Raptors GM Vows To Add Canadian Players
There are no Canadians on the Raptors roster, but GM Masai Ujiri considers it a priority to have one soon, as he told an audience at a forum for Canadian basketball Monday, as Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun relays. Ujiri, who’s in year two of a five-year contract, promised that the team will have a Canadian player even if he doesn’t have a long tenure in charge of the Raptors.
“We are studying it. I even considered last year hiring somebody to concentrate just on Canadian players and I think I’m going to go through with it because the growth of the game here is so big,” Ujiri said. “It’s the fit. We can maybe take our time and study it a little bit so it is the right fit and not do it just to do it. It’s going to come, there is no doubt in my mind. It’s an obligation that I think we have to fulfil. We are a Canadian team and I think to have Canadian players, I think will be phenomenal.”
Ujiri hinted that he’d like to have Andrew Wiggins, but with the 2014 No. 1 pick ensconced in Minnesota in the first year of his rookie scale contract, Ujiri will probably have to look elsewhere for domestic talent. It’s a light draft market for Canadians this year, particularly if Kentucky freshman power forward Trey Lyles doesn’t declare for early entry. Joel Anthony is the only native of Canada who’s up for unrestricted free agency this summer. Steve Nash, who was born in South Africa but identifies himself as a Canadian after having grown up there, will be an unrestricted free agent, too, but the 41-year-old is likely finished with his NBA career. Tristan Thompson and Cory Joseph are due for restricted free agency.
The Kings apparently shopped Nik Stauskas before the deadline while the Magic were reportedly willing to trade Andrew Nicholson and the Wolves seemingly raised the name of Anthony Bennett in trade discussions. Dwight Powell has already been traded three times since Charlotte drafted him this past June. The Raptors reportedly attempted to trade for Tyler Ennis around draft time and came up short, though the Suns shipped him to the Bucks at last month’s deadline. Kelly Olynyk is another native of Canada, though he seems entrenched with the Celtics on year two of his rookie scale contract.
It’s unusual for a GM to tether himself to a promise of acquiring a player with local ties, even if Ujiri has designated the entire country of Canada as his target. Anthony is a Montreal native and Nash grew up in British Columbia, but aside from them, the NBA’s Canadians are all from Ontario, with most hailing from Toronto.
And-Ones: Kerr, Jones, Embiid, Wade
Steve Kerr still has a small ownership stake in the Suns, notes Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group (via Twitter). Kerr was required by the NBA to sell his investment in Phoenix after he became the coach of the Warriors, but he’s been unable to complete the divestiture to this point. Here are more miscellaneous notes from around the league..
- The NBA fined Dahntay Jones $10K for bumping into Draymond Green during a postgame interview after the Warriors’ victory over the Clippers on Sunday, as Greg Beacham of The Associated Press details.
- Joel Embiid suffered a “minor setback” in his recovery from the broken right foot that’s kept him from debuting in the NBA this season, reports Tom Moore of Calkins Media (on Twitter). While a report in January indicated Embiid could potentially play this season, Brett Brown cast doubt on the possibility of such a scenario late last month.
- Dwyane Wade expressed disappointment in Hassan Whiteside‘s lack of maturity following a Heat loss in which Whiteside was ejected after committing a flagrant-two on Kelly Olynyk, observes Jason Lieser of the Palm Beach Post (Twitter link). “Very [disappointed],” said Wade. “We all are. As a Heat fan you are. In this locker room we are. Everybody.” Whiteside, who’s put up impressive numbers with Miami, is signed through the 2015/16 season on a minimum salary deal.
- John Zitzler of Basketball Insiders looks back at the path that led Khris Middleton to the Bucks and explores the unexpected value he’s been able to provide to Milwuakee. The 23-year-old swingman is poised to hit restricted free agency this summer.
Northwest Notes: Malone, Wiggins, Afflalo, KD
Former Kings coach Michael Malone will be traveling with the Wolves during their next two games, notes Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune (on Twitter). This will mark at least the third time this season that Malone has spent time with Minnesota, but Flip Saunders described his presence as merely a “professional courtesy,” according to Zgoda. We’ll round up the latest on the Wolves and the Northwest Division below:
- There are those around the league who feel that the Canadian-born Andrew Wiggins might one day join the Raptors, according to Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun (via Twitter). Of course, the Wolves have control of the Kansas product until at least 2019, and likely beyond, but Toronto GM Masai Ujiri still hinted at interest in eventually luring Wiggins away from Minnesota, as Eric Koreen of the National Post relays (on Twitter).
- Arron Afflalo doesn’t think Brian Shaw can be blamed for all of the problems that the Nuggets found themselves with this season, as the now-Blazer said in an interview with ESPN’s Jim Rome (link via ForwardCenter). “I’m the type of person who feels like everybody should look in the mirror first and hold their own in terms of responsibilities,” said Afflalo. “Obviously Coach Shaw had some responsibilities, but us as players, we have to find a way to connect with each other. It wasn’t all his fault.”
- In a piece for DailyThunder.com, ESPN’s Royce Young insists there’s no chance the Thunder trade Kevin Durant next season in spite of Russell Westbrook‘s recent dominance and rumors that Durant might walk from OKC in the summer of 2016.
Eastern Notes: Bosh, Beasley, Rose, Love
Chris Bosh is expected to resume full basketball activities next September, the Heat announced. It’s great news for the 30-year-old big man, who admits he initially had doubts he’d ever return to the hardwood when he found out about the blood clots in his lungs, as Tom Haberstroh of ESPN.com details. We’ve got more on the Heat within tonight’s look around the Eastern Conference:
- Michael Beasley does not feel like he has a roster spot locked up with the Heat despite his recent strong play, according to Michael Lee of the Washington Post. Beasley, who is on his second 10-day contract with the club, is averaging 10.5 points and 4.2 rebounds since returning to the NBA after a stint in China. “You’re talking to a No. 2 pick. One of the best players in college basketball — not to toot my own horn. But to go from there to now be on a 10-day is definitely humbling,” Beasley said to Lee. “They always say, it could be gone tomorrow.”
- Derrick Rose expects to return to the Bulls from his latest knee surgery sometime this season, but he offered no assurances that will happen, Teddy Greenstein of the Chicago Tribune reports. Rose was expected to miss four to six weeks after tearing meniscus in his right knee last month. “Whenever I’m ready to back, I’ll come back,” he said to a contingent of reporters on Monday.
- Kevin Love may not receive a maximum salary offer from the Cavs, even if he wants to stay with the team next year, Sam Smith of Bulls.com opines. The power forward, who will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, has been mainly employed as a three-point shooter and his averages of 16.9 points and 12.9 shot attempts are his lowest since the 2009/10 season, notes Smith, who also adds that Love also rode the bench during crunch time against Toronto last week. Love recently expressed his unhappiness about being labelled a stretch four and will have plenty of suitors on the open market.
Charlie Adams contributed to this post.
Western Notes: Rondo, Neal, Lakers
Rajon Rondo is willing to return to Mavs but probably will not get a contract offer he expects from the club heading into unrestricted free agency, Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com tweets. In fact, McMahon doubts the Mavs will come close to his asking price. Rondo said recently he would consider re-signing with Dallas despite a verbal altercation with coach Rick Carlisle late last month that led to a one-game suspension. Rondo will be one of the biggest names on the free-agent market this summer but he hasn’t improved his stock since he was traded by the Celtics in December. Rondo has struggled running Carlisle’s offense, averaging 9.4 points and 6.2 assists, compared to his career averages of 10.9 PPG and 8.4 APG. He’s also shooting 41.5% from the field, well below his career average of 46.9%.
In other news around the Western Conference:
- The Timberwolves are interested in re-signing Gary Neal thanks to his strong play and veteran leadership, according to Alex Kennedy of BasketballInsiders.com. Neal, who becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer after making $3.25MM this season, was acquired from the Hornets at the trade deadline. He has averaged 18.8 points over the last four games and coach Flip Saunders said that Neal has been a good influence on his young players, Kennedy adds.
- Julius Randle has been cleared to begin non-contact basketball activities but Lakers coach Byron Scott reiterated the rookie forward will not return this season, Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times reports. The lottery pick broke his right leg on opening night and also had a surgical procedure on his right foot in January. “This is all in preparation for getting him ready for summer league,” Scott said to Los Angeles beat reporters.
- Danny Granger has been impressed by the Suns trainers and their ability to manage his knee issues, according to Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic (Twitter link). Those same trainers helped Grant Hill extend his career and Granger, who has a player option of approximately $2.17MM on his contract for next season, could take that into consideration when deciding whether to exercise that option. He has not appeared in a game with Phoenix since the Heat dealt him at the trade deadline.
- Kyle Anderson was recalled by the Spurs from their D-League affiliate in Austin on Monday, the team announced. Anderson has bounced between the two leagues in his rookie season, appearing in 27 games with San Antonio this season and 19 games in Austin, where he averaged 22.2 points, 9.1 rebounds and 4.9 assists. Anderson provides some depth at the wing positions, though the Spurs do not have any reported injuries.
Rookie Scale Contracts Traded In 2014/15
First-round picks have become highly coveted commodities around the NBA, and while they moved with more frequency during this season’s trades than in years past, the same could be said for just about every sort of asset in a wild few months of player movement. One of the primary reasons why those picks are so highly valued is the cost-efficiency of the rookie scale contract. First-round picks who pan out, and lottery picks in particular, come at a steep discount for their first four seasons in the league. There isn’t a team in the league that wound blink an eye at forking over the roughly $5.607MM that Anthony Davis makes this season, and the same is true of his nearly $7.071MM salary next season.
Most rookie scale contracts are even less expensive than that, and even when first-rounders don’t fulfill their promise, rookie scale contracts aren’t too burdensome. Only the first two seasons involve guaranteed salary. Still, just as with future first-round picks, teams are occasionally enticed into giving up rookie scale contracts.
The prospect of the sort of raise a player would command on his next contract no doubt spurs some of this movement, and indeed, five of the 13 rookie scale contracts to have been traded since the start of the season are in their fourth and final seasons. Still, that isn’t a particularly large share, especially considering that Austin Rivers, a third-year player, was traded twice. Of course, Rivers is on an expiring deal, since the Pelicans declined his fourth-year team option before the deadline to do so this past October. The same is true of Thomas Robinson, whom the Blazers shipped to the Nuggets and whom Denver subsequently waived only to see the Sixers pick the rest of his rookie scale contract off waivers.
Still, an ending contract wasn’t the factor for nearly half of the players on the list below, including rookies Adreian Payne and Tyler Ennis, whom the Hawks and Suns, respectively, dealt without having kept their 2014 first-round picks around for even one full season. Still, the Suns were more active than any other team in this market, relinquishing the rookie scale contracts of Ennis and Miles Plumlee and taking back Reggie Bullock and Brandon Knight on their rookie deals.
Here’s the complete list of players on rookie scale contracts who were involved in trades between opening night and the trade deadline:
- Reggie Bullock (second year): Clippers to Suns
- Michael Carter-Williams (second year): Sixers to Bucks
- Norris Cole (fourth year): Heat to Pelicans
- Tyler Ennis (first year): Suns to Bucks
- Reggie Jackson (fourth year): Thunder to Pistons
- Enes Kanter (fourth year): Jazz to Thunder
- Brandon Knight (fourth year): Bucks to Suns
- Adreian Payne (first year): Hawks to Timberwolves
- Miles Plumlee (third year): Suns to Bucks
- Austin Rivers (third year): Pelicans to Celtics; Celtics to Clippers
- Thomas Robinson (third year): Trail Blazers to Nuggets
- Iman Shumpert (fourth year): Knicks to Cavaliers
- Dion Waiters (third year): Cavaliers to Thunder
Eastern Notes: Beasley, Gasol, Mo Williams, Cavs
Michael Beasley signed his second 10-day contract with the Heat on Sunday, a move that the Heat had no hestitation in making, according to coach Erik Spoelstra, as Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald observes.
“He stepped out of his comfort zone and was fantastic in that zone,” Spoelstra said of Beasley’s play during his first 10-day deal. “I feel very comfortable with Mike. We have gotten to know each other extremely well over the years. We felt it was a no-brainer. We’ve been running the majority of our offense through him, a la Chris Bosh. He’s a close facsimile in our system.”
That would seem to bode well for Beasley’s chances of receiving a deal through at least the rest of the season once his latest 10-day deal runs out. Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- Pau Gasol said Sunday that the Thunder and Spurs were his other top choices this summer before he made his decision to sign with the Bulls in what he described as a “close call,” as Sam Smith of Bulls.com relays.
- Mo Williams has been sensational for the Hornets since they traded for him a month ago, averaging 21.7 points, 8.7 assists and 2.8 turnovers in 35.4 minutes per game, but coach Steve Clifford anticipates a regression to the mean, notes Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (Twitter link). Williams will be a free agent at season’s end.
- The Cavs‘ January overhaul, featuring a pair of significant trades, has resulted in a team that takes more non-corner three-pointers and fewer point-blank looks, as Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal examines. The results have been successful, though coach David Blatt has concerns about the preponderance of outside looks that LeBron James doesn’t appear to share, Lloyd notes.
Atlantic Notes: Richardson, Randolph, Johnson
Division titles matter little for the playoffs, but there’s a distinct chance the Atlantic crown plays a significant role in the first-round matchups this year. The champion of each division is guaranteed a top four seed, though first-round home-court advantage is not a given, so division titlists are in essence guaranteed only a top five position. Usually, the leader of each division is within the top five teams in their respective conferences, but the Raptors, sitting atop the Atlantic, are only four and a half games clear of the Bucks for sixth place in the Eastern Conference, and Toronto has been slumping. Still, even if the Raptors do finish sixth or worse in the East, they’ll still be in the No. 4 versus No. 5 matchup in the playoffs as long as they win the division. Here’s more from the Atlantic:
- The idea of re-signing Jason Richardson was off the table for the Sixers until he returned last month from a more than two-year injury-induced absence, but now Philly is at least considering it, reports Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Sixers coach Brett Brown doesn’t see a reason why the 34-year-old couldn’t play for another couple of seasons, Pompey notes. Richardson, who’s in the final season of his contract, would like to remain with Philadelphia rather than chase a ring elsewhere and said that if he were to go to a title-contender, he’d want more than a bit role, as Pompey relays.
- The Celtics scheduled a meeting with reserve power forward Shavlik Randolph when they appeared close to signing JaVale McGee, but that meeting was scuttled when McGee and the C’s failed to agree to terms, according to Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald. That led Bulpett to speculate that Randolph was the likely roster casualty if McGee had signed.
- Amir Johnson‘s declining numbers and expiring contract make it seem decreasingly likely that he’ll remain with the Raptors for next season, writes Eric Koreen of the National Post.
Players Claimed Off Waivers Since Opening Night
Waiver claims are usually rare in the NBA, but since the trade deadline less than three weeks ago, five players have been claimed. Teams claimed two others off waivers earlier this season, and put together, they have many similarities. Six of the seven make the minimum salary, which stands to reason, since that’s the only sort of player that every team can claim. Any other salary requires the use of cap space or an exception of some kind, and several teams don’t have that sort of flexibility.
Three of the seven players claimed off waivers went to the Sixers, who used their ample cap space on the lone waiver claim who’s not making the minimum. A trio of claimed players were placed on waivers by the Pelicans, including Ish Smith, who went from New Orleans to Philadelphia. Four of the seven claimed players were involved in trades shortly before their releases.
Here’s a look at each waiver claim this season:
- A.J. Price: Pacers to Cavaliers — The veteran point guard began the regular season with the Cavs, but Cleveland dropped him in favor of Will Cherry less than a week into the season. Price’s run as an injury fill-in for the Pacers apparently inspired Cleveland to think twice about that decision, claiming Price off waivers and letting go of Cherry shortly after the Pacers released Price. Still, Price failed to stick with Cleveland, as the team cut him once more in January rather than guarantee his entire salary for the season.
- Tarik Black: Rockets to Lakers — Houston reluctantly waived Black when the team needed a roster spot for Josh Smith and couldn’t find a trade partner for another of its reserves, and the Lakers foiled Charlotte’s plan to claim Black by submitting a claim of their own. L.A. had priority because of its inferior record, and the Lakers have made frequent use of their find, giving the rookie seven starts in 18 appearances.
- Ish Smith: Pelicans to Sixers — Like Price, he became a team’s 16th player this season thanks to the hardship provision, inking a deal with the Thunder when they were decimated by injuries. The Thunder kept him when the provision expired and waived Sebastian Telfair instead. Smith finally became a roster casualty when the Thunder took on more players than they gave up in the Reggie Jackson/Enes Kanter trade, with Oklahoma City conveying him to the Pelicans in a separate deal. New Orleans, content with the second-round pick, cash, and draft-and-stash player it also acquired in the deal, waived Smith right away, and the Sixers pounced, giving him a key reserve role that’s encompassed 22.0 minutes per game.
- Thomas Robinson: Nuggets to Sixers — The Robinson claim was perhaps the most controversial in the league so far this season, with the Nets having already set up a deal to sign Robinson once he passed through waivers. Philadelphia stymied those plans and also likely cost the Nuggets some cash in the transaction, too, as I explained. Denver briefly held the former No. 5 overall pick following a deadline-day trade with the Blazers. He’s still on his rookie-scale contract, making him the only player who’s earning more than the minimum salary this year to have been claimed off waivers.
- Shawne Williams: Pelicans to Pistons — The Williams claim happened the same day that the Sixers derailed Brooklyn’s plans of signing Robinson, and though Detroit’s move received less fanfare, Williams has played a more expansive role this season. He started 22 games for the Heat, who shipped him to New Orleans in the three-team Goran Dragic trade. The Pelicans quickly let him go, but while the Pistons seemed anxious to bring him on board, they’ve given him only 9.6 minutes per game so far, less than half of what he saw in Miami.
- Justin Hamilton: Pelicans to Timberwolves — Another player who went from Miami to New Orleans in that trade ended up on waivers, and Minnesota wound up with a player it had apparently wanted to trade for prior to the deadline.
- Glenn Robinson III: Timberwolves to Sixers — The Wolves let go of Robinson when they brought Hamilton aboard, and once more the Sixers caused some angst among the Nuggets, who were reportedly interested in Robinson before Philly jumped in.
Pacific Notes: Kobe, Cousins, Rondo, Whiteside
Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak insists the team won’t make building a team to win in the short-term around Kobe Bryant a priority at the expense of the future, and Bryant is on board with that, as the Lakers star told Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News.
“It’s a balance of both,” Bryant said. “You always want to set the franchise up for the long term. Mitch and I are on the same page. What he said in the interview is not something that we haven’t talked about before. It’s nothing different. You don’t want to compromise the future of the franchise for one season. You try to balance that.”
There’s more on the Lakers amid the latest from around the Pacific Division:
- Teams around the league are making plans to try to trade for DeMarcus Cousins in case he and George Karl don’t get along, as Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com said on ESPN radio Sunday and as ESPN colleague Marc Stein notes within his weekly power rankings. Cousins and Karl have nonetheless been complimentary of one another since the Kings put them together last month. Still, a source familiar with Karl’s thinking recently told Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck that Sacramento wouldn’t rule out trading Cousins.
- Lakers co-owner executive vice president of basketball operations Jim Buss is believed to be among those who like Rajon Rondo, as Bleacher Report’s Kevin Ding writes as he argues that the Lakers and other teams shouldn’t pay a premium for the point guard.
- The Lakers chose to sign Wayne Ellington instead of Hassan Whiteside after the big man auditioned for the team this past summer, Whiteside said to TNT’s David Aldridge, who writes in his Morning Tip column for NBA.com.
- Warriors coach Steve Kerr has learned how better to navigate leadership boundaries since Mike D’Antoni‘s belief that Kerr wanted his job helped prompt D’Antoni to leave the Suns during Kerr’s tenure as GM in Phoenix, observes Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic.