Reaction To Markieff Morris Trade Demand
The Suns are in a tough spot in the wake of a trade demand from Markieff Morris that confirmed a report from last week that he wants out of Phoenix. The deal that sent twin Marcus Morris to the Pistons last month is at the root of the discontent, but when, or if, the Suns trade the remaining Morris brother remains to be seen. Here’s the latest reaction and fallout to the news:
- The Suns don’t intend to cave to Markieff’s trade demand, for now, but he’s told people close to him that he won’t talk to Suns front office officials and will respond only in one-word answers to coach Jeff Hornacek if he remains on the team, according to John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM. Markieff would like to play with the Rockets or Raptors but doesn’t really have a preference as long as he’s no longer playing for the Suns, Gambadoro adds.
- Marcus told Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer that he was upset the Suns would trade him without his consent after he and his brother took what Marcus called pay cuts on their extensions last fall, but SB Nation’s Tom Ziller argues that Markieff was the only one who took less than he was worth. Even so, the Morrises had to know that the Suns would put the interests of the team above their desire to stay together, Ziller opines.
- Andrew Joseph of The Arizona Republic makes a similar argument and points to behavior from the twins, both on an off the court, that’s been less than endearing to the team and its fans as part of the reason why the Suns traded Marcus last month.
- Markieff can be maddening to those around him, but he’s not unpopular in the locker room, as recent comments from Archie Goodwin indicate, writes Paula Boivin of The Arizona Republic. It’s incumbent upon the Suns to see if they can reconcile with the talented power forward, and with a pattern of players showing discontent on their way out of Phoenix, including Goran Dragic‘s acrimonius exit this past February, the team must fix what appears to be a communication problem, Boivin posits.
Lakers Sign Jonathan Holmes
THURSDAY, 12:27pm: The deal is official, the Lakers announced. The team refers to it as a multiyear pact, so that means it covers two years, since the Lakers don’t have the capacity to give out a longer contract.
SATURDAY, 2:09pm: The Lakers have reached a contract agreement with undrafted forward Jonathan Holmes, Shams Charania of RealGM reports (Twitter link). The length and terms of the deal are not yet known, but Charania indicates that it includes a significant amount that will be partially guaranteed.
The addition of Holmes will increase the Lakers’ roster count to 15 players, including 12 fully-guaranteed pacts. The forward out of Texas will compete for a roster spot and frontcourt minutes. But it’s also entirely possible that Los Angeles has designs on sending Holmes to its D-League affiliate to gain seasoning for a large chunk of the 2015/16 campaign, though that is merely my speculation.
In 32 appearances for the Longhorns last season, Holmes logged averages of 10.3 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in 26.1 minutes per contest. His shooting line was .389/.331/.778. His career NCAA numbers are 9.2 PPG, 5.9 RPG, and 0.7 APG.
Extension Candidate: Jonas Valanciunas
No one who’s a part of the Raptors core was as highly drafted as Jonas Valanciunas, the No. 5 pick from 2011. Toronto had to wait a year for the Lithuanian center while he continued to play overseas, but he’s quickly established himself as an NBA starter in the three seasons since. It’s convincing the Raptors that he can finish games that has proven troublesome for the 7-footer, who often sat on the bench in crunch time this past season, one in which he played a relatively meager 26.2 minutes per game despite starting in all 80 of his regular season appearances. The Raptors reportedly want an extension with him, and while that’s no surprise, GM Masai Ujiri surely has a ceiling for negotiations with a center who saw the floor for barely more than half the game.
Still, Ujiri called Valanciunas “a huge part of our team” at season’s end, adding that the way the team deployed the center this past season would be a “big discussion” he would have with coach Dwane Casey and his staff. Valanciunas appeared to stagnate this past season after a leap between his rookie and sophomore years, and that was a factor in the changes that ultimately took place to Casey’s staff, as Ken Berger of CBSSports.com reported a few months ago. All of that would suggest that Ujiri feels Valanciunas is capable of playing more minutes and finishing more games than he did in 2014/15, which bodes well for the Leon Rose client as extension talks loom.
The problem lies on defense. The Raptors were a better defensive team when Valanciunas sat than when he played last season, by a measure of 1.6 points per 100 possessions, as NBA.com shows. He was a minus defender, according to Basketball-Reference’s Box Plus Minus. Those are serious issues for any NBA starting center, let alone one whom a team is considering for a long-term commitment. ESPN’s Real Plus Minus is kinder, ranking him as the 33rd-best defensive center, two spots behind fellow rookie scale extension candidate John Henson, whom other defensive metrics love, as I examined earlier. A ranking of No. 33 among centers is cold comfort, nonetheless. Casey’s forte is defense, but he’ll have to work some true wizardry to give the Raptors a championship-level defense any time soon unless Valanciunas can improve on that end.
Ujiri made moves to improve the team’s defense this past season, none more striking than his four-year, $58MM deal for three-and-D forward DeMarre Carroll. He also brought in Bismack Biyombo, a defensive specialist, to play as the backup to Valanciunas. Biyombo, who averaged only 4.8 points per game last season, would be the only logical alternative for Casey if he doesn’t want Valanciunas on the floor down the stretch, so unless the Raptors merely want to protect a lead, it seems likely that Valanciunas will be on the floor when the final horn sounds.
The 23-year-old has shown he’s capable of getting better in other regards. His PER vaulted from 16.1 in 2013/14 to a strong 20.6 this past season, a sign that he made the most of his time on the floor. Indeed, Valanciunas scored more points per game in fewer minutes and on slightly fewer shots. He made a career-best 57.2% of his attempts from the floor, upping the percentage of his shots that came at point-blank range, as Basketball-Reference shows. He’s also become a better rebounder, having averaged nearly 12 rebounds per 36 minutes this past season after he started out at just 9.0 in the per-36 category as a rookie.
Next year’s free agent class is relatively thin after the top few names, but the available centers are fairly intriguing. Andre Drummond seems destined to either receive an extension from the Pistons or re-sign next summer, but Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol can opt out. Former Florida teammates Al Horford and Joakim Noah figure to be highly sought-after, as does Al Jefferson. Hassan Whiteside will have no shortage of suitors if he duplicates his breakthrough year for the Heat, and Roy Hibbert can vault himself into the upper tier with a bounceback season for the Lakers. Teams will have serious money to throw around, with the salary cap set to surge to $89MM, but Valanciunas will have competition for it.
The Raptors can go in several different directions. They only have about $42MM in salary commitments for 2016/17 as it stands, though that figure will almost certainly rise to approximately $45.5MM when Toronto picks up its team options on Lucas Nogueira and Bruno Caboclo. Early word indicates that DeMar DeRozan will opt out, and Terrence Ross, like Valanciunas, can hit restricted free agency if he doesn’t receive an extension. Re-signing DeRozan, Ross and Valanciunas at market value would likely leave the team without the capacity to chase top-tier free agents next summer, when Toronto native Tristan Thompson would be an unrestricted free agent if he signs his qualifying offer.
I speculated in our Raptors offseason outlook that Valanciunas and Rose would ask for $12MM salaries that would put him in line with what Nikola Vucevic, another defensively challenged starting center, received on his extension from the Magic last year. The spending in this summer’s free agent market, including a max deal of more than $17.5MM a year for defensive sieve Enes Kanter and Ujiri’s commitment of a $14.5MM average annual value to Carroll, suggests that $12MM is too low a starting point. The Valanciunas camp will probably ask for at least as much as Carroll received, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see the center ultimately end up with $13-14MM a year, numbers that look high but are well beneath the projected $20.4MM max for players with his level of experience.
That may end up a bargain if Casey and new assistants Rex Kalamian, Andy Greer and Jerry Stackhouse turn Valanciunas into a credible defender and continue his offensive development. Ujiri appears to have no shortage of faith that Valanciunas will improve and seems to view him as a cornerstone for the future. That’s probably enough motivation for Toronto to make an offer lucrative enough to get a deal done this fall.
How much do you think Valanciunas should make per year on his next deal? Leave a comment to tell us.
Zoran Dragic To Play In Russia
Zoran Dragic has signed a two-year deal with Khimki of Russia, the team announced (Twitter link; translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). Dragic cleared waivers from the Celtics on Wednesday following his Monday release. It’s no surprise to see the native of Slovenia return to overseas ball, as his camp pushed the Celtics to let go of him when they did so that he could sign with a European team that would give him minutes, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported this week. The Celtics reportedly intended to unload him somehow, though it appeared as though they were waiting to see if another NBA team would take him in a trade.
The Celtics stand to benefit to some degree if Dragic’s deal calls for a salary of more than the NBA one-year veteran’s minimum of $845,059, since that would allow them to invoke set-off rights to defray the $1.5MM they owe him. In any case, it’s a quick end to Dragic’s NBA excursion, one in which he saw just 4.7 minutes per game in 16 total appearances split between the Suns, who originally signed him a year ago, and the Heat, to whom Phoenix traded him along with his brother, Goran Dragic. Miami flipped him to Boston in a salary-clearing move last month.
Zoran nonetheless faces competition for playing time with Khimki, which bestowed a deal upon fellow former NBA guard Alexey Shved that reportedly makes him the highest-paid player in Europe. The team also has Mavs draft rights held player Petteri Koponen in the backcourt, as Carchia points out.
Who do you think stands a better chance of playing in the NBA again, Dragic or Shved? Leave a comment to tell us.
Atlantic Notes: Randolph, ‘Melo, Nets, Dawkins
9:08am: The total value of Randolph’s deal is only $4.5MM, and it includes no NBA outs, according to overseas journalist David Pick (Twitter link). The third season is a team option, Pick adds.
8:59am: Shavlik Randolph is set to earn at least $7MM over three years on his new deal with the Liaoning Flying Leopards of China, one that’s second only to Andray Blatche‘s three-year $7.5MM contract on the list of the most lucrative pacts in Chinese Basketball Association history, reports Jessica Camerato of Basketball Insiders (All Twitter links). The value of Randolph’s arrangement could swell to $8MM if he triggers bonuses, according to Camerato. Unlike Blatche’s deal, it includes an NBA out after each season, and Randolph, who saw his last NBA action as a member of the Celtics this past season, hopes to again return to the NBA this spring at the end of the abbreviated Chinese season, Camerato adds. Here’s more from around the Atlantic Division:
- Part of Carmelo Anthony‘s willingness to stick up for Knicks team president Phil Jackson includes the understanding that ‘Melo’s friends aren’t off-limits for a trade, as was the case in the January deal that sent Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith to the Cavs, observes Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. “On one side,” Anthony said, “guys that we got rid of were close to me and my friends, and on the flip side of that, it’s a business at the end of the day. So I think he had to do that in order to put us in the position we’re in right now from a business standpoint. From a friendship standpoint, if those are my guys, if those are my friends, I’m going to always feel some type of way about losing guys that I played with that I formed a bond with. But I know this is a business and I know he had to do what he had to do to put us in this position.”
- The Nets are carrying a lot more partially guaranteed money than they used to, as NetsDaily examines. The difference between the partial guarantees for five Nets players and their full salaries comes to more than $3.4MM, as NetsDaily notes.
- Former Celtics 10-day signee Andre Dawkins has inked with Italy’s Auxilium CUS Torino, the team announced (translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). Dawkins signed a pair of 10-day pacts with Boston this past season, though he only appeared in games for the team’s D-League affiliate.
Lakers Work Out Jeremy Tyler
Forward Jeremy Tyler worked out for the Lakers this week, David Pick of Eurobasket.com reports (Twitter link). Ricky Ledo, Toure’ Murry, Sean Kilpatrick, Bobby Brown, Eric Moreland and D.J. Kennedy are also among those reportedly trying out this week for a spot on the Los Angeles roster. The Lakers currently have a roster count of 16 players, 12 of whom possess fully guaranteed pacts, with two other players owning partial guarantees, making it a long shot for any of the previously mentioned players to remain with the team come the regular season, even if they sign.
The 24-year-old’s last NBA regular season action came during the 2013/14 campaign when he played in 41 contests for the Knicks, averaging 3.6 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 0.5 blocks in 9.7 minutes per outing. The Lakers signed him for the preseason last fall, waiving him shortly before opening night. His career numbers through 104 regular season games are 3.6 PPG, 2.6 RPG, and 0.4 BPG to accompany a slash line of .450/.000/.557. Tyler was the No. 39 overall pick back in 2011.
Tyler played for the Mavericks’ entry in the Las Vegas Summer League this year, notching averages of 11.8 PPG, 8.3 RPG, and 1.8 SPG in six contests.
Eastern Notes: Scott, Davies, Jordan, Mickey
Mike Scott faces up to 25 years in prison on a pair of felony drug charges following his arrest late last month, reports Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Scott’s salary of more than $3.333MM for this coming season with the Hawks is guaranteed, but next season’s salary is not. The 27-year-old appeared in 68 games for Atlanta last season, averaging 7.8 points and 2.9 rebounds in 16.5 minutes per contest.
Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- Brandon Davies, who played for the Nets and Sixers during the 2014/15 campaign, has officially signed with Pallacanestro Varese of Italy, the team announced via Twitter (translation courtesy of Enea Trapani of Sportando). The impending deal was first reported by Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia.
- The Knicks finished third in the running to sign free agent center DeAndre Jordan, who was the team’s top offseason target, Marc Berman of The New York Post writes. The turning point in New York’s recruitment of Jordan was a face-to-face between the player and team president Phil Jackson in early July, Berman notes. Jordan left the meeting with a positive impression of the team’s rebuilding plan, though he ultimately decided to rejoin the Clippers after awkwardly changing his mind about signing with the Mavericks, the Post scribe relays. “I had a great meeting and great presentation,’’ Jordan told Berman. “Phil Jackson speaks for himself. Fish [Derek Fisher] did a great job. The whole team had a plan with the organization, a plan for me that was cool. I just decided to stay with the Clippers, but it was great. The Knicks were definitely a team I was considering.’’
- Jordan Mickey preferred to sign a three-year deal with the Celtics that included two fully guaranteed seasons, but Boston’s persistence in pushing for a four-year pact won out, writes Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. “They made it obvious they wanted to sign a longer deal, and I’ve got to admit, at the beginning we just weren’t hearing that,” James Wright Sr., who is Mickey’s stepfather, said. “We didn’t want a four-year deal. We wanted a chance to get back to the table earlier. But Jordan, his mother, and I sat and talked and decided it made the most sense to just work this thing out, because this is the team he wants to play for.”
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Hoops Rumors Community Shootaround 8/12/15
Suns forward Markieff Morris has reportedly demanded a trade that would remove him from Phoenix prior to the start of the 2015/16 campaign. Markieff and his twin brother, Marcus, had both inked extensions with the Suns last September with the intention of remaining together throughout their respective playing careers. Unfortunately for the twins, Marcus was dealt early in July to the Pistons in an effort for Phoenix to clear the necessary cap space to make a run at unrestricted free agent LaMarcus Aldridge, who ended up signing with the Spurs.
Markieff has painted himself into a bit of a corner, as well as likely reduced any potential return that Phoenix would receive for him, with his pointed statements toward the Suns organization. “One thing for sure, I am not going to be there,” Morris said on Tuesday of Phoenix. “If you want to put that out there, you can put that out,” he added. “. . . I am not to going to be there at all.” According to the report by Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer, Morris isn’t upset that the team traded his brother, but instead believes he was misled by the team, as well as feels slighted by how he and Marcus were informed of the deal with Detroit.
So here’s the topic of the day: How will the Markieff Morris/Suns situation be resolved?
Will Phoenix be able to find a taker for Morris, or is a buyout arrangement in the cards? If Morris is in fact traded, what team do you see as being a good fit for him and his salary? What kind of return will the Suns be able to get for the 25-year-old? Or do you see the two sides working out their differences, even if it is for the short term? Take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions. We look forward to what you have to say.
Note: Since these Shootarounds are meant to be guided by you the reader, we certainly welcome your input on the topics we present. If there is something you’d like to see pop up here for a discussion, shoot me a message at hoopsrumorsmailbag@gmail.com or hit me up on Twitter at @EddieScarito to submit topics or ideas for what we should present in future posts.
2015/16 NBA Team Schedules Released
The league has released the official team schedules for the 2015/16 NBA season this evening. One of the primary goals the league had in creating this year’s schedule was to reduce the number of back-to-back games and four games in five days that NBA teams play, writes Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. In an effort to reduce wear and tear on the players the NBA was able to cut the average amount of back-to-backs per team from 19.3 last season to 17.8 for 2015/16. Other changes include reducing the amount of four games in five days teams will play from 2.3 in 2014/15 to .9 this coming season, as well as reducing the distance each team will be required to travel by 2%, according to Zillgitt.
“I think this is the best schedule that we’ve ever produced,” NBA senior vice president of basketball operations Kiki VanDeWeghe told Zillgitt. “We are extremely mindful of player rest, recuperation and we were able to reduce four games in five nights and back-to-backs to all-time lows. We want to be mindful of putting the best product on the floor that we possibly can. The rigors of an NBA season are tough. Nobody denies that.”
Listed below are links to the full 2015/16 season schedules for each NBA team organized by Conference and Division:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Atlantic Division
Central Division
Southeast Division
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Northwest Division
Pacific Division
Southwest Division
Central Notes: Williams, Kirk, Douglas
The opportunity to play for an NBA title is what ultimately led to Mo Williams‘ decision to sign with the Cavs, Chris Fedor of The Northeast Ohio Media Group writes. “It feels home,” Williams said of Cleveland during an interview on SiriusXM NBA Radio. “There’s just that team where you kind of feel like, ‘You know what? I would never want to leave this organization.’ Obviously the business of basketball changes the landscape of a lot of people’s careers and mine was no different, but to have the opportunity to come back and finish my career there and have the opportunity to go out on top, I couldn’t ask for a better situation. There’s no monetary factor involved in any of my decisions. At this point of my career now it’s just playing winning basketball, playing for championships.”
The Cavs’ young backcourt will also benefit from the addition of Williams, Fedor adds. “The reasons why the Cavs were confident to bring me back, I’m a strong voice and a team guy,” Williams said. “It’s about bringing everybody together collectively for one goal. That’s kind of my approach and just being around guys every day obviously you’re going to learn personalities. It’s just like any coach. You have to be able to manage those personalities and you have to be able to have everybody on your team like you. I think those things are important. Be able to relate to our guys. I’ve been the star of my team. I’ve been the second guy and the third guy. I’ve been the sixth man and the guy [expletive] off that he’s not playing. I can kind of relate to each guy.”
Here’s more out of the Central Division:
- Alex Kirk, who made five appearances for the Cavaliers during the 2014/15 season, is expected to sign a deal with an Italian team in the near future, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders relays (Twitter link).
- The Pacers guaranteed $600k of Toney Douglas‘ $1,185,784 salary for the 2015/16 season, and another $275k becomes guaranteed if the guard is on the roster come the season opener, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets.
- Former Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau says he was not surprised by the team’s decision to fire him, Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com tweets. Thibodeau also relayed that he had no regrets regarding his tenure with Chicago, and said he had no reaction to the disparaging comments made by team owner Jerry Reinsdorf when the Bulls announced his termination, notes K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune (on Twitter).