And-Ones: Smith, Motiejunas, Ross
The Pistons are in advanced talks with Otis Smith to coach their NBA D-League team, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Smith was the GM of the Magic during Stan Van Gundy‘s coaching tenure with Orlando, and had stepped down from his position in May of 2012, on the same day Van Gundy was fired as head coach of the team, notes Stein. This continues Van Gundy’s trend of hiring his former associates and players. Tim Hardaway was already brought in as an assistant coach, and Quentin Richardson was hired as director of player development.
Here’s more from around the league:
- Chaz Williams has signed with Oline Edirne Basketball of the Turkish League, reports Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. The 5’9″ point guard went undrafted this year out of Massachusetts, after averaging 15.6 PPG, 2.8 RPG and 6.9 APG as a senior. Williams had worked out most recently for the Wizards, with hopes of securing a training camp invite from the team.
- During an interview with Zip FM radio, Donatas Motiejunas was asked where he’d like to play if he were to leave the Rockets, and his preference was the Lakers, the Basketball Insiders article notes (hat tip to Talkbasket.net). Motiejunas said, “Most likely in Los Angeles because there are no serious bigs and I would likely get chances to play. I mean the Lakers, not the Clippers.“
- Former Ohio State forward LaQuinton Ross has signed with Consultinvest Pesaro of the Italian League, the team reported via their Facebook page (translation by Carchia). Ross went undrafted after averaging 15.2 points and 5.9 rebounds as a junior. Ross had been projected as a possible second-round draft pick this year, but showed up 15 lbs. overweight to the scouting combine, and didn’t perform especially well. He played for the Lakers in the NBA Summer League, but only appeared in three games, and totaled just nine points, six rebounds and four turnovers in 31 minutes.
Windhorst, Stein On LeBron, Love, Cavs
It’s still early, but so far our readers remain unswayed by LeBron James‘ assertion that he’s in Cleveland for the long haul, as less than 30 percent of our readers believe that the Cavaliers are the rightful favorites for the 2014/15 NBA season. Of course, we still have more than two weeks until the Kevin Love acquisition becomes official. With the framework of a deal in place, however, we can expect more behind-the-scenes details to trickle out as we wait it out.
Brian Windhorst and Marc Stein of ESPN, citing a variety of league sources, get us started with their version of the anatomy of this unique deal-to-be:
- James had been optimistic of the Cavs’ chances of landing Love, his former teammate with USA basketball, since the moment he signed with Cleveland.
- The Wolves granted the Cavs permission to speak to Love in July during trade negotiations. James and Love have also spoken multiple times over the last month about the possibility of playing together long term. As the report points out, offseason conversations between players are not regulated by the league like other anti-tampering measures.
- While Love could technically exercise his $16.7MM player option for 2015/16 as part of the trade, the UCLA product remains adamant that he wants to hit free agency next summer to maximize his next contract rather than sign an extension, regardless of the team offering it.
- As we noted earlier, Cleveland’s refusal to include Andrew Wiggins in a deal for Love began to evaporate once the team got feedback from discussions between Love and the newly signed James. Ultimately, it was James’ belief that he could convince Love to stay in Cleveland that softened the Cavs’ stance against including Wiggins in the deal.
- The framework for the deal was agreed upon shortly after Wiggins was put on the table, with owners Dan Gilbert and Glen Taylor along with front office execs David Griffin and Flip Saunders all involved in the discussions.
- It appears Love is steadfast in his desire to receive a free agent payday. But even if he wasn’t, any agreement on an extension made in principal before the deal is official could result in the league blocking the trade and punishing both teams.
Poll: Should Cavs Be The 2014/15 Favorite?
LeBron James spoke to the media on Friday night for the first time since announcing he would return to Cleveland. With the arrival of Kevin Love and the potential additions of Shawn Marion and Ray Allen to a roster that already includes the best player on the planet and a budding superstar in Kyrie Irving, the Cavaliers are undoubtedly a title contender in 2014/15. But should they be the favorites?
The Las Vegas oddsmakers say yes, and many of them were firmly in that position long before the addition of Love. However, there are plenty of external variables that go into creating those odds, some of which have nothing to do with what happens on the court. So what about from a basketball standpoint? Remember, it took LeBron’s first super squad two seasons to capture a title and that team, with an in-his-prime version of Dwyane Wade, probably had a bit more star power than this group. After all, neither Love nor Irving have played in a playoff game at this point in their careers.
Speaking of LeBron’s former Miami team, they were just dismantled by a Spurs group that looked unbeatable and remains largely intact. When it comes to things like oddsmaking and public perception, small market San Antonio has never been a sexy selection nationally. While few would doubt their potential to repeat, the idea that they aren’t hands down favorites for next season’s title suggests that their triumph in June didn’t have the impact that it should have.
With the injury to Paul George and the always-uncertain status of Derrick Rose, the Cavs might just have a clear path through the Eastern Conference. But as we saw a few months ago, that might not mean much against the loaded West. So what do you think? Does Love rightfully make the Cavs the NBA favorite in 2014/15 or should the Spurs still be the pick? Or is it someone else? Please let us know the reasoning behind your vote in the comments section.
LeBron James: “I’m Not Going Anywhere”
Speaking at a charity homecoming event in his native Akron, LeBron James insisted to reporters on Friday night that he planned to stay put in Cleveland despite signing only a two-year deal that includes an opt-out clause next summer, writes Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal. The public comments were the first by James since announcing he would return to the Cavaliers via Sports Illustrated’s Lee Jenkins.
“I’m not going anywhere,” James said. “I don’t have the energy to do it again.”
As Lloyd points out, James implied that his decision to opt for a shorter deal with the Cavs had more to do with the impending league television contract rather than a desire to keep his options open destination-wise. Depending on what happens with that TV deal, a shorter contract should put James, and other free agents with fortunate timing, in line for a significant raise should they warrant a maximum salary contract.
“At the end of the day I’m a businessman as well and I know what’s going on in our league,” James added.
James tiptoed around making comments about Kevin Love‘s arrival in Cleveland, since the deal cannot become official until August 23. LeBron did go as far as calling Love a “great piece” that “played a huge role” in Team USA capturing the gold medal in London’s 2012 Summer Olympics. Should Love help him bring Cleveland its first championship in over 50 years, James said it “would be the greatest achievement in my life as far as on the court,” as USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt writes.
As Brian Windhorst and Marc Stein of ESPN remind us, the Cavs were not initially willing to include No. 1 overall pick Andrew Wiggins in a deal for a Love, a stance that quickly changed after the addition of James became official. Cleveland’s confidence in retaining Love for the long-term has grown, mostly because of James, and it now appears that they’ll also be keeping the NBA’s biggest star for the foreseeable future as well.
And-Ones: Gay, Clippers, Monroe, Rogers
It’s been a rough week for Team USA following the gruesome injury sustained by Paul George and the subsequent withdrawal of Kevin Durant. However, help is on the way in the form of Kings forward Rudy Gay, writes Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. Gay was a reserve on USA’s 2010 title squad and joins Chandler Parsons and Gordon Hayward this time around as the team’s only true small forwards. At tonight’s Hall of Fame ceremony, USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo told NBA.com’s David Aldridge that a repeat gold medal performance this summer would be the “sweetest win because of the circumstances.” (via Marc Stein on Twitter).
Here is what else is happening around the league on Friday night:
- The official transfer of the Clippers could happen at any moment, as attorneys for Donald Sterling claimed in a request for a stay of a probate court decision that affirms Shelly Sterling’s right to sell the team to Steve Ballmer, reports Nathan Fenno of the Los Angeles Times. The judge in the probate trial signed the final statement of decision Thursday, clearing the way for Donald Sterling to file the request, as Fenno explains. The sale may proceed once the judge issues a final order, which could come at any time, Fenno adds.
- There is a very good likelihood that Greg Monroe is in a Pistons uniform next season according to David Mayo of MLive.com (via Twitter), who puts the chances at 85 to 90 percent. With the sign-and-trade market for Monroe now essentially non-existent, Mayo believes the sides will either come to an agreement on a longer-term deal or that Monroe will sign his one-year qualifying offer. Monroe would become an unrestricted free agent next summer if he chooses the latter route.
- The Wizards have added Roy Rogers as an assistant coach, the team announced on their website today. Rogers has six years experience as an NBA assistant under his belt, previously working with the Nets (twice), the Celtics and the Pistons. Prior to reaching the NBA ranks, Rogers coached in the D-League for four years after a seven-year playing career. He joins fellow assistant David Atkins, hired in July, as a newcomer on the staff of head coach Randy Wittman.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Length Of Stay For Each Post-Merger No. 1 Pick
Kevin Love is the headliner in the trade agreement that will send him to the Cavs, but there will be at least two other historically significant players in the transaction once it becomes official. Andrew Wiggins will become just the third No. 1 overall pick to be traded before playing a regular season game for the team that selected him. Chris Webber and David Thompson are the others, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com pointed out today via Twitter. The inclusion of Anthony Bennett, last year’s No. 1 overall pick, is fairly noteworthy, too. He’ll pair with Pervis Ellison as the only top picks since the NBA-ABA merger to have been traded after only one season with the team that drafted them.
In many ways, Wiggins and Webber stand alone. Thompson signed with the Nuggets, then an ABA team, rather than the Hawks after Atlanta made him the NBA’s No. 1 pick in 1975. Thompson’s rookie season was the last of the ABA before the merger. The Rockets, who had the first overall pick in 1976, parted ways with draftee John Lucas two years later because the rules at that time held that teams had to give up players as compensation when they signed another club’s free agent. So, that’s why this look at the length of time each No. 1 overall pick has spent with his team starts with Kent Benson, the top pick in 1977. Player movement rules have evolved gradually since then, but the first draft after the first post-merger season seems an appropriate place to begin.
Since that time, top picks have spent an average of six and a half seasons with their teams. That takes into account active players who still remain with the clubs that drafted them and assumes Bennett and Wiggins will indeed spend just one and zero seasons, respectively, as Cavs. This post counts years in which a draftee didn’t play for his team due to injury, but not seasons during which a player was retired. In cases where teams traded their top picks midseason, it goes down as a half-season for the purposes of this post.
Here’s the complete list, since 1977, with the number of seasons the top pick played for his team in parentheses.
- 2014: Andrew Wiggins, Cavaliers (0) — Trade agreement in place to send Wiggins to the Timberwolves once he becomes eligible to be traded on August 23rd.
- 2013: Anthony Bennett, Cavaliers (1) — Trade agreement in place to sent Bennett to the Sixers once Wiggins becomes eligible to be traded on August 23rd.
- 2012: Anthony Davis, Pelicans (2) — Still with team
- 2011: Kyrie Irving, Cavaliers (3) — Still with team
- 2010: John Wall, Wizards (4) — Still with team
- 2009: Blake Griffin, Clippers (5) — Still with team
- 2008: Derrick Rose, Bulls (6) — Still with team
- 2007: Greg Oden, Trail Blazers (4.5) — Waived March 15th, 2012.
- 2006: Andrea Bargnani, Raptors (7) — Traded to Knicks on July 10th, 2013.
- 2005: Andrew Bogut, Bucks (6.5) — Traded to Warriors on March 13th, 2012.
- 2004: Dwight Howard, Magic (8) — Traded to Lakers on August 10th, 2012.
- 2003: LeBron James, Cavaliers (7) — Signed-and-traded to Heat on July 10, 2010.
- 2002: Yao Ming, Rockets (9) — Played entire career for Rockets.
- 2001: Kwame Brown, Wizards (4) — Traded to Lakers on August 2nd, 2005.
- 2000: Kenyon Martin, Nets (4) — Traded to Nuggets on July 15th, 2004.
- 1999: Elton Brand, Bulls (2) — Traded to Clippers on June 27th, 2001.
- 1998: Michael Olowokandi, Clippers (5) — Signed with Timberwolves on July 16th, 2003.
- 1997: Tim Duncan, Spurs (17) — Still with team.
- 1996: Allen Iverson, Sixers (9.5) — Traded to Nuggets on December 19th, 2006.
- 1995: Joe Smith, Warriors (2.5) — Traded to Sixers on February 17th, 1998.
- 1994: Glenn Robinson, Bucks (8) — Traded to Hawks on August 2nd, 2002.
- 1993: Chris Webber, Magic (0) — Traded to Warriors on June 30th, 1993 (draft night).
- 1992: Shaquille O’Neal, Magic (4) — Signed with Lakers on July 18th, 1996.
- 1991: Larry Johnson, Hornets (now Pelicans) (5) — Traded to Knicks on July 14th, 1996.
- 1990: Derrick Coleman, Nets (5.5) — Traded to Sixers on November 30th, 1995.
- 1989: Pervis Ellison, Kings (1) — Traded to Bullets (now Wizards) on June 25th, 1990.
- 1988: Danny Manning, Clippers (5.5) — Traded to Hawks on February 24th, 1994.
- 1987: David Robinson, Spurs (14) — Played entire career for Spurs.
- 1986: Brad Daugherty, Cavaliers (8) — Played entire career for Cavaliers.
- 1985: Patrick Ewing, Knicks (15) — Traded to SuperSonics (now Thunder) on September 20th, 2000.
- 1984: Hakeem Olajuwon, Rockets (17) — Traded to Raptors on August 2nd, 2001.
- 1983: Ralph Sampson, Rockets (4.5) — Traded to Warriors on December 12th, 1987.
- 1982: James Worthy, Lakers (12) — Played entire career for Lakers.
- 1981: Mark Aguirre, Mavericks (7.5) — Traded to Pistons on February 15, 1989.
- 1980: Joe Barry Carroll, Warriors (7.5) — Traded to Rockets on December 12th, 1987.
- 1979: Magic Johnson, Lakers (13) — Played entire career for Lakers. Was retired from 1991/92 season through 1994/95 season, but returned during 1995/96.
- 1978: Mychal Thompson, Trail Blazers (8) — Traded to Spurs on June 19th, 1986.
- 1977: Kent Benson, Bucks (2.5) — Traded to Pistons on February 4th, 1980.
Basketball-Reference was used in the creation of this post.
And-Ones: Parsons, Heat, Southerland, Pistons
Chandler Parsons was an all-around contributor for the Rockets, averaging 16.6 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists this past season, but that sort of production isn’t why the Mavs gave him a near-max offer sheet that Houston declined to match. They’re confident he can be a “far better” player than he was with the Rockets, as owner Mark Cuban said, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com. While we wait to see whether Parsons proves worthy of Cuban’s investment, here’s more from around the league:
- The Heat will likely sign a center for the reserve role that Greg Oden played last season, writes Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Andray Blatche is available, but the Heat have shied away from him in the past because they’ve disliked his maturity level and behavior, according to Jackson, who seconds the notion that the Heat are unlikely to re-sign Oden following Oden’s arrest Thursday.
- The contract that James Southerland signed Thursday with the Blazers is a one-year, non-guaranteed pact, tweets Shams Charania of RealGM. That means it’s a summer contract, as I speculated. It also fits the stipulations required to make it an Exhibit 9 contract, though it’s not necessarily one.
- Former NBA players Tim Hardaway Sr. and Malik Allen will serve as assistant coaches for the Pistons next season, the team announced. The Pistons also announced the hiring of former Knicks executive Jeff Nix as assistant general manager. He’ll serve alongside fellow assistant GM Brian Wright underneath president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy and GM Jeff Bower.
Suns Sign Tyler Ennis
The Suns have signed 2014 No. 18 pick Tyler Ennis, the team announced in conjunction with confirmation of its deal with 14th overall selection T.J. Warren. Ennis will likely make slightly more than $1.59MM this season, as our table of salaries for 2014 first-round picks shows.
The point guard from Syracuse made a run at becoming a top-10 pick before falling back. Still, the Raptors appeared to covet Ennis, a native of Ontario, eyeing him before the draft as well as after the Suns took him. Toronto has since re-signed Kyle Lowry and Greivis Vasquez, so it appears unlikely that they’ll continue to pursue him. The Suns have no shortage of point guards, either, but coach Jeff Hornacek frequently employs lineups that feature two point guards.
Ennis displayed efficent ball-handling in his lone season with the Orange, averaging 5.5 assists against only 1.7 turnovers per game, a ratio of better than 3-to-1. He also tallied 12.9 points in 35.7 minutes per contest. He was more turnover prone in the small sample size of his five-game summer league stint with the Suns, averaging 3.2 assists against 2.6 turnovers per game.
Eddie Scarito of Hoops Rumors was among those who thought Ennis would become a top-10 pick, citing the 19-year-old’s intangibles in his Prospect Profile, while our Alex Lee had him going to the Raptors at No. 20 in the latest version of the Hoops Rumors Mock Draft.
Suns Sign T.J. Warren
AUGUST 8TH: Phoenix finally made the signing official, as the Suns announced the news on their website.
JULY 13TH: The Suns have signed T.J. Warren, according to Mark Deeks of ShamSports (on Twitter). Phoenix nabbed Warren with the No. 14 overall pick in June’s draft. Warren will earn $1.95MM as shown in Hoops Rumors’ chart for 2014 first-round picks.
Last season, the NC State star led the ACC in scoring and averaged 24.9 points per game. Warren likely would have been a first round pick in the 2013 draft as well, but he stayed in school and still wound up as a lottery choice in the talent-rich 2014 class.
Warren made his Summer League debut on Saturday night for the Suns and scored 22 points off of 10-of-16 shooting.
How Salary Matching Affects Kevin Love Trade
The Kevin Love trade agreement seemed like a straightforward two-team swap Thursday, when Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported that the Wolves would send Love to the Cavs for Andrew Wiggins, Anthony Bennett and a protected 2015 first-round pick. That structure came as something of a surprise, since rumors had indicated that a third team would be involved. There will indeed be a third team in the mix, according Mark Perner of the Philadelphia Daily News, who wrote that Sixers will jump in the deal to send Thaddeus Young to the Wolves and that Bennett will be rerouted to Philadelphia. Still, fellow Daily News scribe Bob Cooney indicates that the Young-Bennett exchange will take place as a separate transaction after the Love deal is official, a report that leaves the precise structure of the Love trade in flux.
Regardless of where Love, Wiggins, Young and the rest end up, all the moves will have to meet the NBA’s salary-matching requirements. The Sixers are unbound by the rules, since they’re under the cap, but the Wolves and Cavs are over the cap, so they must adhere to them. The stipulations germane to the Love-related moves hold that teams under the tax but over the cap, like the Cavs and Wolves, can receive 150% plus 100K of the salary that they trade away, as long as the salary they part with adds up to no more than $9.8MM. Should the Cavs or Wolves trade away more than that, they can receive up to $5MM more than the salaries they give up. A further rule applies if either the Cavs or Wolves relinquish $19.6MM or more. In that case, they’d only be able to take back 125% plus $100K of what they give up, but this limit is unlikely to come into play.
The two-team deal in the form that Wojnarowski originally reported works because the salaries for Wiggins and Bennett add up to $11,074,560. That’s more than $9.8MM, so it triggers the $5MM rule for Cleveland. Love is set to make $15,719,063 this coming season, which is $4,644,503 more than Wiggins and Bennett will make put together. It’s a tight squeeze beneath $5MM, but it still fits.
The addition of the Sixers and Young would add a layer of complexity, but it would still make for a legal trade. The Wolves would be taking back Wiggins and Young, whose salaries add up to $14,921,509, simply moving them closer in line with the salary for Love that they’re relinquishing. The only salaries the Cavs would be giving up would be those of Wiggins and Bennett, and they’d be acquiring only Love. It doesn’t matter that Bennett would be going to a different team in this scenario, as long as it’s all part of the same transaction. The Cavs would still be taking back less than $5MM more than the amount they’re giving up, which exceeds $9.8MM, so it’s kosher. The Sixers would be reducing their salary with this trade structure, dropping them farther beneath the cap.
What wouldn’t work is if the Wolves and Sixers simply swap Young and Bennett after making the Love trade that Wojnarowski originally outlined. Bennett’s $5,563,920 salary is less than $9.8MM, so Minnesota could only trade for 150% plus $100K of what Bennett makes, which would come to $8,445,880. Young’s $9,410,869 salary exceeds that, so the Wolves and Sixers couldn’t make this deal.
Minnesota is hoping to trade J.J. Barea, Luc Mbah a Moute and Alexey Shved, as Wojnarowski added when he reported the Love agreement Thursday, and Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune said the Wolves would like to unload Barea and Mbah a Moute in a deal for Young. Still, NBA rules would prohibit the Wolves from packaging Bennett along with Barea, Mbah a Moute, Shved or anyone else on the roster for two months after acquiring Bennett from the Cavs. Capped-out teams like the Wolves can flip a player for whom they just traded, but only if they send the player out by himself. Since trading Bennett alone for Young wouldn’t work, either, the Cavs and Sixers would have to wait until the two months pass for Minnesota to add enough salary to the deal to make it work.
Any trade involving Wiggins can’t be complete until August 23rd because of the 30-day waiting period the Cavs must endure after signing him, as has been much publicized. So, a separate deal that sends Young to Minnesota and Bennett to Philadelphia couldn’t be consummated until late October, weeks after the start of training camp. That wouldn’t make it impossible, of course. But it would be less than ideal.
The Sixers and Wolves could try to split the Bennett-Young deal into parts, so that Bennett would go out on his own for a draft pick. If they attempt that, there’s a decent chance the league would object on the grounds that such a maneuver would be an attempt to circumvent the rules, as Tom Moore of Calkins Media explains.
If the Sixers would consent to taking Barea, Mbah a Moute, Shved or some combination of those players back in a deal that sends out Young and nets them Bennett, Minnesota and Philadelphia could more easily accomplish this as part of the Love trade. It wouldn’t muddy the salary-matching waters for the Wolves or Cavs, and the Sixers have enough room to give up Young and take Bennett and the entire trio of Barea, Mbah a Moute and Shved without going over the cap. The Sixers probably wouldn’t agree to taking all of them, but regardless of how many of them, or even if any of them, were involved, it would be much easier for Young to end up in Minnesota and Bennett to wind up with the Sixers if it happened as part of the Love trade. If the Wolves and Sixers have that aim, expect them to accomplish it at the same time Love heads to Cleveland.
ShamSports and Larry Coon’s Salary Cap FAQ were used in the creation of this post.