And-Ones: Messina, Embiid, Gordon
Fort Wayne Mad Ants president Jeff Potter is under the impression that his club will indeed have affiliations, with 13 NBA teams this coming season, as he tells Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The Mad Ants will feature no more than four players on assignment from the NBA at any a time, with the spots alloted to NBA clubs on a first-come, first-served basis, Potter adds. Here’s more from around the league:
- Spurs GM R.C. Buford denied an earlier report that claimed Ettore Messina was joining San Antonio’s coaching staff as an assistant, telling Mike Monroe of San Antonio Express-News that there has been no contact made with Messina, let alone a hire. “Is someone leaving our staff that I don’t know about?” Buford said. “We have not had one conversation with anyone about a coaching position for next season.”
- Joel Embiid is in Cleveland to undergo a physical with Cavs doctors in the hopes of alleviating concerns about his back, but Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider only) says that it will take more than medical clearance for Embiid to land at No. 1 in the draft. Ford writes that owner Dan Gilbert’s anxiousness to win immediately has influenced Cleveland’s draft choices in recent years. While scouts tell Ford that Embiid has the most potential of any 2014 prospect, they don’t expect him to be a steady contributor in his rookie season.
- Dirk Nowitzki tells Dwain Price of The Fort Worth Star-Telegram that he is likely to meet with Mavs owner Mark Cuban hastily regarding his impending free agency (Twitter link).
- The Celtics will work out Isaiah Austin and Sam Dower tomorrow, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com.
- The Wolves have been trying unsuccessfully to arrange a workout with Aaron Gordon, reports Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities. The Wolves are struggling to convince top tier prospects to work out in general. Wolfson notes that the Wolves think more highly of Noah Vonleh and Julius Randle than they do Gordon (all Twitter links).
- John Calipari acknowledged that he had been approached by multiple NBA teams before signing an extension to stay with Kentucky in an interview with Kentucky Sports Radio (transcription via Mike DeCourcy of The Sporting News). “It was significantly more money for me to leave than to stay,” Calipari said. “It kind of tells you where my mind is.”
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Pacific Notes: Sterlings, Scott, Gay
Shelly Sterling will ask a judge to make an expedited decision regarding Donald Sterling’s mental capacity so that she can move forward with the Clippers sale, now that her husband is no longer willing to comply with the sale, per a report from Tami Abdollah of The Associated Press. If Shelly is not successful in court, the NBA will reschedule a hearing to take a vote to terminate Donald Sterling’s ownership, tweets David Aldridge of NBA.com. The league canceled the original hearing when Shelly Sterling arranged for a voluntary Clippers sale by the Sterling family trust. Here’s more from the Pacific Division:
- One of Donald Sterling’s lawyers tells James Rainey of The Los Angeles Times that they will try to prolong the court decision regarding his client’s mental health.
- On ABC’s broadcast for Game 3 of the Finals, commissioner Adam Silver stated that the league will wait for the Sterlings’ court case to resolve before taking their next step. “This is now a dispute between the Sterlings,” Silver said. “We’re on the sidelines.”
- On the heels of his second interview with the Lakers, Byron Scott tells Sam Amick of USA Today that he still views himself as the front-runner for the job. Scott again banked on his relationship with Kobe Bryant as an advantage for his candidacy. “Again, I think I’ve got a hand up on (the job) because of our relationship,” said Scott. “We get along extremely well. Kobe knows all about me and what I’m about. He knows that I’m an old-school coach who’s very demanding on the defensive end and knows that defense and rebounding wins championships, so I think from that point of view we see eye to eye.”
- The Lakers didn’t give Scott any clarity on the nature of their coaching search during his second interview, a source tells Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News.
- Rudy Gay met with the Kings as planned today to hear Sacramento’s pitch for him to pick up his $19.3MM player option, reports Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee.
Byron Scott Has Second Interview With Lakers
Byron Scott interviewed with the Lakers for a second time today, tweets Chris Broussard of ESPN.com. Scott is the only candidate to receive a second interview to this point. Scott had expressed enthusiasm and optimism about his chances to land the job following his first discussions with Los Angeles.
Scott’s progression in the interview process isn’t necessarily a sign that he’s significantly closer to landing the job. After the Lakers planned to “make a splash” with a big name hire soon after Mike D’Antoni‘s resignation, they have shown a commitment to taking a patient approach in the hiring process. The Lakers are in no rush to select their next coach, and a report from yesterday suggests they could wait until after they pursue marquee free agents in the offseason to move forward with a hire.
Scott is a well known, popular coaching veteran as evidenced by our reader poll that ranked him as the second best coaching prospect for Los Angeles. Scott guided the Nets to two Finals appearances early in his coaching career and took New Orleans into the playoffs in consecutive seasons later in his career, but still sports a 416-521 overall coaching record thanks to losing seasons every other year. Scott’s Cavs teams never produced more than 24 wins in his most recent three-year stint as an NBA coach.
Southwest Rumors: Messina, Nowitzki, Jock Tax
The Spurs will take another shot at slowing down LeBron James tonight in Game 3. James has scored 32 or more points in four of the last six Heat/Spurs Finals games dating back to last year. Here’s a look at the Southwest Division:
- Ettore Messina is close to being hired as an assistant coach with the Spurs, a development first reported by Daniele Labanti of Corriere di Bologna (via Twitter) and confirmed by Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Messina was once considered a candidate for the Jazz head coaching vacancy, and still had the potential to become an assistant in Utah after Quin Snyder won the head job.
- The Rockets are reportedly targeting Dirk Nowitzki in free agency this summer, but the All-Star laughed off the idea that he’d wind up in Houston, observes Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News.
- The Tennessee legislature has repealed the “jock tax” on visiting players who play in Memphis, and commissioner Adam Silver prevailed upon Grizzlies owner Robert Pera to support the end of the tax even though the revenue went directly to the team. TNT’s David Aldridge has that and other details about the end of the law, which won’t come off the books for another two years. It will nonetheless no longer apply to players on 10-day contracts, Aldridge adds.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Draft Notes: Gordon, Kings, Napier, Stauskas
Aaron Gordon reveals some of the experiences he had while working out for the Kings, Lakers, and Jazz to Tzvi Twersky of SLAM Magazine. Gordon mentions shooting alongside Chris Mullin and playing defense against Doug McDermott among other details. Here’s a rundown of tonight’s other draft notes:
- Cleanthony Earl and Glenn Robinson III will work out for the Kings next week, reports Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal (subscription only).
- Xavier Thames will work out for the Kings and Pacers, tweets Sean Cunningham of News10 Sacramento.
- Chad Ford of ESPN.com adds the Thunder, Grizzlies, and Celtics to the list of teams that have auditioned Shabazz Napier (Insider only).
- Nik Stauskas has rescheduled his scrubbed workout with the Lakers, the ESPN scribe adds.
- The Wolves will be working out K.J. McDaniels, Rodney Hood, and P.J. Hairston this weekend, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities. Wolfson adds that more players could be lined up for workouts in Minnesota in addition to those three.
- Stephen Holt will work out for the Warriors, tweets Diamond Leung of Bay Area News Group.
Hoops Rumors Featured Feedback
We value your input on the news we cover here at Hoops Rumors. That’s why we’re passing along some of the best insight from our comments and the Hoops Rumors Facebook page. Share your reaction to and insight on the news and rumors around the league, and you’ll have a chance to see your name here. Check out what readers had to say in previous editions of Hoops Rumors Featured Feedback.
It’s easy to sign up and start commenting on Hoops Rumors. First, read our Commenting Policy. Then, scroll to the bottom of any post, and you’ll see the word “Login” on the right side atop the comments section. Click the word and choose whether you want to comment using a Disqus account or your existing Facebook, Twitter or Google account. If you don’t have a Disqus account and you want to create one, just choose that option and click “Need an account?” at the bottom right of the box that pops up.
The announcement of this year’s All-NBA teams sparked a strong debate in our comments. Several readers gave strong feedback, including Aaron Pi, who touched on Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Love, perhaps the two most available superstars.
- For everyone who says ‘Melo deserved [an All-NBA nod], he didn’t. I like Melo a lot, and think he is a good player, but he didn’t make it to the playoffs in the East. He team only won 37 games, in the East again! Someone like that does not deserve to be on this list. (I do say the same thing about Kevin Love. There should be more complaints about him being so high on this list.)
The Bulls have their eyes on both Anthony and Love, and in response to a dispatch suggesting a path to the Wolves star, Vegandork thinks Chicago should favor a star-heavy approach.
- The Bulls certainly aren’t winning with their current pieces, so why not try the three superstar/minimum-salary role player route. It works for Miami, and one would argue the Bulls trio would be better.
Some in the Pacers front office reportedly questioned the wisdom of re-signing Lance Stephenson, but dogmanx23 seems to agree with Pacers president Larry Bird, who’s trying to bring the shooting guard back.
- They need Lance. He does a little bit of everything and finding players like that isn’t easy. Yeah I don’t pay him over $10MM, but I would offer somewhere around $6-$7MM a year. Chances are a team out there will go into the $10MM range and his time in Indy is over. Pacers need a point guard and should maybe try and use Lance to get one if they don’t plan to keep him. George Hill can be moved to shooting guard if they need him to.
We appreciate everyone who adds to the dialogue at Hoops Rumors, and we look forward to seeing more responses like these from you!
Eastern Notes: Rambis, Jefferson, Snell, Sixers
The Lakers have granted the Knicks permission to interview assistant coach Kurt Rambis for a job on head coach Derek Fisher‘s staff, reports Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. Rambis is willing to listen, Medina hears. Rambis also remains a candidate for the Lakers head coaching job, but it’s uncertain whether he’d be retained as a Lakers assistant if they go with someone else for the head job, as Medina points out. Here’s more news related to Eastern Conference teams:
- Al Jefferson is recruiting free agents to come to Charlotte, and Hornets coach Steve Clifford is confident that the mere presence of the Third-Team All-NBA center makes the Hornets more attractive to potential signees, writes Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer.
- The Bulls remain sold on Tony Snell as a rotation-caliber talent, as K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune details in his latest mailbag column. Johnson also says he’d be “shocked” if the Bulls don’t address their shooting via the draft.
- The New Jersey state government gave the OK this morning for the Sixers to build a practice facility in Camden, reports Julia Terruso of the Philadelphia Inquirer, prompting the team to announce plans for the facility. GM Sam Hinkie and coach Brett Brown have contended that the facility will be key to attracting free agents.
- The Celtics are among the teams that have worked out draft lottery prospect Doug McDermott, as Chad Ford of ESPN.com notes in his Insider-only mock draft.
- Isaiah Austin and Cory Jefferson will audition for the Pistons, tweets Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press.
- The Wizards will work out LaQuinton Ross, Devyn Marble, Jarell Eddie, Okaro White and Kendall Williams, the team announced.
- Semaj Christon, DeAndre Kane, Drew Crawford, Sebastian Koch and Talib Zanna are among those who’ll perform for the Hornets on Wednesday, according to Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (Twitter links). Crawford was also scheduled to show off for the team last week.
- Alex Kirk is working out for the Hornets this week, too, and he’ll also do so for the Raptors, tweets Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv.
Jazz Form One-To-One D-League Affiliation
2:12pm: The teams have entered into a one-to-one affiliation, the Jazz announced. It’s a hybrid partnership in which the Jazz will run the basketball operations while local ownership will have control over the business side.
“Partnering with the Idaho Stampede is another step forward in the growth and expansion of our basketball operations and will provide us with an opportunity to further enhance the development of our young players,” Jazz president Randy Rigby said. “Like the Jazz, the Stampede are a well-established franchise with a strong track record of success, and Boise’s proximity to Salt Lake and large contingent of Jazz fans make this the perfect fit. We look forward to working closely with [Stampede owner] Bill Ilett, [Stampede president and GM] Steve Brandes and the Stampede in our new single-affiliation partnership.”
8:23am: The Jazz will announce a D-League affiliation with the Idaho Stampede today, giving the teams a one-to-one partnership, writes Jody Genessy of the Deseret News. The move has long been in the works, as Gino Pilato of D-League Digest was the first to report back in April that the partnership was a “strong possibility.”
Utah was one of five NBA teams sharing the Bakersfield Jam this year, and the Jazz made just four assignments, as our log shows. That number stands to rise this coming season, since the Jazz won’t have to share the Stampede with any other teams. This won’t be the first time the Jazz and Stampede have worked together, as Genessy notes, but they’ve never had an exclusive partnership before.
The Stampede had a one-to-one affiliation with the Blazers this past season, but Portland bucked the trend and decided to go with a shared affiliate for 2014/15. The Fort Wayne Mad Ants are the only D-League team left without a one-to-one NBA affiliation, so the Blazers and 12 other NBA clubs are all in line to partner with the Mad Ants, unless the D-League quickly adds another team. The NBA and the D-League are reportedly considering a limit on the number of D-League assignments to help alleviate the logjam.
Minimum Salary Exception
The minimum salary exception is something of a last resort for capped-out teams seeking to add players, as well as for players seeking NBA contracts. It allows an over-the-cap team to sign a player to a one- or two-year minimum-salary deal, as the name suggests. Teams can use the exception multiple times, allowing clubs that have spent all of their other exceptions an avenue to add to their rosters. It also allows for the acquisition of minimum-salary players via trade, without the players being counted for salary-matching purposes.
Players are entitled to varying minimum salaries based on how long they’ve been in the NBA. In 2013/14, a player with no prior NBA experience was eligible for a $490,180 minimum salary, while a player with 10 or more years of experience was eligible for $1,399,507. Over the course of the current collective bargaining agreement, the minimum salary will increase each season, as Larry Coon’s CBA FAQ outlines. For both this season and next season, the breakdown is as follows:
The graph demonstrates the wide disparity between the minimum salary for rookies and for long-tenured players. A minimum-salary veteran of 10 or more seasons will earn almost three times as much as a rookie making the minimum next season. The NBA doesn’t want clubs to shy away from signing qualified veterans, so the league reimburses teams for a portion of a minimum-salary player’s cost if he has two or more years of experience, as long as the contract isn’t a multiyear deal. For instance, when the Knicks signed 13-year veteran Kenyon Martin for 2013/14 using the minimum salary exception, he earned $1,399,507, but the team’s cap hit was just $884,293. The league reimburses the Knicks for the remaining $515,214.
Most salary cap exceptions can only be used once each season. When a team uses its full mid-level exception to sign one or more players, the club can no longer use that exception until the following season. Unlike the mid-level and other cap exceptions, the minimum salary exception can be used any number of times in a single season. The Nets, for example, used the minimum salary exception to sign four players who ended the season on the team’s roster.
The vast majority of 10-day contracts are for the minimum salary, and it’s the minimum salary exception that allows clubs to accommodate those 10-day deals. Teams used the minimum salary exception to sign 41 players to 10-day contracts during the 2013/14 season.
Many exceptions begin to prorate on January 10th, but the minimum salary exception prorates from the first day of the regular season. Teams often take advantage of this to sign players for cheap at the end of the season primarily so they can use them to help salaries match in a trade over the summer.
For example, the Knicks signed Lamar Odom on the last day of the 2013/14 regular season, even though he wasn’t healthy enough to play in the team’s game that night, and even though the team had already been eliminated from the playoffs. The Knicks used the minimum salary exception to sign Odom to a two-year contract that covered the final day of the 2013/14 season and 2014/15. The 2014/15 portion was non-guaranteed, so the only guaranteed money in the deal was Odom’s prorated minimum salary, equal to 1/170th of 1,399,507. Odom doesn’t stand much of a chance to make the Knicks next season, but if the Knicks make a trade over the summer, they can include Odom’s contract as part of the swap to make the salaries match if necessary, allowing the team that acquires Odom to do the same in another trade or simply waive his non-guaranteed contract at no cost before the 2014/15 season begins.
Earlier versions of this post, written by Luke Adams, were published on May 7th, 2012 and April 28th, 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.
Ford On Sixers, Nuggets, Bulls, Lakers, Kings
The Sixers inquired with the Cavs about the No. 1 overall pick, as Chad Ford of ESPN.com reveals in his latest Insider-only mock draft. Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio wrote last week that a team with a top-three pick had done so, so it was either Philadelphia or Milwaukee. The Sixers aren’t willing to give up picks Nos. 3 and 10 to acquire the top selection, Ford writes. The ESPN.com scribe adds that it’s possible the team would offer Thaddeus Young and the No. 3 pick, though it’s unclear whether that’s just speculation. Andrew Wiggins is Philly’s prime target in the draft, but if they can’t take him at No. 3, they’ll go with either Joel Embiid or Jabari Parker, Ford hears, adding that while Dante Exum “isn’t out of the question” for that pick, he’d need to “wow” the team in his workout to get the nod. Ford has more significant news from the draft and elsewhere, as we detail here:
- The Nuggets and Bulls have had serious talks about a trade that would send the No. 11 pick to Chicago in exchange for the 16th and 19th overall selections, Ford hears. The Bulls want to move up in the draft so they can take a top-flight shooter, Ford says. Chris Dempsey of The Denver Post first reported that Denver was shopping the 11th pick last week.
- The Lakers are shopping the No. 7 pick, according to Ford, but the Kings are merely listening to offers for the eighth selection, Ford writes, clarifying his report from last week. The No. 8 selection has been linked to rumors involving Kevin Love.
- Sacramento is interested in point guards Dennis Schröder of the Hawks and Brandon Knight of the Bucks, Ford reports.