next week, Zagoria reports (via Twitter).
- Yao Ming earlier denied reports that he was assembling an investment group to purchase the Clippers, but told news outlets including ChinaDaily USA that he won’t rule out the possibility he will. “I know there are a lot of rumors, but I don’t think I have time to clarify the rumors one by one,” Yao said. “Nowadays, sports are globalized, and anything is possible, but so far, there is nothing substantial.”
- In the case that LeBron James decides to opt out and leave the Heat in the offseason, Dwyane Wade doesn’t want the blame to be laid on his performance or health issues, he told Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. “Just don’t solely put it on me,” Wade said, laughing. “That’s what I’m saying. Don’t put the X on me… There’s a lot that goes into [the decision], so just don’t say, ‘If Dwyane Wade doesn’t have the year that we’re accustomed to, it’s over.'”
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Western Notes: Wolves, Nuggets, Thomas, Scola
The Kings haven’t yet made a trade offer to the Wolves for Kevin Love, reports Charley Walters of St. Paul Pioneer Press. Walters writes that Minnesota is still operating as if Love will be on the roster next season. Here’s a roundup for the Western Conference, including more notes from Walters’ piece:
- Fred Hoiberg is not a candidate for the Wolves coaching job, but president of basketball operations Flip Saunders could still be in the running to become the next coach in Minnesota, according to Walters.
- The Wolves are receiving calls on the availability of Ricky Rubio and Nikola Pekovic, in addition to Love, Walters reports.
- Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities would be “mildly surprised” if Sam Mitchell won the Wolves head coaching job, and says that Minnesota remains focused on candidates with head coaching experience (Twitter links).
- Nuggets GM Tim Connelly tells Nicki Jhabvala of The Denver Post that he has ownership’s blessing to make a major move to upgrade Denver’s roster. “We’ve got a lot of things at our disposal,” Connelly said. “We have the 11th pick, obviously, we have our picks going forward, we have a pretty big trade exception (worth $9.8MM), and I think we have a bunch of players who are well thought of outside our locker room, and they’re on contracts that — if we deem them movable guys — it’s not hard to move them.”
- Connelly tells Jhabvala that he doesn’t expect to find a player who can immediately contribute with the team’s No. 11 draft pick, if the Nuggets keep it. “The 11th pick on a team that should be in the playoffs generally doesn’t have a huge impact from day one. Very few rookies had any impact this year on playoff teams,” Connelly said. “As our roster is presently constituted, who knows how we’re going to look after the draft. I think it’s unfair to put too much emphasis on the 11th pick.”
- Rockets GM Daryl Morey tells Zach Lowe of Grantland that coach Kevin McHale is so high on Luis Scola that he still asks if Houston can reacquire the forward. Since the Rockets amnestied Scola, they cannot reacquire him until his contract, which is partially guaranteed through next year, is up.
Coaching Rumors: Cavs, Joerger, Fisher
The Cavs would improve their chances of retaining Luol Deng if they hired Bulls assistant Adrian Griffin as head coach, sources tell Adrian Wojnarwoski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Griffin, a candidate for the job, worked with Deng in Chicago, and although Deng’s departure has essentially been a foregone conclusion, it will be interesting to see if Cleveland re-calibrates their free agency goals after unexpectedly landing the first overall pick. Here’s more of the night’s coaching notes:
- Dave Joerger acknowledged in a radio interview with Eli Savoie of Sports 56 that he was offered the Wolves coaching job before smoothing things out with Grizzlies owner Robert Pera. Joerger added that his contract extension was not a condition for staying with Memphis (Twitter links; H/T Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities).
- Joerger said that three teams called the Grizzlies to request permission to speak with him, but only the Wolves were granted the opportunity, according to a report from The Associated Press (H/T The Star Tribune).
- The Lakers are curious to see if Derek Fisher is a good fit for their head coaching vacancy, but will wait until his season with the Thunder is over, reports Mike Bresnahan of The Los Angeles Times. This jibes with earlier reports that have marked Fisher as a candidate for both the Lakers and Knicks coaching jobs.
- While continuing to downplay his talks with NBA teams, Billy Donovan explained to Edgar Thompson of The Orlando Sentinel that he won’t rule out leaving his coaching job at Florida for the pros. “I’ve seen a lot of coaches over the years come out and say, ‘No, no, no, no, I’m not going anywhere, I’m not going anywhere,’ and then all of a sudden they go somewhere and it’s like, ‘Well, this guy is a complete liar,'” said Donovan. “I don’t want to get into that situation. There (have) been some teams that have called, but that’s really it.”
Lakers To Interview Lionel Hollins
TUESDAY, 5:35pm: Hollins’ interview with L.A. is scheduled for this Thursday, and he will also interview with the Cavs sometime next week, tweets Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News.
SUNDAY, 12:38pm: Lionel Hollins has emerged as a candidate for the Lakers vacant head coaching position, and team management plans to interview Hollins later this week, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The team has already interviewed Mike Dunleavy and Byron Scott for the opening left by the resignation of former coach Mike D’Antoni. This will make Hollins the first candidate to sit down with the team who doesn’t have a history with the organization, notes Wojnarowski.
Hollins has coached in parts of seven seasons, all with the Grizzlies, and has a career coaching record of 214-201 in 415 total games. In his final season with Memphis in 2013, Hollins won 56 games and lost in the Western Conference finals to the Spurs. Hollins’ career postseason record is 18-17.
One thing that sets Hollins apart from many of the other candidates being mentioned for the Lakers position is that Hollins is primarily a defensive-minded coach, which is in stark contrast to the “showtime” basketball the Lakers have been known for throughout the years. The team might be banking on Hollins’ serious-minded leadership style appealing to Kobe Bryant, writes Wojnarowski.
Draft Rumors: Embiid, Parker, Wiggins, Ennis
Several around the league believe Joel Embiid will only work out for the Cavs and Bucks as confidence grows that he won’t slip to the Sixers at No. 3, according to Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe (Twitter link). Jabari Parker and Andrew Wiggins will likely audition only for the teams with the top three picks, a source tells Holmes, though that’s much less noteworthy than the Embiid news, which signals that concerns about the health of his back are abating. Still, it appears as though Nuggets GM Tim Connelly would prefer Parker to Embiid and Wiggins if he somehow managed to have a choice, observes Mark Kiszla of The Denver Post (on Twitter). Here’s more from a busy afternoon of draft-related news:
- Toronto native Tyler Ennis will work out for the Raptors on Thursday, the team announced.
- Glenn Robinson III is auditioning for the Hawks today and the Hornets later this week, and he expects to do so for the Spurs, Bulls and Bucks sometime soon, as he tells MLive’s Brendan F. Quinn (hat tip to Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta-Journal Constitution).
- Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com adds T.J. Warren, Cleanthony Early and K.J. McDaniels to the players working out on June 3rd for the Celtics (Twitter link).
- The Bulls will play host to workouts for Jordan McRae, Devyn Marble and C.J. Fair on Wednesday, Goodman tweets, adding their names to Rodney Hood‘s, which Goodman reported Monday.
- Marble pulled out of his workout with the Bucks today, but the two sides will reschedule, according to Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times (on Twitter).
- The Suns are auditioning Keith Appling, Alec Brown, Deonte Burton, Artem Klimenko, Jakarr Sampson and Jamil Wilson today, tweets Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. Appling will also show off this week for the Pistons, Raptors and Wolves, agent Michael Silverman tells Matt Charboneau of The Detroit News.
- The Knicks will work out Ian Chiles, a source tells Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia.
- Xavier Thames auditioned for the Heat today, and he’s set to do so with the Bucks, Bulls, Celtics, Hornets, Knicks, Jazz, Mavericks and Pacers, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).
Grizzlies Sign Dave Joerger To Extension
4:51pm: The deal is official, the team announced on its website.
“Following an open and honest dialogue with Dave, it became clear that Dave was fully committed to Memphis and we are committed to him,” Pera said as part of the statement. “I look forward to seeing Dave build upon the foundation he helped establish over the last seven years, and we are both committed to bringing a championship to Memphis.”
4:04pm: The fifth-year team option includes a raise over his salaries in the first four seasons of the contract, as Sam Amick of USA Today reports (on Twitter). Joerger has been set to make close to $2MM a year.
4:00pm: Memphis agreed to guarantee what had been a fourth-year team option on Joerger’s deal and add a fifth-year team option, tweets Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal.
3:47pm: The Grizzlies and coach Dave Joerger have agreed to a two-year extension, reports Eric Hasseltine of SiriusXM NBA Radio, who spoke with with Joerger this afternoon on 92.9 ESPN Radio in Memphis (Twitter links). Joerger already had two seasons left at more than $2MM, but Grizzlies owner Robert Pera reportedly “improved” the deal this weekend amid a reconciliation that forestalled Joerger from leaving the team to take the Wolves head coaching job.
The deal is the latest outgrowth of Pera’s decision eight days ago to dismiss CEO Jason Levien and assistant GM Stu Lash. Memphis brass reportedly saw Joerger as a “Levien guy”, and Pera was prepared to fire the first-year coach earlier this season. There was supposedly mutual “hate” between Joerger and team attorney-turned-scouting director David Mincberg, whose role within the basketball operations department appeared to grow and just as quickly shrink within recent days.
Joerger, a Minnesota native, interviewed with Wolves president of basketball ops Flip Saunders, with whom the Grizzlies coach is close, as well as Wolves owner Glen Taylor. He appeared well on his way to filling their vacancy before he met with Pera this past weekend and, in a stunning turn, agreed to remain in Memphis. The Grizzlies went 50-32 and took the Thunder to seven games in the first round of the playoffs this past season, Joerger’s first as an NBA head coach.
Lakers Interview Kurt Rambis
The Lakers have interviewed assistant coach Kurt Rambis for their head coaching job, reports Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link). Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com first reported he was on the club’s initial list of candidates soon after former coach Mike D’Antoni resigned. Rambis also appears to be in the running to become the next Knicks head coach, as Shelburne also reported this month, and while he’s likely to interview for that job, too, it seems he has a better shot to become an assistant in New York than the head man on the Knicks bench.
Rambis has ties to Phil Jackson, having served as a Lakers assistant while the current Knicks team president manned L.A.’s bench, as well as the Showtime era Lakers. He played on four of L.A.’s five championship teams in the 1980s. Rambis served as head coach for the final 37 games of the 1999 season for the Lakers before returning to his role as an assistant, and he also had a disastrous two-year stint as Wolves head coach, going 32-132.
His wife, Linda, is close friends with Lakers co-owner Jeanie Buss, perhaps giving him an advantage that the team’s other handful of interviewees don’t possess. Mike Dunleavy and Byron Scott have already interviewed for the job, while Alvin Gentry and Lionel Hollins are scheduled to do so this week.
Biannual Exception
The most common method over-the-cap teams use to sign free agents from other teams is the mid-level exception, but it’s not the only tool those clubs can use to squeeze an extra player onto the payroll. The biannual exception is a way to sign a player who commands more than the minimum salary and less than the mid-level.
As its name suggests, the biannual exception can only be used every other year. Even if a team uses only a portion of the exception, it becomes unavailable the following year.
The biannual exception is available only to limited number of clubs, even among those that didn’t use the biannual the season before. Teams with player salaries, cap holds and cap exceptions that add up to less than the salary cap lose their biannual exception, as well as their full mid-level exception and any trade exceptions. They must use their cap room to sign players. Additionally, teams lose access to the biannual exception when they go more than $4MM over the tax threshold, exceeding what’s known as the tax apron. So, only teams over the cap but under the tax apron can use the biannual exception.
If a team uses all or part of the biannual exception, it triggers a hard cap for that season. Clubs that sign a player using the biannual can’t go over the tax apron at any time during the season in which the contract is signed.
The biannual exception provides for a starting salary of $2.077MM in 2014/15. That’s approximately 3% greater than the starting salary in a biannual deal this past season, and the figure will continue to rise by about 3% each year under the collective bargaining agreement. A biannual contract can be for either one or two seasons, with a raise of 4.5% for the second season. Teams also have the option of splitting the exception among multiple players. The bi-annual exception becomes pro-rated starting on January 10th, so it’s rarely used for late-season signees.
Five teams used the biannual exception in 2013/14, the most since 2009/10, as I noted last summer. Those five — the Nuggets, Wizards, Timberwolves, Warriors and Pacers — are ineligible to sign a player via the biannual in 2014/15. That’s true for Golden State even though Jermaine O’Neal only signed a one-year contract, for Denver even if Nate Robinson opts out, and for Washington even though the team traded Eric Maynor.
Previous versions of this post appeared on April 23rd, 2012 (by Luke Adams) and May 1st, 2013.
Note: This is a Hoops Rumors Glossary entry. Our glossary posts will explain specific rules relating to trades, free agency, or other aspects of the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement. Larry Coon’s Salary Cap FAQ was used in the creation of this post.