Kyrie Irving Likely To Miss Start Of Season
The distinct possibility exists that Kyrie Irving won’t play until January because of the left kneecap fracture he suffered in Game 1 of the Finals, a source told Chris Haynes of Cleveland.com. He’s unlikely to be ready for opening night even though his rehab remains on track, Haynes hears from multiple sources.
The Cavs spent more on Mo Williams than any other outside free agent this summer, signing him to a two-year deal that will pay him $2.1MM this season. He’ll ostensibly become the starter in Irving’s place, though Cleveland retained Matthew Dellavedova, who stepped in and performed admirably for Irving during the Finals, at the value of his qualifying offer. Iman Shumpert, who re-signed for four years and $40MM, has also seen time at the point, and LeBron James has plenty of experience as a ball-distributor, too.
Still, the Cavs face a challenge to replace Irving’s elite all-around offensive game, one that earned him a max extension that kicks in for this coming season. Cleveland has 13 fully guaranteed deals, leaving two openings for the regular season, though one of those is likely earmarked for Tristan Thompson, who lingers in restricted free agency. They have only $1.276MM on the taxpayer’s mid-level exception to give free agents more than the minimum salary, and because Irving’s injury isn’t thought to be season-ending, they don’t qualify for a disabled player exception. They do have a trade exception worth more than $10.5MM as a vestige of Brendan Haywood‘s contract. The team is encouraging a slow approach for Irving’s rehab, with the goal that he be 100% come the postseason, Haynes writes.
What do you think the Cavs should do, if anything, to offset the loss of Irving for the start of the season?
Neil Olshey On Aldridge, Batum, Aminu, Kanter
Trail Blazers GM Neil Olshey was coy when Grantland’s Zach Lowe asked him why he signed Enes Kanter to a max offer sheet but hasn’t done so with Tristan Thompson, but Olshey expressed contentment and optimism about the roster he’s built even amid the departure of LaMarcus Aldridge. Olshey, speaking on The Lowe Post podcast, believes the revamped Blazers have the potential to grow like the group he had with the Clippers in 2010/11 that featured Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, Eric Bledsoe, Eric Gordon and Al-Farouq Aminu, all of whom were 22 or younger.
Aminu, who turns 25 next month, is one of the new Blazers, and Olshey talked about the forward’s four-year, $30MM deal, Aldridge’s exit, and a host of other offseason topics. His entire conversation with Lowe is worth a listen, especially for Portland faithful, and we’ll round up a few highlights here:
On the fluctuation of the team’s chances to re-sign Aldridge:
“I think, honestly, because of how unhappy LaMarcus was when we all joined the Trail Blazers, myself, [coach] Terry [Stotts], our regime, it wasn’t like we were put on notice, Zach, but I think we were all aware that it was going to be an uphill battle, and I think it was an uphill battle that we had fought and won right up until [Wesley Matthews] was injured. … We were 100% confident in LaMarcus right up through the trade deadline, and then when Wes got hurt, and we weren’t playing as well, and we realized our margin for error with that group was more narrow than we would have liked to have believed, I think we felt like, you know what? We’re going to have more of a battle on our hands than we had anticipated in terms of keeping LaMarcus.”
On the Nicolas Batum trade, which Olshey said was made independent of Aldridge’s decision to walk:
“There was a three-fold approach there. One, we felt like if we brought in another starter, then Gerald Henderson would have strengthened the bench. We got a bright, young prospect in Noah Vonleh who we were really high on in the draft, and we created a positive variance in our favor in terms of our cap position to go and be more aggressive in free agency to continue to build with the group that was there. So, that deal was done absent anything with LaMarcus other than the fact that he was aware of the deal prior to us making the decision to move forward with Noah and Gerald in lieu of Nicolas.”
On those who would laugh at the team’s financial outlay in the the Al-Farouq Aminu deal:
“If they’re laughing, they haven’t seen him play, and they haven’t realized that in two years, the cap’s going to be $108MM, so you’re basically talking about a deal that’ll be less than what the mid-level was on previous caps. So, this is a guy that I know well. I drafted him. I had him for a year with the Clippers. He’s tracking up. I think his growth was accelerated by playing for Rick Carlisle in Dallas. I think that was like a three-year tutorial crammed into nine months. He’s a better player today than he was then. Look, we had moved Nic Batum. We wanted to get younger at that position and we wanted to get an athletic guy if we chose to push the floor. We felt like, at that point, he could play in multiple roles with LaMarcus or without, depending on what his decision was, and I really believe, look, when you look at a way a contract is structured, we had a lot of cap room this year [and] it’s a descending deal.”
On whether he truly wanted Kanter on the team:
“We did. We absolutely did. We pursued him. Look, it’s not the first time we went down the road of restricted free agency for a starting center and maybe won the recruiting battle but lost the war in terms of adding him to our roster, and that situation played out. You know, look, we’re really happy with the guys we have right now.”
What do you think of the way Olshey has positioned the Blazers for the post-Aldridge era? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.
Pistons Notes: Thomas, Jennings, Jackson
The Pistons have a dilemma with 17 players signed to fully guaranteed contracts and only 15 regular season roster spots available, as I examined Wednesday, and the situation would appear to make it especially challenging for Adonis Thomas to stick for opening night. The free agent signee is the only player on the team without a full guarantee, with only $60K promised to him. Still, coach/executive Stan Van Gundy assured him he’ll have a shot, as MLive’s David Mayo chronicles.
“The day I signed my contract, he told me, ‘Hey, I know you’re looking at the roster, at 17 guaranteed guys, and you’re the only non-guaranteed guy or partially guaranteed guy.'” Thomas said. “He said that anything can change. He said, ‘We’re looking to make some changes soon. We’re not really focused in on who’s on the roster right now. We’re going to let go of maybe some guaranteed guys, or we’re making some changes soon, or trades could be made.'”
Indeed, the Pistons will have to make a trade before opening night or use the stretch provision no later than this coming Monday to avoid eating two full guarantees this season, or three if they want to keep Thomas. There’s more on Thomas amid the latest from the Motor City:
- The Pistons starting thinking of signing Thomas late last season, when he was playing for their D-League affiliate, Mayo writes in the same piece. “I think them having a D-League team is going to be something special,” Thomas said to Mayo. “It’s a great chance to develop guys. And I can even speak for myself, being able to be in the system, being able to be ready, you can be on call at any time.”
- Brandon Jennings, whose health looms over Detroit’s roster decisions, said he’s unsure if he’ll be recovered from his torn Achilles tendon in time for the start of training camp, adding that he doesn’t envision returning to his usual level of play until December at the earliest. The point guard made his comments on The Point Game Podcast with Vincent Goodwill and Jabari Young of Comcast Sports Net, as Steve Schrader of the Detroit Free Press transcribes. A report from July said that Jennings expected to be ready for camp, so it appears his thinking has changed.
- Jennings also told Goodwill and Young that he’d accept a backup role behind Reggie Jackson. “Bringing in Reggie Jackson was smart,” said Jennings, who’s set for free agency after the season. “I’m supposed to be out, really, for nine months, and they need a point guard. … My main thing is just to get healthy. Hey, if I have to come off the bench and be the sixth man or whatever, I’m fine with that. Man, I just want to play basketball again. I just want to get back on the court and have fun.”
Deal Between Rockets, Chuck Hayes Falls Apart
11:18am: Andrews expressed surprise at how the deal came undone, Berman also tweets. The Rockets are one of the teams that wants Hayes in a non-playing capacity, as Andrews reveals to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.
“I think when we came up with the agreement, after that point, they had some other activity, the Ty Lawson trade, the Jason Terry signing,” Andrews said. “That put Chuck in a precarious situation. The result of that squeezed him out of the equation. They had some cap stuff they were concerned with. We didn’t get into a lot of details. It’s a tough situation. It’s very disappointing. This is the business. These things happen. I commend them for telling us now as opposed to dragging us through camp. We’ll explore if there are other teams interested. He wants to continue to play. There’s multiple teams that want him to join his staff, including the Rockets, if that’s what he wants to do. He wants to continue to play.”
10:59am: The dissolution of the agreement appears to have rankled the Hayes camp, as comments Andrews made to Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston indicate (Twitter link). “We are extremely upset and disappointed. We know this is a business,” Andrews said.
AUGUST 27TH, 10:46am: The center won’t be signing with the Rockets after all, agent Calvin Andrews tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Andrews cited “limited roster flexibility” and “other financial considerations,” a hint that the unraveling of the deal had to do with the dilemma the Rockets face with No. 32 overall pick Montrezl Harrell. Hayes, 32, has received multiple offers for coaching and front office positions, and while he has interest in going that route eventually, he remains focused on continuing his playing career for now, Andrews said.
JULY 30TH, 11:33am: Hayes’ deal includes a partial guarantee, according to Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
JULY 29TH, 9:18pm: The Rockets have agreed to terms with free agent center Chuck Hayes on a contract, sources told Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). It’ll be a one-year veteran’s minimum deal.
The 10-year veteran big man played his first six NBA seasons with Houston, and GM Daryl Morey has shown a fondness for reunions with his former players. The market for the 32-year-old was been quiet this month after coming off a season of career lows – Hayes averaged just 1.7 points and 1.8 rebounds in 8.8 minutes per game across 29 appearances. He was a starter his last two seasons in Houston.
Hayes made nearly $5.959MM in 2014/15, so he’ll be taking a significant pay cut this season.
And-Ones: Thunder, Batum, 2016 Draft
The ESPN Summer Forecast panel tabs the Thunder as the team most likely to vault in the standings this year, which is no surprise given the return of Kevin Durant and the team’s decision to match the Blazers’ offer sheet for high-scoring big man Enes Kanter . The Heat, who re-signed Dwyane Wade and Goran Dragic and get Chris Bosh from his blood clot ailment, and the Jazz, who surged late last season, also appear in the top three.
There’s more on Oklahoma City amid other NBA-related news:
- The Thunder allowed a trade exception that had been worth $1.25MM to expire when they didn’t make a move by Wednesday’s deadline to use it. It was a vestige of the trade that sent Hasheem Thabeet to Philadelphia. Oklahoma City still has other trade exceptions, the largest of which is worth $2.75MM thanks to the last of this summer’s many deals involving Luke Ridnour.
- Hornets coach Steve Clifford says that he envisions Nicolas Batum having a more prominent offensive role in Charlotte than he did with the Blazers last season, as Adi Joseph of The Sporting News relays (via Twitter). Charlotte acquired Batum, 26, from the Blazers in June as part of the trade that shipped Noah Vonleh and Gerald Henderson to Portland.
- ESPN’s Chad Ford (Insider subscription required) released his initial mock draft for 2016, and snagging the top spot is LSU freshman small forward Ben Simmons, followed by Kentucky big man Skal Labissiere and California swingman Jaylen Brown.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
No. 60 Pick Luka Mitrovic Extends Overseas Deal
Luka Mitrovic, the 60th pick in this year’s draft, has reached an extension with Crvena Zvezda of Serbia that runs through the 2016/17 season, according to the Euroleague’s website (hat tip to Sportando’s Enea Trapani). It’s unclear if the deal includes an NBA out that would allow him to sign with the Kings, who acquired his NBA rights from the Sixers last month as part of the Nik Stauskas trade.
It’s no surprise to see Mitrovic remain overseas, as Sportando’s Orazio Cauchi reported shortly after Philadelphia made him the final pick in June that he would do so. The 22-year-old’s contract had been set to run through this coming season, as Mark Porcaro shows in our register of Draft Rights Held Players, so the extension tacks on another year.
The Mark Fleisher client is well-regarded, having been the 39th overall prospect in this year’s draft according to Chad Ford’s ESPN Insider rankings. Mitrovic, a 6’8″ power forward, averaged 9.7 points and 5.7 rebounds in 24.5 minutes per game this past season for Crvena Zvezda. He just gained a new teammate with NBA experience, as Gal Mekel has signed to play with the club.
The Sixers also sent the rights to No. 47 overall pick Arturas Gudaitis to Sacramento in that swap. Gudaitis signed for at least two years with Lietuvos Rytas of Lithuania before the trade became official.
Jeff Taylor To Play In Spain
AUGUST 27TH, 8:14am: The deal is official, the team announced (hat tips to HoopsHype and Sportando).
JULY 23RD, 1:28pm: Jeff Taylor has agreed to a one-year deal with Real Madrid, sources tell Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). It’s worth more than $900K, Charania adds, so it sounds like it’ll be roughly equivalent to the $981,348 the three-year NBA veteran would have made if he had stayed in the league at the minimum salary. Charania reported earlier this week that the sides were close to a deal after Taylor reportedly turned down an offer to play in Israel.
The Hornets elected not to make a qualifying offer to the 26-year-old after a difficult season that included a 24-game league-imposed suspension stemming from his guilty plea to misdemeanor domestic assault and property destruction charges in the fall. Taylor saw action in only 29 games for the Hornets in 2014/15, recording a career-low 14.8 minutes per contest, and he also spent time on D-League assignment.
Chatter regarding interest from other NBA teams hadn’t developed this month, but Taylor was the 31st overall pick three years ago, so it hasn’t been long since he was a fairly well-regarded prospect. The Todd Ramasar client is going to a European powerhouse that won this year’s Euroleague title, so he’ll most likely remain on NBA radars.
Do you think Taylor will play in the NBA again? Leave a comment to let us know.
Gal Mekel Signs To Play In Serbia
WEDNESDAY, 7:46am: The signing is official, the team announced (on Twitter). “I’m excited to meet the best fans in Europe, win titles,” Mekel said, according to Pick (Twitter link).
TUESDAY, 4:35pm: Former NBA guard Gal Mekel has signed a deal with the Serbian team Crvena Zvezda, international journalist David Pick reports (Twitter link). The pact is for two seasons and includes an NBA out clause, according to Pick.
Mekel appeared in four contests for the Pelicans last season, averaging 1.5 points, 0.3 rebounds, and 3.3 assists in 10.8 minutes per contest before being waived by the team in December. The point guard then signed with Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod, and finished out the 2014/15 campaign playing overseas.
The 27-year-old had reportedly had contract talks with three NBA teams this offseason, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com noted back in July, but no NBA deal apparently materialized from those discussions.
Hoops Rumors Community Shootaround 8/26/15
OKC shooting guard Dion Waiters is eligible to sign a rookie scale extension prior to the deadline this fall. The Thunder are reportedly open to extending the 23-year-old’s deal if he would do so at a discounted rate, something that Waiters might not be too keen on, especially given the impending salary cap jump next offseason. Further complicating matters is that Waiters is coming off a poor statistical season that saw him post career lows in points (11.8), assists (2.0), overall field goal percentage (39.6%), and three point shooting percentage (29.7%).
To be fair to Waiters, his production was likely affected by the Cavs’ multitude of roster additions, as well as by the trade that landed him in Oklahoma City, though few would argue that he was at his best during the 2014/15 campaign. Unfortunately for Waiters and his agent, Rob Pelinka, the decline in the guard’s numbers won’t aid them at the negotiating table this offseason.
This brings me to the topic/question of the day: Should the Thunder sign Dion Waiters to a rookie scale extension? If so, then what sort of deal would be fair for both sides?
Waiters is set to earn $5,138,430 this season, and if he doesn’t ink an extension he’ll be eligible to become a restricted free agent next Summer, provided that the Thunder tender him a qualifying offer worth $6,777,589. It’s unknown just how much Waiters’ camp will be looking for on his next contract, and if it is anywhere near the ballpark of a maximum salary request, the two sides will likely have difficulty reaching an accord since the franchise has more pressing financial concerns, namely the upcoming free agency of Kevin Durant next offseason followed by Russell Westbrook in 2017.
Take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions on whether or not the Thunder should sign Waiters to an extension prior to the deadline. Would the franchise be better served to see how he performs this season? That would risk him hitting restricted free agency during an offseason when numerous teams should have ample available cap space. If you don’t believe he’s worth extending, tell us why you feel that way. If you agree that OKC should pony up the cash and lock up Waiters on an extension, chime in with what length and terms you believe would be warranted. 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 us a message at hoopsrumorsmailbag@gmail.com.
Suns Sign Deonte Burton
The Suns have signed unrestricted free agent Deonte Burton, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reports (Twitter link). It is a non-guaranteed training camp pact, adds Pincus, and most likely for the league minimum, though that is merely my speculation. The agreement will also include limited injury protection, Pincus adds, so it is likely an Exhibit 9 contract. The addition of Burton will give Phoenix a roster count of 18 players, including 13 with fully guaranteed deals.
Burton, 24, went undrafted out of Nevada in 2014 after averaging 20.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 4.4 assists against 2.0 turnovers in 38.6 MPG as a Senior. His career NCAA numbers were 16.2 PPG, 2.9 RPG, and 4.0 APG to accompany a shooting line of .439/.337/.751.
The guard appeared in the 2014 summer league with the Wizards before catching on with the Kings for training camp. Burton was cut by Sacramento last October and later signed with Germany’s Ratiopharm Ulm for the remainder of the 2014/15 season. His numbers in 31 appearances for Ratiopharm were an underwhelming 2.6 PPG, 0.6 RPG, and 0.5 APG in 10.1 minutes per contest. Burton played in the 2015 NBA Salt Lake City Summer League for the Sixers’ squad.