Knicks Notes: Anthony, Roster, Jackson
Knicks president Phil Jackson made some comments regarding New York viewing free agents as the primary way it will rebuild the team, which lends some credence to the reports that Jackson was considering trading the Knicks’ 2015 lottery pick, Marc Berman of The New York Post writes. “In the present day in the NBA, 19, 20 years old, coming into league, it’s really hard to project what that player will be like in his first contract situation,’’ Jackson said. “So what we’re trying to do what advancement can be made in the short term. How quickly we can get back in the hunt and right away to [compete] for the championship? We know what the first-round pick will mean to us, but we also know we will build the team on free agents. We have 190 players or so who will be free agents. That’s where our priority stands.’’
Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- Jackson did indicate that he would be willing to be patient with the growing pains of developing a lottery pick, Berman adds. “You get movers and franchise players from the draft,” Jackson said. “We’re rebuilding this team. You have do it that way.’’
- The Knicks’ president also relayed that the team isn’t looking to bring in 10 new bodies next season, which means a number of players who aren’t under contract for next season could be re-signed, Berman tweets.
- When asked to assess the state of the Knicks, Jackson admitted the season was a lost one, Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com relays (Twitter link). “It feels like it’s a project gone awry,” Jackson said. “This is where we wanted to be at the end of the year, not in the middle of the year.“
- The Knicks are hopeful that Carmelo Anthony will resume training this June, Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com tweets. The timetable ‘Melo was given at the time of his surgery in February was that he would be out for four to six months, and the June time frame would be on the early side of that prognosis, Begley adds.
2015 NBA Draft Prospect Power Rankings 4.0
The 2015 NBA draft is a few months away, and the NCAA tournament will play a major part in determining the fates of the 20 players whose names appear on the list below, as well as those who haven’t made the cut just yet. Front offices and scouting departments throughout the NBA are hard at work trying to determine which players they will pin the future of their franchises on, and Hoops Rumors will be doing the same all the way up until June’s draft.
Keep in mind that this list includes both underclassmen and players from overseas, neither of whom are guaranteed to declare for the draft. But just like the NBA scouting departments, we’ll need to be prepared for the possibility that all of these players will be available to hear their names called by commissioner Adam Silver in what will be his second opportunity to be on the stage during the first round.
Here are my current top 20 players in descending order with last month’s ranking in parentheses:
1 (1) Jahlil Okafor-C (Duke/Freshman)
-6’11”, 272 pounds
–DraftExpress Rank: No. 1
–ESPN Rank: No. 1
–Stats: 17.6 PPG, 9.2 RPG, and 1.4 BPG. .668/.000/.524.
Okafor continues to abuse college competition. A true center, he has shown excellent athleticism and remarkable polish on the offensive side of the game. He has an NBA-ready body and will continue to develop into an absolute monster down in the paint. His defense is still a work in progress, which isn’t at all uncommon for a young big. Both Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell continue to gain ground on Okafor, but I still believe it would take a pre-draft injury to unseat the big man from the top spot in this year’s NBA draft.
2 (3) D’Angelo Russell-SG/PG (Ohio State/Freshman)
-6’5″, 176 pounds
-DraftExpress Rank: No. 3
-ESPN Rank: No. 4
-Stats: 19.2 PPG, 5.6 RPG, and 5.2 APG. .459/.422/.748.
No player has improved his draft stock more than Russell since the beginning of the college season. Though he plays shooting guard at Ohio State, NBA scouts are now viewing Russell as an NBA point guard, which will only serve to increase his draft stock further. The lefty has excellent ball-handling skills, and he’s very effective off the dribble, though he needs to improve upon his ability to finish at the rim if he wants to be an effective pro. “There’s so much to love about his game,” one NBA GM told Chad Ford of ESPN.com about Russell. “Even when he has a bad game, it looks like a good one because every time the ball leaves his [hands], it looks like it’s going in. He plays with such great confidence and has a terrific feel. I think he could be a James Harden-type player at the next level. That’s what kind of scorer and playmaker he could be.”
3 (4) Karl-Anthony Towns-PF/C (Kentucky/Freshman)
-7’0″, 250 pounds
–DraftExpress Rank: No. 2
–ESPN Rank: No. 2
–Stats: 9.7 PPG, 6.6 RPG, and 2.4 BPG. .558/.250/.790.
Towns is a player who cannot be judged on his NCAA numbers, thanks to Kentucky’s ridiculous depth. But the big man is all but guaranteed to blow away scouts in his individual pre-draft workouts. There are a number of scouts and GMs who have speculated that Towns will become a superior player to Okafor in a few years, which could place the freshman in the running for the No. 1 overall pick. “You put Towns on any other team in college basketball, maybe with the exception of Duke, and everyone is talking about him as a legitimate player of the year candidate,” one NBA GM told ESPN’s Chad Ford. “His stats, or lack thereof, aren’t an issue of talent, it’s an issue of so much talent on the floor that he can take a back seat.”
4 (3) Emmanuel Mudiay-PG (Guangdong)
-6’5″, 200 pounds
-DraftExpress Rank: No. 4
-ESPN Rank: No. 3
-Stats: 18.9 PPG, 6.6 RPG, and 6.3 APG. .493/.321/.586
Mudiay, despite not having played in months due to an ankle injury, is still considered the most talented guard in the draft, though Russell is changing that conversation with every game he dominates. Not playing college ball didn’t hurt Dante Exum prior to the 2014 draft, and Mudiay is a more NBA-ready prospect than he was, and it wouldn’t be a complete shock for him to go No. 1 overall, depending on the team selecting first and its needs (ie: the Sixers). Mudiay is almost sure to dazzle in his pre-draft workouts, and he’ll definitely be selected in the top five.
5 (6) Willie Cauley-Stein-C (Kentucky/Junior)
-7’0″, 244 pounds
-DraftExpress Rank: No. 7
-ESPN Rank: No. 7
-Stats: 8.9 PPG, 6.4 RPG, and 1.6 BPG. .588/.000/.579.
Cauley-Stein’s decision to return to Kentucky for his junior season is still paying off handsomely for him. He is an absolute defensive monster, and can step into an NBA rotation immediately. The big man is still limited offensively, and that isn’t likely to change anytime soon. I project Cauley-Stein to produce similar numbers to Tyson Chandler, which isn’t a bad thing at all.
6 (5) Stanley Johnson-SF (Arizona/Freshman)
-6’7″, 237 pounds
-DraftExpress Rank: No. 5
-ESPN Rank: No. 10
-Stats: 13.9 PPG, 6.6 RPG, and 1.5 SPG. .449/.353/.735.
Johnson is an absolute man-child with an NBA-ready body and excellent strength. He reminds me a bit of Larry Johnson (no relation), though he is nowhere near as polished on the offensive end as the elder Johnson was coming out of UNLV. What will continue to make Johnson a question mark is his limited outside game, which to his credit, has been steadily improving as the season wears on. His individual workouts will make or break him as a top 10 pick, but I love his aggressiveness, defense, and rebounding. There isn’t a huge separation between Johnson, Justise Winslow and Kelly Oubre right now. Hopefully their play in the NCAA tournament will provide more clarity for their rankings. I gave Johnson the nod because of his consistency and physical prowess.
7 (8) Kristaps Porzingis-PF (Baloncesto Sevilla)
-7’0″, 220 pounds
-DraftExpress Rank: No. 8
-ESPN Rank: No. 5
-Stats: 11.1 PPG, 4.2 RPG, and 1.2 BPG. .538/.424/.730.
Porzingis is a likely top five pick, but I still remain unimpressed with his game. He has excellent athleticism, and is a talented three-point shooter, but Porzingis hasn’t necessarily dominated in European competition yet, which raises all kinds of red flags with me. There have been plenty of European players who have entered the league with high expectations based on their physical skills, only to turn out to be draft busts. Porzingis is a project with an extremely high upside, but I would think twice about taking him in the top five. My first instinct was to rank him outside the top 10, but it’s almost assured that some team will take a gamble on him near the top of the draft. Porzingis is being compared to Nikola Mirotic by some scouts, though I don’t believe he has the same level of polish that the Bulls rookie had at the same age.
8 (7) Justise Winslow-SF (Duke/Freshman)
-6’6″, 221 pounds
-DraftExpress Rank: No. 9
-ESPN Rank: No. 12
-Stats: 12.4 PPG, 5.8 RPG, and 2.0 APG. .479/.398/.598.
Winslow has seemingly recovered from his uninspiring run to end November, and is once again putting up solid numbers and displaying his wide range of skills and fantastic athleticism. His three-point shooting has improved, which was a big question mark in his game entering the season. NBA teams have little use for wings who can’t spread the floor, and if Winslow can keep it up he’ll secure a spot in the top 10 selections.
9 (9) Kevon Looney-PF (UCLA/Freshman)
-6’9″, 220 pounds
-DraftExpress Rank: No. 13
-ESPN Rank: No. 6
-Stats: 12.3 PPG, 9.5 RPG, and 1.0 BPG. .474/.444/.641.
Looney is still rising up the draft boards despite his production tailing off since the first month of the season. The freshman is a bit of a tweener, similar to Aaron Gordon a year ago in that respect, but has a far more polished offensive game than Gordon did at Arizona last season. I’ve continued to be impressed with his ball-handling and passing, and both are skills that will translate well to the pros. Looney probably won’t crack the top five selections, but if that is the case, whichever team he falls to could be getting a steal.
10 (13) Mario Hezonja-SG (Barcelona Regal)
-6’7″, 200 pounds
-DraftExpress Rank: No. 6
-ESPN Rank: No. 8
-Stats: 8.6 PPG, 2.0 RPG, and 1.3 APG. .484/.414/.762.
Hezonja is a projected lottery pick, but I’m not sold on his long-term future in the NBA. He’s a possible draft-and-stash pick, which could benefit him since he needs quite a bit more development before making the jump to the NBA. Hezonja is very athletic and can light it up from the outside when he’s “on,” but he’s a poor defender, which doesn’t help his value. He also isn’t putting up eye-catching numbers overseas, which doesn’t bode well for his NBA fortunes. There have also been some red flags raised about his attitude, ability to accept coaching, and overall maturity. These concerns could serve to lower Hezonja’s draft stock around the league.
11 (10) Myles Turner-C (Texas/Freshman)
-6’11”, 242 pounds
-DraftExpress Rank: No. 10
-ESPN Rank: No. 9
-Stats: 10.6 PPG, 6.6 RPG, and 2.8 BPG. .460/.267/.839.
Turner is a project, but he’s one who could pay dividends for a patient team. He’s a good scorer with range out to the three-point line, but he lacks aggressiveness. Turner is a solid shot blocker, but he needs to improve as a rebounder if he wants to be more than just a rotation player in the NBA. There are also some legitimate concerns regarding his knees due to his odd way of running. Big men tend to break down faster than players at other positions, so long-term health is a definite concern with Turner. The big man’s production has declined steadily since the beginning of the season, but Turner’s upside is too high for him to slide too far down the draft boards.
12 (11) Kelly Oubre-SF (Kansas/Freshman)
-6’6″, 204 pounds
-DraftExpress Rank: No. 11
-ESPN Rank: No. 11
-Stats: 9.0 PPG, 5.1 RPG, and 0.8 APG. .451/.373/.683.
Oubre’s draft stock had taken a hit since the beginning of the season when he looked lost during the limited playing time he was receiving. The swingman has shown significant growth since the beginning of the season, averaging 13.3 points over his last four contests. The freshman is still maddeningly inconsistent, and disappears on the floor far too often for my tastes. Oubre needs quite a bit of polish, and would greatly benefit from another year in school, but that scenario is highly unlikely.
13 (12) Devin Booker-SG (Kentucky/Freshman)
-6’6″, 195 pounds
-DraftExpress Rank: No. 15
-ESPN Rank: No. 13
-Stats: 10.9 PPG, 1.8 RPG, and 1.3 APG. .477/.436/.817.
Booker has certainly come on since the beginning of the season, and he made a name for himself during conference play for Kentucky. He is by far one of the best shooters in the entire draft, which will certainly raise his stock and draft position should he decide to leave school after just one season. Booker isn’t a freakish athlete though, which makes him more of a one-dimensional threat. But with the NBA placing a premium on players who can stretch the floor, that shouldn’t prevent Booker from possibly sneaking into the lottery. The fact that he’s the Wildcats’ best, and possibly only, reliable deep threat, should make the NCAA tournament a great showcase for the young swingman.
14 (17) Jerian Grant-PG (Notre Dame/Senior)
-6’5″, 185 pounds
-DraftExpress Rank: No. 14
-ESPN Rank: No. 21
-Stats: 16.8 PPG, 2.9 RPG, and 6.7 APG. .494/.331/.754.
Grant is having himself a heck of a season, and may just be the best point guard in college basketball right now. His age may work against him a bit in the draft, such is the NBA world we live in nowadays. But his combination of size, skill, and leadership makes him a solid mid first round selection. Grant needs to improve on his jump shot consistency, and despite his 16.8 PPG average, is more of a pass-first point man at heart. He’ll definitely need to bulk up to be able to guard NBA guards, but whichever team nabs him in June will be getting a very solid player.
15 (15) Bobby Portis-PF (Arkansas/Sophomore)
-6’11″, 242 pounds
-DraftExpress Rank: No. 16
-ESPN Rank: No. 14
-Stats: 17.8 PPG, 8.7 RPG, and 1.5 BPG. .563/.423/.748.
Portis has emerged as a potential mid first round pick since the beginning of the season. He’s really been pouring it on lately, having averaged 20.5 PPG over his last four appearances. The big man isn’t an elite athlete, but he’s good enough to have a solid NBA career if he improves his defense and footwork in the post. Portis prefers to launch jump shots rather than mix-it-up in the paint, but with the NBA falling in love with stretch fours, this isn’t necessarily the negative it used to be when profiling big men. I’ve become more enamored with him as a player lately, and as a mid first-rounder he’ll be a good value pick, though he’ll need D-League seasoning before he’ll be ready to step into an NBA rotation.
16 (14) Montrezl Harrell-PF (Louisville/Junior)
-6’8″, 243 pounds
-DraftExpress Rank: No. 17
-ESPN Rank: No. 19
-Stats: 15.8 PPG, 9.4 RPG, and 1.3 APG. .573/.243/.585.
It was surprising to see Harrell return to Louisville for his junior season, but the move will likely reward him with a higher draft selection than he would have garnered in 2014. There’s a lot to like about Harrell’s game, but he bears the dreaded tweener tag. He’s neither a true power forward nor a classic small forward. He can score from almost anywhere on the floor and has a high motor. He’s also a very good rebounder and a physical defender. But Harrell lacks a defined NBA position (ie: Derrick Williams and Thomas Robinson), which could end up lowering his draft stock as well as his ceiling as a player.
17 (19) Frank Kaminsky-C (Wisconsin/Senior)
-7’0″, 242 pounds
-DraftExpress Rank: No. 12
-ESPN Rank: No. 15
-Stats: 18.4 PPG, 8.1 RPG, and 1.6 BPG. .559/.410/.752.
Kaminsky isn’t likely to become a star in the NBA, nor even an effective starter. But he’ll be able to contribute on the offensive end immediately for whichever team selects him. Kaminsky reminds me quite a bit of the Celtics’ Kelly Olynyk offensively, which isn’t a bad thing at all. Unfortunately, he also shares Olynyk’s weaknesses as a rebounder and defender. As a mid first-rounder, Kaminsky will be a solid pick, though he will have a limited ceiling thanks to his athletic shortcomings. The big man has really been pouring it on lately, logging 23.5 points per game over his last five appearances.
18 (16) Jakob Poeltl-C (Utah/Freshman)
-7’0″, 230 pounds
-DraftExpress Rank: No. 19
-ESPN Rank: No. 20
-Stats: 8.6 PPG, 6.9 RPG, and 1.8 BPG. .689/.000/.417.
Poeltl has cooled off a bit after a strong start to the season, though he did drop 18 points on Washington last Saturday. The Austrian is a good defender, can rebound very well, and has a fluid and effective mid range game. His stats aren’t eye-popping, but bigs with his combination of size, skill, and athleticism will always have a place in the NBA. Poeltl definitely needs to hit the weight room if he hopes to survive in the NBA paint area, but that could be said of the majority of big men turning pro. His post game also needs quite a bit of work, but don’t be surprised if he ends up becoming a top 20 pick. However, teams may need to wait another season before getting a chance to draft Poeltl. Ford previously noted that Poeltl was leaning towards returning to school for his sophomore season, but the lure of the NBA can be a strong deterrent toward continuing one’s collegiate career.
19 (18) R.J. Hunter-SG (Georgia State/Junior)
-6’5″, 185 pounds
-DraftExpress Rank: No. 27
-ESPN Rank: No. 18
-Stats: 19.7 PPG, 4.8 RPG, and 3.8 APG. .396/.305/.872.
Hunter has cooled off a bit, but I’m not ready to give up on him just yet. I really like Hunter’s game and his potential, and he strikes me as a player who will make a better pro than college player. Hunter’s not an elite athlete, which could limit his potential somewhat. He’s a very good passer, but his ball-handling needs work for him to be an effective pro. Hunter will also have difficulty guarding the quicker twos in the NBA, but he has the ability to be a valuable contributor as a sixth man. Hunter is one of the players most likely to surprise on draft night with how high he is taken.
20 (20) Tyus Jones-PG (Duke/Freshman)
-6’1″, 184 pounds
-DraftExpress Rank: No. 26
-ESPN Rank: No. 25
-Stats: 11.8 PPG, 3.7 RPG, and 5.7 APG. .424/.400/.882.
The 18-year-old Jones has shown remarkable poise as a freshman, and he reminds me quite a bit of Tyler Ennis, another player I was extremely high on heading into the 2014 draft. Jones lacks elite athleticism, needs to work on his outside shot, and won’t be ready to play significant minutes his rookie season. But his court vision and basketball IQ will make him a valuable rotation piece in a couple of seasons. Jones’ turnover rate has increased significantly since conference play began, but he has still displayed remarkable on court leadership for a freshman. Jones is the type of player whose value doesn’t always show up in the box score, and he is overshadowed by Okafor and Winslow on a talented Duke squad. But this kid has the potential to be an effective pro, and a mid first round gem for a patient team.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Lakers Notes: Nash, Clarkson, Scott
The only reason Steve Nash didn’t retire when nerve issues forced him out for the season before it even began was because the Lakers asked him not to make an announcement so that the team could find a taker for him on the trade market, team sources tell Bleacher Report’s Kevin Ding.
Here’s more from Los Angeles:
- Having so many players on expiring contracts makes for a motivated bunch of Lakers, but there are downsides to that pressure, too, and chemistry is difficult to foster under the circumstances, as Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News examines.
- The Lakers were in a similar spot last season, but Wesley Johnson credits Byron Scott for holding the team accountable, a quality he believes former coach Mike D’Antoni lacked, as Johnson asserts to Medina for the same piece.
- Nash’s work with rookie guard Jordan Clarkson has been paying off for both the player and the team, Baxter Holmes of ESPNLosAngeles.com writes. “His passing has gotten much better,” Scott said. “We always talk about the little pocket pass; he’s starting to make that with ease. You start seeing some of the stuff that Steve is talking with him about. Sometimes it’s easier to relate to a player like that than it is to us as coaches, because we’re sitting there saying, ‘The pocket pass is open, Jordan the pocket pass is open.’”
- Despite Nash’s private sessions with Clarkson, the veteran has been absent at the team’s games, something Scott would prefer wasn’t the case, Holmes adds. Scott added that he wasn’t sure how Lakers fans would react to Nash’s return to the sidelines, Holmes relays. “I really don’t know,” Scott said “I’ve read some of the blogs which I thought were unfair to Steve. But I don’t know if he wants to put himself in that position. I don’t know how they would react. But I know us as an organization would love it.“
Eddie Scarito contributed to this post.
Stan Van Gundy Hints At Interest In Green
Stan Van Gundy appeared careful to say that he simply liked the type of player that Draymond Green is when he spoke with reporters before Wednesday’s Pistons-Warriors game, but it’s clear that Van Gundy would like to have Green on his team, writes Jimmy Durkin of the Bay Area News Group. The native of Saginaw, Michigan, has “significant interest” in signing an offer sheet with the Pistons this summer, as Adrian Wojnarowski reported last month, though Green downplayed the notion Wednesday, as Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press relays.
“Everybody needs that kind of guy,” Van Gundy said in response to a question about whether the Pistons need a tough guy like Green. “Yeah, absolutely. Everybody needs those guys.”
“When you’re talking about a tough guy who can also shoot the ball, there’s your ideal,” Van Gundy also said.
It would be no surprise if the Pistons indeed have at least some level of interest in the former Michigan State standout who’s having a breakthrough season in his third NBA campaign. He’s on a minimum-salary contract, but he’s in line for a significant raise. The Warriors have more than $77.5MM in guaranteed salary against a projected $81MM tax line for next season, yet Golden State has given every indication it will match any offer for Green, as Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group wrote in response to Wojnarowski’s report.
Signing a max offer sheet with another team could allow Green to make more than Klay Thompson without the deal having come directly from the Warriors, who are hesitant about making such an offer, according to Wojnarowski. The Warriors capped Thompson’s starting salary at $15.5MM, the projected maximum at the time, when they signed him to an extension this past fall, but if the max winds up exceeding that amount, Golden State is wary of internal politics coming into play, as Wojnarowski explained. If Green signs a max offer sheet with the Pistons, that would mean Detroit would have set the price point, and it would be easier for Thompson and his supporters to swallow if the Warriors simply matched the offer, Wojnarowski suggested.
The 25-year-old had a forceful response when asked if he longs to return to his home state, as Ellis observes.
“Home is always home,” Green said. “But honestly I don’t really even think about it because trying to win a championship is enough to think about on a daily basis. … So I don’t have time to sit and think, ‘Man, it would be great for me to go back home and play in Detroit, play in my home state.’ I don’t have time for that because I got one goal and that’s to try to win a championship with the team that I’m on.”
The Pistons have less than $28MM committed for next season. However, that doesn’t include any money for Reggie Jackson, who’s also set for restricted free agency, nor a contract for Greg Monroe, who will be an unrestricted free agent.
Midseason Signees On Multiyear Contracts
The Pistons are reportedly set to make Quincy Miller one of more than a dozen players who’ve signed contracts since the start of the season that last beyond season’s end. Agent Jared Karnes secured a partial guarantee on next year’s salary for Miller, but many who travel his path are not so lucky. Quite often, multiyear deals favor teams, because they afford them the chance to keep the player into the offseason without any guarantee that they’ll pay him beyond the first season of the contract. It’s the case for the majority of the players who signed multiyear deals after the start of this season.
That made it easy for the teams who’ve parted with midseason signees on multiyear deals even before year one reached its conclusion. The Sixers made this maneuver four times this year, in part because GM Sam Hinkie employs a strategy of signing marginal players to long-term deals using the team’s cap space to secure their rights, even if there’s little chance those contracts will run to term. Even teams without cap space can use the minimum-salary exception to sign players to two-year deals, and that’s been a boon for the Heat, who tacked an extra year at the minimum salary onto Hassan Whiteside‘s deal.
Here’s a look at each midseason signee who’s on a multiyear deal:
- Quincy Miller, Pistons — His two-year deal is partially guaranteed for next season.
- JaMychal Green, Grizzlies — His three-year deal worth nearly $1.96MM is partially guaranteed for $150K next season and non-guaranteed for the third season. The third year becomes partially guaranteed for $200K if he remains under contract through July 11th, 2016, and that partial guarantee escalates to a full guarantee if he remains under contract through New Year’s Day, 2017.
- Reggie Williams, Spurs — His two-year minimum-salary deal is non-guaranteed for next season.
- Lorenzo Brown, Timberwolves — His two-year minimum-salary deal is non-guaranteed for next season.
- Hassan Whiteside, Heat — His two-year minimum-salary deal is non-guaranteed for next season.
- James McAdoo, Warriors — His two-year minimum-salary deal is partially guaranteed for $100K next season.
- Joffrey Lauvergne, Nuggets — His three-year deal worth nearly $5.21MM is fully guaranteed for next season and non-guaranteed for the third year.
- Tyler Johnson, Heat — His two-year minimum-salary deal is non-guaranteed for next season, unless he remains under contract through August 1st, in which case the salary will be 50% guaranteed.
- Langston Galloway, Knicks — His two-year minimum-salary deal is non-guaranteed for next season, unless he remains under contract through July 1st, in which case the salary will be partially guaranteed for $220K. That partial guarantee jumps to $440K if he remains under contract through September 15th.
- Elijah Millsap, Jazz — His three-year deal worth more than $2.067MM is non-guaranteed beyond this season.
- Furkan Aldemir, Sixers — His four-year deal worth nearly $11.421MM is non-guaranteed beyond next season. The third year becomes partially guaranteed for $1.4MM if he remains under contract through August 5th, and the same is true of the fourth year.
- Darius Morris, Nets — His two-year minimum salary deal is non-guaranteed for next season, unless he remains under contract through July 1st, in which case the salary will be partially guaranteed for $25K.
- Robert Covington, Sixers — His four-year deal worth more than $4.103MM is non-guaranteed beyond this season. The final year is also a team option.
The following players signed multiyear deals during the season, but they’ve already been waived:
- Malcolm Thomas, Sixers — His four-year deal for about $4.1MM was non-guaranteed beyond this season.
- Ronald Roberts Jr., Sixers — His four-year deal for about $3.3MM was non-guaranteed beyond this season.
- Patrick Christopher, Jazz — His two-year, minimum salary deal was non-guaranteed beyond this season.
- Malcolm Lee, Sixers — His four-year deal for about $4MM was non-guaranteed beyond this season.
- Gal Mekel, Pelicans — His two-year, minimum salary deal was non-guaranteed beyond this season.
- Drew Gordon, Sixers — His four-year deal for about $3.3MM was non-guaranteed beyond this season.
- Will Cherry, Cavaliers — His two-year, minimum salary deal was non-guaranteed beyond this season.
The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.
Southwest Notes: Gentile, Conley, Ajinca
Swingman Alessandro Gentile didn’t join the Rockets after they drafted him 53rd overall this past June, but he’s growing increasingly fascinated with the idea of playing in the NBA, as he tells the Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport (translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). The Rockets have traveled to scout him and been in frequent contact, and they’ve made him feel like a family member, Gentile added. All of it seems like a departure from Gentile’s comments in September, when he said that he had no interest in playing in the NBA and questioned whether he ever would. Here’s more from around the Southwest Division:
- The Grizzlies have benefited from Mike Conley‘s discount deal since the 2010/11 season, but they’ll face a challenge when it comes off the books just when teams are set to have plenty of cash to throw around in 2016, as Amin Elhassan of ESPN.com examines in an Insider-only piece.
- Jim Eichenhofer of Pelicans.com examines the changes to Alexis Ajinca that have allowed him to become a contributor for New Orleans since rejoining the NBA last season after an absense of more than two years. Ajinca’s minimum-salary deal with the Pelicans is up at season’s end.
- The final pick of the 2014 first-round is headed on D-League assignment for the fourth time this season, as the Spurs have sent Kyle Anderson to their affiliate, the team announced. Still, Anderson has averaged 12.6 minutes per game and made eight starts for the big club this season.
- The Mavericks have recalled Dwight Powell from the D-League just one day after sending him down, tweets Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com. The rookie power forward scored 33 points in 37 minutes Wednesday for the D-League Texas Legends.
Wizards Ink Toure’ Murry To 10-Day Deal
12:00pm: The deal is official, the Wizards announced.
THURSDAY, 10:27am: There’s been no official announcement from the Wizards, but Murry put pen to paper on a contract this morning, according to Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post (Twitter link). The team still views Will Bynum as its top choice for the roster spot that Murry is going into for now, but he’s still nursing a hamstring injury, Castillo also tweets.
WEDNESDAY, 4:45pm: The Wizards intend to sign Toure’ Murry to a 10-day contract, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). The 25-year-old has been playing for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Houston’s D-League affiliate, since he was waived by the Jazz back in January. The Wizards currently have 14 players on their roster, so no additional moves would be necessary to ink Murry.
The 6’5″ guard from Wichita State saw one single minute of action for the Jazz this season, much to the chagrin of his agent Bernie Lee, who didn’t think Murry was given a fair chance in Utah. “Utah just didn’t see value in giving [Toure’] a real opportunity to prove himself, which is their right,” Lee said. “I had a sense things were working against him early when during the Jazz’s first open scrimmage in the preseason the team-employed radio voice used the forum to crush his future NBA prospects. Just an odd situation through and through. He went to Utah as a young developing point guard who played 51 games for an extremely visible team and today leaves Utah having played his last game as an assigned player in the NBADL [D-League] having been asked to play the four. Perspective and opportunity are a funny thing in basketball.”
Murry saw a bit more action for the Knicks last season, putting up 2.7 points in 7.3 minutes per game across 51 appearances. Murry has appeared in 16 contests for the Vipers this season, averaging 12.6 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 6.6 assists in 28.2 minutes per game.
Fallout From Union’s Refusal Of ‘Cap Smoothing’
The players union’s ultimate rejection Wednesday of any gradual increase to the salary cap as opposed to a drastic leap for 2016/17, when the league’s $24 billion TV deal kicks in, figures to have widespread consequences. Just about every team stands to have the ability to open the cap space necessary to sign a maximum-salary free agent, as I explored, and the ripple effects of the change in the NBA’s salary structure will be felt long after 2016 free agent frenzy is over. Here’s more on the aftermath of the union’s decision:
- Teams are projecting the 2016/17 salary cap to come in between $88MM and $92MM, sources tell Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com, which largely jibes with the roughly $90MM figure many around the league had reportedly assumed as of early last month.
- The union’s refusal to compromise on so-called “cap smoothing” increases the odds that there will be a lockout in 2017, when the players and owners have a mutual option on the collective bargaining agreement, Windhorst believes, as he writes in the same piece. Players association vice president LeBron James spoke Wednesday of a “huge meeting” that the union will hold this summer, Windhorst notes.
- Salary cap guru Larry Coon thinks the union didn’t want tiered increases to the cap because a spike in 2016 would come in advance of any 2017 lockout. Marquee players, like James, will benefit from the jump but pedestrian players near the end of their careers stand to miss out, Coon believes. That’s because the league would have distributed among all players what probably would have been a large difference between total team expenditures on player salary in 2016/17 and the 51% of the league’s basketball revenue that teams are required to spend on salaries, as Coon explains. Players near the end of their careers won’t see that sort of shortfall check now that cap smoothing is off the table, and if they don’t sign a new contract after next season, they won’t have a piece of the pie, according to Coon (All five Twitter links here).
- Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News asked three players before Wednesday’s Nets-Heat game about the union’s decision to reject cap smoothing, and none of the three knew what he was talking about. That suggests that the union wasn’t unanimously behind the choice, Bondy tweets.
Hawks, Pero Antic Interested In New Deal
Just about every scenario Hawks management is planning for next season involves re-signing Pero Antic, according to Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and Antic has made it clear he wants to remain with the team, as he told Vivlamore. The Hawks can match offers for the 32-year-old big man if they tender a qualifying offer of nearly $1.563MM when his contract expires this summer.
“He’s a good part of our core, our substance, our locker room,” said Mike Budenholzer, Atlanta’s coach and acting GM, according to Vivlamore. “Then, the way he plays on the court, I think he’s done a ton to be somebody you want to be a part of your team going forward. The summer and free agency is a ways off but we love him.”
Vivlamore wrote last month that the Hawks had given indications that they’d like to try to re-sign him in the offseason, but it seems like the team’s interest in a continued relationship, and Antic’s shared desire for that, are becoming more clear. Antic, a native of Macedonia who played for many years overseas before finally making his NBA debut at age 31 last season, told Vivlamore that his experience with the Hawks has been the best of his career.
“From your mouth to God’s ears, we say,” Antic said in response to a question about whether he’d like to re-sign. “I love it. I love the guys. I love everything. I couldn’t be happier to come. The coaching staff, to be so similar to Europe, to be so understanding of the players, rarely you can find that.”
Hawks GM Danny Ferry, now on indefinite leave of absence, signed Antic in 2013 to a two-year, $2.45MM contract with non-guaranteed salary for the second season that would become fully guaranteed if he remained on the deal through mid-July 2014. The Hawks indeed kept him after a season in which he started 26 regular season games and all seven of the team’s playoff games amid a rash of injuries to the team’s frontcourt. His numbers are down this year, and he’s started only twice with Al Horford back healthy. Antic’s shot is off and he’s dealt with an ankle injury this year, but Budenholzer is enamored with the Misko Raznatovic client‘s defense, leadership and on-court intelligence, Vivlamore writes.
Atlanta already has more than $39MM in guaranteed salary for next season. They’ll have Antic’s Early Bird Rights, meaning they can exceed the cap to sign him to a starting salary of 104.5% of the average salary for this season. That would likely come close to $6MM, so Atlanta should have no trouble within those bounds, though that’s just my speculation.
Luke Ridnour Considering Retirement
Luke Ridnour is under contract with the Magic through next season, but the 34-year-old says he isn’t sure he’ll play after the conclusion of this season, according to Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times (Twitter link). He’s due a non-guaranteed salary of $2.75MM in 2015/16 on the two-year, $5.5MM deal he signed with Orlando this past summer, and he’s played a career-low 13.6 minutes per game in 38 appearances this year.
There was a “sense” shortly before the trade deadline that the Magic were making the 12th-year veteran available for a trade, according to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders, and the news wasn’t surprising considering his marginal role. The combo guard saw 16.2 minutes per contest in November, but his playing time has gone down as the team has given more burn to rookie point guard Elfrid Payton.
The Magic would be able to simply release Ridnour without obligation should he retire this summer, since his salary is non-guaranteed. The Jim Tanner client was the 14th overall pick in the 2003 draft, and, according to Basketball-Reference data, he’s racked up more than $45MM in NBA salary over the course of his career, including this season’s pay. His career high in points per game was in 2011/12, when he put up 12.1 PPG for the Timberwolves, while his best year in assists per contest was 2005/06, a season in which he averaged 7.0 APG for the SuperSonics, his original NBA team.