Evaluating Last Year’s Rookie Scale Extensions
Kawhi Leonard, Jimmy Butler and Tristan Thompson are among the headliners for this summer’s restricted free agent class, one that would have been more robust if not for the more than $450MM that teams around the league put into rookie scale extensions this past fall. The postseason would have loomed even larger for Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson if they had the value of their next contracts to think about, but both are tied to their teams for the long term, thanks to their extensions.
Such deals are always gambles of sorts for teams as well as players, since they’re based on projections for what someone with three years of experience will be worth after his fourth. Many players eligible for rookie scale extensions aren’t yet 25 years old, so there’s room for growth, but just how much growth will actually happen is difficult to predict.
So, now that a full season has passed for most around the league, barring those who made the playoffs, let’s evaluate how the extensions look now:
- Kyrie Irving (Cavaliers): Five years, maximum salary: Irving committed to the Cavs before LeBron James did, and it was somewhat surprising given rumors indicating the point guard’s discomfort in Cleveland. But either that discomfort never existed or max money made them go away. Irving agreed to take less than the 30% max that he’d earn if he triggered the Derrick Rose rule, but he did not, making that concession moot. Irving will make the 25% max instead for a team that figures to compete for titles for most if not all of the five years the deal covers, and even with James around, he improved his scoring average this season over last. Verdict: Good deal for both sides
- Klay Thompson (Warriors): Four years, maximum salary: Thompson and the Warriors also hedged slightly against the max, agreeing that he would make the 25% max next season as long as it didn’t exceed $15.5MM. The max won’t be known until July, and it’ll probably come in right around $15.5MM, or perhaps slightly higher. Regardless, Thompson set career highs in points per game, assists per game and three-point shooting percentage as the Warriors compiled one of the best regular seasons ever. If Thompson doesn’t get the full max, it’ll tilt ever so subtly in the team-friendly category, but for the most part, the extension serves both team and player well. Verdict: Good deal for both sides
- Ricky Rubio (Timberwolves): Four years, $55MM (plus incentives): Injuries once more befell the point guard, limiting him to a career-low 22 games. Rubio had career-best per-game numbers in assists and rebounding, but his struggles with the long ball continued, as he made just 25.5% of his three-point attempts, his worst percentage as an NBA player. All of it is nonetheless skewed by the diminutive nature of the sample size. Verdict: Better deal for Rubio than for the Timberwolves
- Kenneth Faried (Nuggets): Four years, $50MM (plus incentives): A report suggested the Nuggets weren’t all that high on the power forward even at the time of his extension. Still, Denver appeared reluctant to put him into a deal at the deadline. His scoring was off slightly this season, the product of fewer shot attempts, though his efficiency was down, as he recorded a career-low 18.4 PER for a Nuggets team that failed to compete for a playoff berth. The leap that he showed for Team USA in the offseason never materialized in Denver. Verdict: Better deal for Faried than for the Nuggets
- Nikola Vucevic (Magic): Four years, $48MM (plus incentives): The center became the focal point of the Magic offense, leading the team in shot attempts, scoring and rebounding. He’s a minus defensively, as Basketball-Reference’s Defensive Box Plus/Minus shows, but there’s always been a premium on 7-footers who can put up 19.3 points and 10.9 rebounds per game, as Vucevic did this season. Verdict: Better deal for the Magic than for Vucevic
- Kemba Walker (Hornets): Four years, $48MM: The shine was off the Hornets this season after a playoff berth in 2013/14, but Walker scored at a per-36-minute rate superior to last year, bettered his assist-to-turnover ratio, and increased his PER and steals per game. He’s not an elite point guard in a league full of them, but he represents one of the few parts of the Hornets that’s on the right track. Verdict: Good deal for both sides
- Alec Burks (Jazz): Four years, $42MM (plus incentives): As with Rubio, Burks missed most of the season with injury. He shot a career-best 38.2% from three-point range, but his scoring was down in the small sample size, and his PER dipped to a subpar 13.0. Verdict: Better deal for Burks than for Jazz
- Markieff Morris (Suns): Four years, $32MM: Handed a starting job after having played exclusively as a reserve in 2013/14, the per-36-minute scoring and rebounding numbers for Morris went down, as did his PER. He’s relatively cheap for a starter, but the numbers suggest he might be better as a well-paid reserve. Verdict: Better deal for Morris than for Suns
- Marcus Morris (Suns): Four years, $20MM: The lesser-paid Morris was a part-time starter after mostly coming off the bench last season, but he didn’t see too much more playing time, and his production was largely consistent with what it was last season. Verdict: Good deal for both sides
Pelicans Fire Monty Williams
1:00pm: The Pelicans were expected to pick up their team option for 2016/17 on Williams when they met with him this morning, sources told Wojnarowski for an updated version of his full story. Of course, that’s not how it turned out.
12:33pm: Benson told those close to him of his affection for Williams during the playoffs, TNT’s David Aldridge tweets, calling Thibodeau a “clear and obvious candidate” for the freshly opened Pelicans job in a second tweet. The future of Benson’s control of the Pelicans is in some doubt as his family puts up a legal fight for the team.
12:26pm: Demps pushed out Williams, Wojnarowski writes in a full story. The GM has been angling for more control and Williams’ coaching staff sensed decreasing support from management, feeling as though there were “unnecessary obstacles” in their way, league sources told Wojnarowski.
11:56am: The Pelicans have parted ways with coach Monty Williams, the team announced via press release. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported minutes earlier that the team had fired him (Twitter link). Williams was under contract through next season. The futures of Williams and GM Dell Demps have been shrouded in uncertainty of late, though Wojnarowski seems to imply that Demps is safe, saying that the GM “has his way now” (Twitter link).
“Making a decision like this is never easy and is never done hastily, especially when you are dealing with a person of Monty Williams’ character. We thanked Monty for the tremendous work and commitment he made to our organization and the development of our young players, specifically Anthony Davis,” executive vice president of basketball operations Mickey Loomis said in the team’s statement. “While we continue to work towards improving our roster, we decided that now was the time to make this decision. We wish nothing but the best for Monty in the future.”
Demps and owner Tom Benson were also quoted in the statement. Benson sent Williams, Demps and their staffs a letter of congratulations following the end of the team’s season, one in which the franchise made the playoffs for the first time since 2011. The timing of the firing is curious, coming more than two weeks after the team was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. The sense around the NBA was that the playoff berth, clinched on the final night of the regular season, had saved Williams’ job, according to Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com (Twitter link). John Reid of The Times-Picayune reported that the team planned evaluations of Demps and Williams at season’s end. Demps refuted another report that the organization had given him and Williams playoffs-or-else mandates before the season.
The job would appear to be attractive to potential replacements based on the presence of Davis alone. The Pelicans hold Tom Thibodeau in high regard, as Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders wrote earlier today, and the team has pursued Thibodeau in the past, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com, who also notes the close relationship between Davis and Thibodeau from their time working with Team USA. Of course, there’s the matter of Thibodeau’s contract with the Bulls, which runs for two more seasons. Turmoil has marked the coach’s relationship with the front office, but Chicago may prefer to seek compensation from another team for the right to hire him rather than simply letting him go after the season, as Kyler wrote.
New Orleans hired Williams before the 2010/11 season, the last one before the team traded Chris Paul to the Clippers. The then-Hornets made the playoffs in Williams’ first season but bottomed out the next year. New Orleans won the draft lottery in 2012, enabling the franchise to take Davis with the No. 1 overall pick, but even this year, the team has yet to finish outside of last place in the competitive Southwest Division since trading Paul. Williams went 173-221 with the Pelicans in his only NBA head coaching gig to date, compiling a playoff record of 2-8.
Southwest Notes: Dumars, Rockets, Parsons
The top two centers on the Pelicans roster are both set for unrestricted free agency, and Jimmy Smith of The Times-Picayune argues that Alexis Ajinca would be a better value than Omer Asik. Ajinca showed more offensive capabilities and blocked shots at about twice the rate that Asik did, but Asik is likely to command the higher salary, Smith observes. I made a similar suggestion when I looked at the offseason ahead for the Pelicans, but New Orleans would prefer to bring back both Asik and Ajinca, along with all of their other free agents, as Grantland’s Zach Lowe wrote recently. There’s more on the Pelicans amid the latest from around the Southwest Division:
- People around the NBA have believed for a while that Joe Dumars would at some point be likely to take over the responsibilities that Mickey Loomis has atop the Pelicans franchise, according to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders, writing in his NBA AM column. The Pelicans issued a statement denying that the team has spoken with the former Pistons exec about a job in the New Orleans organization, but Loomis, who is a friend of Dumars, and other Pelicans higher-ups reportedly met multiple times with Dumars this past fall. Loomis serves as the team’s executive vice president of basketball operations, though Dell Demps runs the day-to-day affairs as GM. Grantland’s Zach Lowe recently suggested that Dumars remained in play for a supervisory role above Demps.
- Rockets GM Daryl Morey is perhaps the most notorious practitioner of analytics among top NBA execs, but valuing numbers too highly over qualities that can’t easily be expressed in numbers, like leadership, may well be Houston’s downfall in the Clippers series, SB Nation’s Tom Ziller opines.
- The Spurs scheduled a workout with draft prospect Pat Connaughton, trainer Erik Kaloyanides revealed via Twitter (hat tip to Sportando’s Orazio Cauchi). Connaughton, a shooting guard coming off his senior year at Notre Dame, is the 71st best prospect in the rankings that Chad Ford of ESPN.com compiles, while Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress has him 98th.
- Mavs GM Donnie Nelson believes Chandler Parsons will someday become an NBA GM himself and says that he’d be glad to mentor the small forward toward a front office career once his playing days are over, as Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com relays.
Woelfel On Thibodeau, Carter-Williams, Middleton
The Magic‘s coaching job would be Tom Thibodeau‘s if he wants it, as Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times hears. Others nonetheless speculate that Thibodeau would prefer to coach the Pelicans, Woelfel notes. Thibodeau still has two years left on his contract with the Bulls, the team he’s coaching in the conference semifinals, though there have been no shortage of rumors indicating that his time left in Chicago is short. The Magic have made little progress in their coaching search so far and haven’t begun formal interviews, while Monty Williams remains the coach in New Orleans. As we wait to see just how Thibodeau’s future plays out, Woelfel has more Bucks-centric rumors to go along with his news linking Brook Lopez to Milwaukee. We’ll pass along some highlights, though Woelfel’s entire piece is a must-read, especially for Bucks fans:
- Some higher-ups around the league tell Woelfel that the Bucks aren’t totally convinced Michael Carter-Williams is their guy at point guard, just as the team had its doubts about Brandon Knight before trading him in February as part of the deal that netted Carter-Williams. Still, there isn’t as much financial urgency with last year’s Rookie of the Year, who has two more seasons left on his rookie scale contract, as there was with Knight, who’s set for restricted free agency this summer.
- The Bucks had significant interest in University of Utah center Jakob Poeltl before he became the highest-profile prospect in this year’s draft to decide against entering, sources tell Woelfel. The 7-footer will be a sophomore next season.
- A front office official for an Eastern Conference team who spoke with Woelfel estimated that Bucks soon-to-be restricted free agent Khris Middleton would make salaries of around $9MM on his next deal, as Woelfel relays on the “Sports Junkies” video segment. The executive expressed doubt about the offer of a $15MM annual salary that another executive recently told Sean Deveney of The Sporting News that Middleton was in line to draw.
Q&A With Draft Prospect Chris Walker
Throughout the spring and summer, Hoops Rumors will be talking with some of the most intriguing prospects in the 2015 NBA Draft. Today, the Hoops Rumors Draft Prospect Q&A series continues with Florida product Chris Walker, whom Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress ranks No. 52 in this year’s class and Chad Ford of ESPN.com rates 56th.
Chris Walker came to the University of Florida with a tremendous amount of hype behind him. Offered by top programs all over the country – including Kansas, Louisville, UNC, Ohio State, and many many more – Walker was arguably one of the most talented recruits ever brought into the fold by coach Billy Donovan.
How good was Walker? Top scouting services put the forward in their top ten nationally, ahead of names like Noah Vonleh, Joel Embiid, and James Young. Walker wasn’t an elite collegiate performer at Florida, but he showed glimpses of his tremendous talent over two years and NBA scouts know that the skills are still there. Now, Walker is gearing up for the workout circuit to convince a team to draft him and mine his vast untapped potential. Walker, a client of Travis King at Relativity Sports, spoke with Hoops Rumors about his time at Florida and what he hopes to do going forward.
Zach Links: You came out as sophomore this year. Did you wrestle with the decision to go pro early? What went into the decision? Were you hearing from NBA people that you had an excellent chance of getting drafted?
Chris Walker: It was a tough decision, but I wanted to focus on basketball and put 100% of my focus on my craft. Just from talking with my family and my agent, it was clear that everybody believed that I could do it and I did, too. I felt like if I could focus on basketball exclusively, then I could achieve great things in this sport.
ZL: You have the ability to drive to the basket and you don’t see that too often in a 6’10” big man. Have you always been strong at slashing to the hoop?
CW: That’s something that I’ve always done but I was actually told not to do that as much at Florida, because it didn’t fit in with the offense there. I’m excited to show that off now.
ZL: Do you have any regrets about how things played out at Florida?
CW: Of course I wish I could have done better, but I don’t know, I just feel like if I wanted to get better, I needed to go up a notch in competition to get better. I feel like everything happens for a reason and I have a great future ahead of me.
ZL: Are you a more mature person than you were when you came out of high school?
CW: I feel like I’m a way more mature person right now; I’ve grown physically and mentally. Mainly, I feel like I’ve grown a lot. I think some of the struggles actually woke me up a bit and humbled me and made me a tougher guy both on and off the court.
ZL: You’re fairly skinny at 6’10”, 220 pounds. Do you plan on getting bigger? How much bigger?
CW: I plan on getting bigger and getting up to the 235-240 pound range. At the same time though, I’m trying to keep my athleticism, explosiveness, and lateral movement. Right now I’m just being disciplined with how I eat and how I work out and taking all my supplements. I make sure that I take my creatine every day.
ZL: If you had to write your own scouting report, what would you say about yourself and what you can do on the court?
CW: I’m going to be a player in the NBA that is an energy guy. I’m going to give 110% every time. When the coach comes to me on the floor during practice I’m going to work out as hard as I can, pay attention to the veteran guys, and follow their lead. I want to learn from the best guys out there and I really feel that the sky is the limit for me.
ZL: While you’re writing your own scouting report, how about an NBA comparison for yourself?
CW: Right now I think I’m sort of an Anthony Davis type player, even if i’m not as polished as he is. He put on a lot of weight and I feel like we have the same frame and that’s who I want to pattern my game around.
ZL: So you must really pride yourself on your defense.
CW: I really enjoy playing D, even more than offense. I like blocking shots, rebounding the ball, and helping. Don’t get me wrong, I like the offensive end too and getting up and down the floor in transition. I want to work on post moves even more though so that I can really be effective in the halfcourt set.
ZL: What are you hearing about where you might get drafted?
CW: I’m not really hearing much specifically, but whatever team wants to take a shot at me, they won’t regret it.
ZL: Why did you choose Travis King and the folks at Relativity Sports to represent you?
CW: They’re like family to me. They have my back and it feels like a family connection, so that’s why I chose them.
Atlantic Notes: Love, Celtics, Nets, D-Will
Kevin Love harbors no long-lasting ill-will toward Kelly Olynyk or the Celtics, a source “authoritatively” told TNT’s David Aldridge, who writes in his Morning Tip column for NBA.com. Love recently insisted he had moved on from the injury Olynyk caused him, and there’s apparently been legitimate fear in the Cavs front office that the soon-to-be free agent will sign a new deal with a different team this summer, perhaps even Boston. As we wait to see if Love moves on from Cleveland, there’s more to pass along from Aldridge in tonight’s look around the Atlantic:
- The Nets are not interested in reaching a buyout deal with Deron Williams, Aldridge writes in the same piece, explaining that management is not interested in paying D-Will while he doesn’t play for the team. Instead, Aldridge speculates Brooklyn will likely try to find a suitor for Joe Johnson’s hefty contract in order to lighten the team’s payroll.
- There’s “genuine uncertainty” about whether or not Brook Lopez and Thaddeus Young will exercise their player options this summer, as Sean Deveney of Sporting News writes in his offseason outlook of the Nets. Although Lopez’s option figure is much higher than Young’s, both decisions will ultimately affect Brooklyn’s approach to free agency. Rumor has it Lopez will opt out in search of a bigger deal.
- Sports Illustrated’s Phil Taylor examines how Celtics coach Brad Stevens and Thunder coach Billy Donovan might be opening up the door for other college coaches to be hired by pro clubs, suggesting that previous failed NCAA-to-NBA hires were a result of big egos and/or poor organizational fits.
- Earlier today, we heard the Knicks are likely to sign Thanasis Antetokounmpo this summer.
Prospect Profile: Devin Booker
Devin Booker’s name is one that often goes unmentioned when discussing the best talent in this year’s draft class, but that’s not because of unimpressive play during his brief stint with Kentucky. Instead, the NBA-bound Wildcat freshman can blame his hyper-talented team for overshadowing the efficient numbers he was able to put up during his lone season in blue and white. Booker is one of seven Kentucky players leaving school early to enter the pros, and while ex-teammates Karl-Anthony Towns and Willie Cauley-Stein almost certainly figure to be taken ahead of him, there’s little doubt that Booker’s game will effectively translate to the next level and give whichever team that takes him a solid NBA shooting guard.
Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress ranks Booker as the 
12th best prospect in this year’s class, while Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider link) has him a decent amount lower at 19th. At only 18 years old, Booker is the youngest player in the upcoming crop of rookies; he won’t even turn 19 until the 2015/16 season has already tipped off. In spite of his youth, Givony writes in the previously linked piece that Booker’s strong fundamentals and high basketball IQ should definitely stand to appeal to GM’s around the Association. Younger players can oftentimes be knocked for taking bad shots or turning the ball over, but Booker’s stellar 47.1% field goal percentage and ultra-low 1.8 turnovers per 40 minutes prove that he makes good decisions when he’s got the rock in his hands.
While his intelligence on the floor shouldn’t be overlooked, it’s obvious that the most impressive skill Booker brings to the table is his lights-out shooting. He nailed 41.1% of his takes from beyond the arc last season, and his 60% true shooting percentage was fourth best in the SEC. Right around half of his attempted field goals came from three point range, so his eye-catching numbers don’t come from a small sample, and at 6.9 threes attempted per 40 minutes, it’s clear Booker is confident in his ability to hit from downtown (rightfully so). Floor spacing is a critical component in today’s NBA game, and Booker’s excellent mechanics and high release point make him arguably the best marksmen in this year’s class.
At 6’6” and over 200 pounds, Booker definitely possesses enough size to play shooting guard at the next level. He’s not an elite-level athlete, but he does have the capability to create his own shot and doesn’t just rely on spot-up jumpers to earn his points. Excellent footwork and crafty use of teammates’ screens give Booker the ability to hit on looks from all over the floor, and he’s not afraid to drain it from anywhere he can get open. Still, Booker’s game primarily takes place outside of the paint, and Ford believes he’ll need to improve his ability to drive to the basket if he wants to become a complete offensive player at the next level. It’s not that Booker struggles to finish once he’s at the rim; he just has a tough time cutting through defenses and making adjustments to get there.
Booker’s defense was nothing spectacular last year, but he didn’t hurt his team while he was on the floor either. His 92.2 defensive rating was good enough to rank eighth in the SEC, but that figure was heavily impacted by the presence of teammates Towns and Cauley-Stein, two elite rim protectors who gave opposing offenses nightmares. Booker’s height and weight will allow him to stick with most two-guards in the NBA, but Givony notes that Booker’s diminutive 6’6″ wingspan will likely prevent him from effectively guarding longer wing players, severely limiting his positional versatility.
It’s almost impossible to find a “sure thing” in the draft, but Booker’s high IQ and precise shooting make him a low-risk selection worthy of being taken in the middle of the first round. In fact, it wouldn’t be shocking to see him taken in the back end of the lottery, depending on how his workouts go over the next month and a half. Booker will probably never develop into a perennial All-Star, but his combination of youth, intelligence, and floor spacing capabilities have him looking like he has the makeup to be a solid NBA two-guard at the very least, with the ceiling of a very good fundamental player who can score in bunches.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Western Notes: Chandler, Kings, Milutinov
The Mavericks need to retain Tyson Chandler if they fall short in their pursuit of DeAndre Jordan this summer, Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com opines. Both become unrestricted free agents this summer and Jordan is the more attractive option because he’s younger, a better defender at this stage of his career and has led the NBA in field-goal percentage the last three seasons, MacMahon continues. Jordan would be a foundation piece for Dallas but the Clippers’ success in the playoffs makes it more unlikely he’d leave the organization, MacMahon adds. Losing Chandler without upgrading the center spot would be a disastrous situation for the Mavs since it would also hamper their chances of signing a top-level power forward like LaMarcus Aldridge, MacMahon concludes.
In other news around the Western Conference:
- Kings owner Vivek Ranadive admits he made a mistake in hiring ex-coach Michael Malone before selecting a GM and assembling his front office, Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee reports. Malone was fired in mid-December and replaced by interim coach Ty Corbin before Ranadive hired George Karl in February. “People told me not to do that. But I knew Malone from when he was an assistant with the Warriors, and again, with the draft only weeks away, I had to make very quick decisions,” Ranadive told Voisin about the Malone hire in June 2013. “I didn’t know any GMs.”
- The Timberwolves would probably not pursue David Blatt as their head coach if he’s fired by the Cavaliers, Darren Wolfson of KSTP.com tweets. Minnesota president of basketball operations and head coach Flip Saunders was interested in Blatt as an assistant and coach-in-waiting last offseason but wasn’t considering him for the head coaching job, Wolfson adds.
- The Timberwolves could consider 6’11” Serbian center Nikola Milutinov as a stash prospect with either of their second-round picks, Wolfson reports in a separate tweet. Minnesota owns the No. 31 and No. 36 overall picks and the team’s European scout, Zarko Durisic, is a fan of Milutinov, Wolfson adds. Milutinov is ranked No. 44 on Chad Ford’s ESPN Insider Big Board and No. 35 on Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress prospect list.
Eastern Rumors: Lopez, Hawks, Stephenson
The Bucks could be in the mix for Nets center Brook Lopez if he opts out of his contract this summer, according to Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times. Lopez’s strong relationship with former Nets coach and current Bucks coach Jason Kidd could factor in his decision if he enters the market, Woelfel adds. Lopez, who holds a player option of approximately $16.74MM on his contract, is likely to opt out but he’s expected to get a max offer from Brooklyn. Milwaukee finished the season with journeyman Zaza Pachulia as its starting center after buying out Larry Sanders in February.
In other news around the Eastern Conference:
- The Hawks will swap first-round picks with the Nets, allowing Atlanta to move up to the No. 15 overall spot next month, Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets. The Hawks, who informed the league of their decision on Monday, had the option of swapping first-rounders with Brooklyn as part of the 2012 Joe Johnson trade. The Hawks declined that option last season. Brooklyn moves down to No. 29 as a result of the swap.
- Lance Stephenson will stay in the Charlotte area over the summer and work with the Hornets coaches to improve his jump shot, Sam Perley of Hornets.com writes. Stephenson wants to prove to the club that he was worth the three-year deal it gave him last summer, Perley continues. Stephenson shot 37.6% from the field and 17.1% on 3-point attempts in his first season with Charlotte. He is due $9MM next season with a team option of just over $9,4MM the following season. “I’m staying here during the offseason and going to have time to spend with the coaches and figure out how I can be successful here,” Stephenson said to Perley. “I’m going to have to come in and figure out how I’m going to be a better shooter. This summer is going to be huge for me [in terms of] getting back into my groove and helping this group.”
Pacific Notes: Rivers, Clippers, Warriors
Austin Rivers is picking the right time to play the best ball of his NBA career, writes Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. Considered a bust in New Orleans, Rivers was traded to the Celtics and then the Clippers during the season. He has responded with a stellar playoff performance, particularly in the second round against Houston. Kennedy reports that the Pelicans considered using their stretch provision on Rivers last summer to clear some cap room for the Omer Asik trade. New Orleans declined to pick up Rivers’ fourth-year option, deciding he wasn’t worth another season at $3.1MM. That decision should be a financial bonanza for Rivers, who will become an unrestricted free agent this summer in the wake of his playoff heroics.
There’s more from the Pacific Division:
- The Clippers are in unfamiliar territory as a championship contender, according to Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Several roster moves have produced the turnaround, but bringing Doc Rivers and his championship pedigree to Los Angeles may have been the most important. “Doc has always been preaching about the way we need to play in order to win a championship, and I think we can finally see it,” said Glen Davis. “I think beating San Antonio woke us up. I think the Spurs woke up this sense of urgency we’ve always had inside of us, and now it’s paying off against the rest of these teams.”
- The Clippers have also benefited from a change in ownership, notes Robert Morales of the Long Beach Press-Telegram. During the 2014 playoffs, the team had a major distraction in the wake of racially charged remarks from former owner Donald Sterling. “Obviously, last year I thought I protected them from doing all the extra stuff,” Doc Rivers said. “But it was still, you know, they still had it. And so now this year they get to play basketball. I think that’s been big for them.”
- Vultures are starting to surround the Warriors, warns Marcus Thompson II of the Bay Area News Group, and that could lead to changes in the offseason. Golden State trails its series with Memphis, 2-1, heading into tonight’s game, and an early playoff exit could justify the team’s critics, even after a 67-win regular season. Thompson points to Andrew Bogut‘s lack of offense at center, the heavy scoring burden on Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson and the difficulty free-agent-to-be Draymond Green is having with guarding larger opponents.