Southeast Notes: Beal, Wittman, Bazemore, Zeller
Bradley Beal seems certain to return to the Wizards next season, but coach Randy Wittman’s future is in doubt, J. Michael of CSNMidAtlantic said on an interview this morning with SiriusXM NBA Radio (h/t Kurt Helin of NBC Sports.com.) Michael said Washington plans to match any offers for Beal, who will be a restricted free agent after failing to reach an extension agreement with the team in November (Twitter link). However, Wittman’s job is in jeopardy unless the 30-31 Wizards make a significant improvement by the end of the season (Twitter link). Michael says Wittman was forced to change his system to the floor-spacing approach that Washington currently uses. (Twitter link). He has a 167-189 record in nearly five full seasons as the team’s head coach.
There’s more news from the Southeast Division:
- Soon-to-be free agent Al Horford established a winning tradition in Atlanta, writes Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The Hawks made the playoffs in eight straight seasons after drafting Horford third overall in 2007, and they can stretch that streak to nine with a decent finish. Horford has stayed silent on the topic of free agency, trying to keep it from being a distraction, but Vivlamore notes that Atlanta is in position to make the best offer: five years at about $146MM.
- Horford will be the Hawks‘ free agent priority this summer, but they would like to keep Kent Bazemore as well, according to Danny Leroux of The Sporting News. Both will be unrestricted, and Atlanta would like to avoid losing talented wing players two years in a row. DeMarre Carroll left the Hawks last summer to sign with Toronto. Atlanta has Early Bird rights on Bazemore, meaning it can only exceed the salary cap to keep him if his contract starts at less than about $6MM annually. Any additional salary for next season would have to come out of cap room.
- The Hornets may have benefited from a mid-season knee injury to Al Jefferson, writes Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. Jefferson, who is headed toward free agency this summer, has missed a significant part of this season with calf and knee problems, but his absence showed that Cody Zeller could handle the rigors of being a starting center.
Central Notes: Pistons, Lawson, Budinger, Butler
Terrence Jones and Meyers Leonard would be attractive free agent options for the Pistons in their search for a backup power forward, according to David Mayo of MLive. Both will enter restricted free agency this summer, which means the Rockets and Blazers can match any offers they get. Mayo notes the teams may want compensation for letting Jones or Leonard go, which could tempt the Pistons to give up a first-round draft pick, something they were willing to do to get Donatas Motiejunas from Houston last month before that deal was voided. Mayo suggests keeping Anthony Tolliver might be the best strategy now that Tobias Harris is on board as the starting power forward. Tolliver is making $3MM in the final season of his contract and is averaging 5.4 points and 3.4 rebounds in nearly 20 minutes per night.
There’s more out of the Central Division:
- The Pacers expect to finalize a deal with free agent point guard Ty Lawson on Sunday or Monday, tweets Candace Buckner of The Indianapolis Star. Lawson is still working out in Houston after the Rockets waived him Tuesday in a buyout agreement.
- Chase Budinger‘s brief stay in Indiana was a “dud,” Buckner tweeted after the Pacers waived the seventh-year small forward today. She also laments last summer’s trade that sent Damjan Rudez to the Wolves in exchange for Budinger, saying the Pacers gave up a badly needed 3-point shooter (Twitter link). She credits Budinger for being “a pro” during his time in Indiana, though he never fully understood what the organization expected from him (Twitter link).
- Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg says shooting guard Jimmy Butler, who has been out of action since February 5th with a sprained knee, is “ready to go” for tonight’s game, tweets Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com. Combo forward Nikola Mirotic, who had acute appendicitis and underwent surgery January 27th, is “close,” Hoiberg adds (Twitter link). Injured center Joakim Noah won’t play anytime soon, but he’ll rejoin the team for “leadership,” tweets K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune.
- The Pistons have shooting guard Jodie Meeks, who hasn’t played since suffering a right foot injury October 29th, listed as questionable for tonight’s game, tweets Keith Langlois of Pistons.com.
Week In Review 2/28/16-3/5/16
The Nuggets are thinking about sitting Danilo Gallinari for the rest of the season even if he returns to health with a few games left on the schedule, coach Michael Malone acknowledged to reporters this week. The 27-year-old small forward suffered two torn ligaments in his right ankle during Friday’s game that are expected to sideline him for a month, as Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports reported on Tuesday. Only five games are on the schedule for the Nuggets in April, which raises the question of whether it would be wise to put the team’s veteran centerpiece back on the court and risk additional injury with only a few games left to go.
“I’ve already thought about that. I don’t have an answer,” Malone said. “I think it’s a very good question. At that point, depending on where we are, it’s going to depend on four games to go, what is the picture? Are we 15 games out of the playoffs? Well, it probably makes sense to play some of our younger guys and let them get minutes and see what they can do. But we’ll see.”
Gallinari is signed through next season with a player option for 2017/18, thanks to a rare renegotiation and extension deal that he and the team pulled off this past summer. The Nuggets reportedly turned away interest that the Celtics had in trading for him before last month’s deadline.
Here’s more from the week that was…
Signings
- The Heat signed Joe Johnson.
- The Cavaliers signed Jordan McRae to a 10-day contract.
- The Nets signed Sean Kilpatrick to a 10-day pact.
- The Spurs signed Andre Miller.
- The Hornets signed Jorge Gutierrez to a second 10-day contract.
- The Suns signed Phil Pressey to a second 10-day contract.
- The Raptors signed Jason Thompson.
- The Hawks signed Kris Humphries.
- The Clippers signed Alex Stepheson to a second 10-day contract.
- The Timberwolves signed Greg Smith to a 10-day contract.
- The Grizzlies signed Ryan Hollins.
- The Nuggets signed Axel Toupane to a 10-day contract.
- Jarrid Famous, who was with the Mavericks for the preseason, signed with Bucaneros de la Guaira in Venezuela.
- The Rockets signed Michael Beasley.
- The Pistons signed Justin Harper to a second 10-day contract.
- The Sixers signed Christian Wood to a 10-day deal.
You can stay up to date on all the 10-day deals handed out with our 10-day contract tracker.
Waivers
- The Suns waived Kris Humphries as part of a buyout arrangement.
- The Heat waived Beno Udrih as part of a buyout arrangement.
- The Spurs waived Ray McCallum.
- The Raptors waived Anthony Bennett.
- The Rockets waived Ty Lawson as part of a buyout arrangement.
- The Timberwolves waived Kevin Martin as part of a buyout arrangement.
- The Grizzlies waived James Ennis.
Miscellaneous News
- The Bucks announced that Steve Novak will miss the rest of the season with a sprained MCL.
D-League News
- Jarnell Stokes, who was traded from Miami to New Orleans at the deadline and then waived by the Pelicans, rejoined the Heat’s D-League affiliate.
- Former Blazer Tim Frazier joined the D-League’s Maine Red Claws as a returning player.
- Marcus Thornton, the 45th pick in last summer’s draft, returned from Australia and joined the Celtics’ D-League affiliate.
- Chris Douglas-Roberts, whom the Pelicans cut in training camp, rejoined the D-League’s Texas Legends, who are the affiliate of the Mavericks.
- Swingman Jabari Brown, who played with the Lakers last season, joined the team’s D-League affiliate after returning from China.
You can stay up to date on all the D-League assignments and recalls for the season here.
Pistons Sign Justin Harper To Second 10-Day
SATURDAY, 11:58am: The signing is official, the Pistons announced today.
FRIDAY, 11:38am: The Pistons will sign Justin Harper to another 10-day contract, coach/executive Stan Van Gundy said today, according to Keith Langlois of Pistons.com (Twitter link). That’s no surprise, since Van Gundy remarked two days ago that he was leaning toward another 10-day deal with the power forward, as Rod Beard of The Detroit News wrote. Harper’s first 10-day deal expires tonight. The latest pact will represent a tiny investment of $49,709 with a larger decision looming afterward, since Detroit will have to either re-sign him for the season or let him walk.
Harper, 26, has averaged 3.3 points in 7.7 minutes per game across three appearances so far with the Pistons, who’ve given him his first regular season NBA action in four years. He played at a handful of stops overseas and in the D-League in between, and he was with the Nets for the preseason this past fall.
The collapse of Detroit’s trade for power forward Donatas Motiejunas and injuries to power forward Anthony Tolliver and small forward Stanley Johnson prompted the Pistons to turn to Harper. Tolliver is liable to miss two more weeks while Johnson is out through at least the weekend, Langlois tweets.
Thunder Ink Nazr Mohammed
SATURDAY, 11:13pm: The signing is official, the Thunder announced today.
FRIDAY, 9:12pm: The Thunder intend to sign free agent Nazr Mohammed for the remainder of the season, Shams Charania of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports reports (on Twitter). Oklahoma City has an available roster spot, so no other moves would be required to bring the center into the fold. The team intends to ink the veteran on Saturday, Charania adds. It’s not entirely clear whether it’ll be a minimum-salary contract or one that eats into the roughly $2MM Oklahoma City has left on its taxpayer’s mid-level exception.
The move to ink Mohammed comes as a bit of a surprise as the big man had not been mentioned in any recent chatter. He last appeared in the NBA during the 2014/15 season, making 23 appearances for the Bulls and notching 1.2 points and 1.7 rebounds in 5.6 minutes per contest. Mohammed’s career numbers since entering the league as the No. 29 overall pick in the 1998 NBA draft are 5.8 points, 4.7 rebounds and 0.6 blocks to accompany a slash line of .486/.000/.639.
Mohammed was contemplating retirement in October, saying he would be OK with never playing again.“Truth is, I still love this game, I still have that competitor in me and I still feel like I can help a team. And regardless of what happens, I plan on staying in basketball shape,” Mohammed wrote at the time. “But at this moment, I am comfortable and confident saying that I’m cool with it being over. I am really at peace. I realize how big of an accomplishment it is to have played as long as I’ve played. It’s an unbelievable feat. I’m cool with not playing ever again and choosing which path to take at this fork in the road that leads me away from my first love.”
The Mike Higgins client said then that he didn’t want to merely be a locker room mentor and would only sign with a team that planned a legitimate on-court role for him. He also suggested that he’d like to join a team in a front office capacity at some point. It remains to be seen if the Thunder promised him significant playing time or if Mohammed simply had a change of heart. He’ll presumably compete for minutes at the pivot with Steven Adams, Mitch McGary and Enes Kanter.
Sixers Rumors: Saric, Brand, Embiid
The Sixers continue to receive signs that Croatian star Dario Saric will be part of their roster next season, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Player-development assistant Chris Babcock recently spent eight days with Saric, who is playing for Anadolu Efes in Turkey. The trip left Philadelphia officials confident that Saric is ready to join the NBA. “Obviously, decisions are going to have to be made on his part,” said Sixers coach Brett Brown. “But we like what we see and we believe he likes what he sees.” Philadelphia acquired the rights to the 6’10” power forward in a 2014 draft-day trade with Orlando.
There’s more out of Philadelphia:
- Elton Brand saw his first game action Friday since signing with the Sixers January 4th, writes Derek Bodner of Philadelphia magazine. With injuries to Jahlil Okafor and Nerlens Noel leaving Philadelphia short-handed, Brand played 13 minutes, scoring eight points and collecting four rebounds. “Contrary to reports, I was thinking I was going to play all season when I got here,” said Brand, who will turn 37 next week. “But you see guys like Carl [Landry], Richaun [Holmes], guys working so hard, I didn’t mind not playing.” Okafor and Noel are both listed as day-to-day, so it’s uncertain how much more court time Brand can expect.
- Injured center Joel Embiid has returned from Qatar and participated in Friday’s pre-game workout, Bodner writes in the same piece. Embiid visited Aspetar, a Middle Eastern orthopedic and sports medicine hospital, to help with the rehab process on his surgically repaired right foot. Bodner included a video of Embiid’s pre-game routine with his story.
- Embiid’s long recovery time presents another reason for concern, notes Bob Ford of The Philadelphia Inquirer. The normal recovery period for tarsal navicular surgery is six months, but GM Sam Hinkie has already said Embiid won’t be ready for summer league action, even though it will have been 11 months since the operation.
2015/16 Salary Cap Update: Warriors
The NBA’s salary cap for 2015/16 is set at $70MM, which is good for an 11% increase from last season, and the luxury tax line is fixed at $84.74MM. With the February 18th cutoff date for trades and the de facto deadline of March 1st for buyouts now past, we at Hoops Rumors are in the process of updating the salary cap commitments for each NBA franchise for the 2015/16 campaign. Here’s the cap breakdown for the Golden State Warriors, whose regular season roster can be viewed here:
- 2015/16 Salary Cap= $70,000,000
- 2015/16 Luxury Tax Line= $84,740,000
- Fully Guaranteed Salary Commitments= $95,777,682*
- Remaining Cap Room= –$25,777,682
- Amount Above Luxury Tax Line= $11,037,682
*Note: This amount includes the $6,908,685 due Jason Thompson, who was waived.
Cap Exceptions Available:
- Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception= $876,000 (Remainder was used to sign Leandro Barbosa)
- Trade Exception= $5,387,825 (David Lee. Expires July 27th, 2016)
- Trade Exception= $3,197,170 (Gerald Wallace. Expires July 31st, 2016)
Cash Available to Send Out In Trades= $2,400,000
Cash Available to Receive Via Trade= $3,400,000
Note: Despite the trade deadline having passed, the NBA season technically doesn’t end until June 30th. Teams are able to again make trades upon the completion of the regular season or when/if they are eliminated from the playoffs, whichever comes later. So these cash limits still apply.
The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.
Pacers, Chase Budinger Agree To Buyout
SATURDAY, 9:15am: Budinger has been waived, the Pacers announced this morning.
THURSDAY, 4:24pm: The Pacers and small forward Chase Budinger have reached an agreement on a buyout arrangement, Sean Deveney of The Sporting News reports (Twitter link) and Candace Buckner of The Indianapolis Star confirms (Twitter links). The agreement has been in place for a week and will be finalized on Friday, Buckner notes. Indiana needs to clear a roster spot for Ty Lawson, who is expected to sign with the team, Deveney adds. Because he will be waived after the March 1st deadline, Budinger will not be playoff eligible this season for any team that were to sign him.
Indiana was reportedly attempting to trade Budinger leading up to February’s trade deadline, but found no takers for the remainder of his $5,00,000 expiring contract. The Pacers acquired Budinger from the Timberwolves this past offseason when the plan was to move Paul George to power forward. But with Indiana utilizing George more often at his natural small forward spot as the season wore on, it cut into Budinger’s playing time significantly, as Buckner noted at the time.
Budinger has appeared in 48 games for the Pacers this season, including two starts. He is averaging 4.5 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.0 assist in 15.0 minutes per night to accompany a shooting line of .419/.299/.708. The 27-year-old’s career numbers are 8.1 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.2 assists.
Western Notes: Griffin, D-League, Conley
The Clippers are awaiting the return of Blake Griffin and point guard Chris Paul asserts the team can’t contend for a title without the high-flying power forward, Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com relays. Griffin, who will have a four-game suspension to serve once he returns from his broken hand, hasn’t played since December 25th. “I don’t care if he gets back the day before the playoffs.” Paul said regarding Griffin. “We’re playing for a championship and there’s no championship without Blake Griffin. There’s not one.” When coach/executive Doc Rivers was asked how long it would take to Griffin to ready himself for the postseason, Rivers told Howard-Cooper, “We don’t know. As soon as he’s ready, we’re going to go from there. But do we need him? We’d be crazy to say, ‘No, no,’ you know what I mean? It’s ‘Yeah, yeah.’ We’re just going to take it day by day.”
Here’s the latest from out West:
- Injuries have hit the Grizzlies hard this season, but point guard Mike Conley insists that it’s part of the game and the team can’t use its missing personnel as a crutch, Peter Edmiston of The Commercial Appeal writes. “It can get frustrating at some times, but you can’t let it bother you in these situations, because these are the cards we’ve been dealt,” Conley told reporters. “We didn’t count on Marc Gasol getting hurt, we didn’t count on Brandan Wright getting hurt, these things happen and new guys come in, trades happen, we’re here with the guys we have and we have to make the best of the situation.“
- Conley, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, understands patience will be required as new players are worked into roles in the rotation, Edmiston relays in the same piece. “It takes time for guys like Lance Stephenson, Birdman [Chris Andersen] and P.J. Hairston to understand that. I’m telling them after almost every play that we’re basically in that flex stuff — just set a screen, pin down, it’s gonna be in that situation, but it’s easy to forget when you’re going full speed, so it’s tough on them to grasp that in only a week’s time.“
- The Thunder assigned Josh Huestis and Mitch McGary to their D-League affiliate Friday, the team announced via press release. Huestis has appeared in 16 games for the Blue this season, notching 11.8 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.19 blocks in 32.7 minutes per game, while McGary has made 17 D-League appearances and is averaging 14.4 points, 9.1 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 25.1 minutes per night.
Hoops Rumors Community Shootaround 3/4/16
LeBron James famously broke the hearts of Cleveland fans in 2010 with his “decision” to take his talents to Miami and the Heat. The move paid off handsomely for James, who helped guide the franchise to four straight trips to the NBA Finals, garnering two championships for his troubles. His return to the Cavaliers last season was supposed to be a homecoming of sorts, but the team has had its struggles despite reaching the NBA Finals in 2014/15. Adding to the intrigue and turmoil in Cleveland is James’ preference to ink one-year deals that afford him the opportunity to leave Ohio once again for what he may perceive as greener pastures if he is unhappy with the state of the franchise.
James and his Cavs teammates reportedly don’t have great chemistry, which only adds fuel to the fire for those who speculate that James may end up departing after this season. LeBron turned some heads this week with his decision to take a jaunt to Miami during consecutive off days to work out with his friend and former teammate Dwyane Wade. “What do I go there for? Go there ’cause I want to,” James said. “I would love to go to L.A., but I’ll take two and a half [hour flight] over four and a half. I’ve got a house in L.A., but it makes more sense for me to go south than go west. But I go because I want to.”
If LeBron wanted to defuse the situation, regardless of whether he felt he needed to or not, he didn’t help things with a series of cryptic tweets he posted a short time later. “Can’t replace being around great friends that reciprocate the same energy back to you in all facets of life,” James wrote, in what appears to be an obvious reference to Wade. It’s unclear if this is a condemnation of his relationship with his teammates in Cleveland or just an appreciation for the Heat shooting guard’s continuing friendship. Regardless of James’ intent, it was what he posted next that is truly interesting. “It’s OK to know you’ve made a mistake. Cause we all do at times. Just be ready to live with whatever that comes with it and be with those who will protect you at all cost!”
The 31-year-old declined to explain the tweets, but he did deny they were directed at his current team. “I don’t want to explain it, and no, [it wasn’t] directed at a teammate,” James said. Whether or not you accept James’ assertion that it wasn’t directed at a teammate, it wouldn’t be the first time James took to social media to call out another player or express his displeasure.
This brings me to the topic for today: Will LeBron James leave the Cavaliers as a free agent once again?
There’s no denying that it would be a public relations nightmare for James if he were to abandon his home state team a second time, but with his career winding down, James could decide his on-court legacy is more important than upsetting and potentially alienating the state of Ohio. But what say you? Will LeBron ditch the Cavs again? More importantly, should he do so? There is also the question of what team would he go to. Take to the comments section to share your thoughts and opinions. We look forward to what you have to say.