Southeast Notes: Grunfeld, Johnson, Howard
It’s been a down year for the Wizards, but team president Ernie Grunfeld doesn’t appear to be going anywhere, since he’s under contract for next season, league sources revealed to Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post. The terms of Grunfeld’s pact hadn’t been clear, and it remains unknown when Grunfeld and owner Ted Leonsis included this season in the arrangement. The pressure remains on coach Randy Wittman, who’s also under contract for next season but with only a partial guarantee on his salary, and Wittman’s relationship with the team’s players has reportedly deteriorated.
See more from Washington amid items from the Southeast Division:
- Two soon-to-be free agents on the Wizards have dropped their agents to instead hire Mark Bartelstein of Priority Sports, as SportsBusiness Journal reports in a subscription-only piece. Ramon Sessions left Allegiant Athletic Agency’s Jared Karnes to team up with Bartelstein while Garrett Temple parted with John Hamilton of Performance Sports Management.
- Heat buyout market signee Joe Johnson isn’t giving the team quite as much return on its investment of late after a hot start, though coach Erik Spoelstra, among others, isn’t overly concerned, as Manny Navarro of the Miami Herald chronicles. Johnson will hit free agency again this summer after his short-term deal with Miami is over. “Joe’s a vet, an experienced guy,” said fellow soon-to-be free agent Luol Deng. “We’re not worried about the vet guys. He’ll be fine.”
- Dwight Howard reportedly has interest in returning to the Magic, but the team would be unwise to give him the maximum salary of around $30MM that he and new agent Perry Rogers will no doubt request, opines Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel. Schmitz believes the Magic should stop at around $20MM and thinks the team would prefer to sign a free agent with less baggage.
10-Day Contract Trends In 2015/16
The NBA regular season has fewer than 10 days remaining, so the 10-day contract signing period is over, as The Vertical’s Bobby Marks points out (Twitter link). The book on 10-day signings isn’t completely closed, since it remains to be seen if some of those who signed the short-term deals will end up latching on for the rest of the season. That’s expected to be the case for at least one player who’s still on a 10-day contract, as James Ennis is reportedly poised to re-sign with the Pelicans.
Regardless, we now can look at a few trends, facts and other noteworthy developments that emerged from this year’s batch of 10-day pacts, with the help of our 10-Day Contract Tracker:
- Teams signed 33 players to 10-day contracts this year, down from 48 last year and the fewest since 2012, when 32 players received 10-day deals.
- The Grizzlies signed more players to 10-day contracts than any other team, with eight. The Suns were next with six, and the Pelicans signed five. Orlando Johnson signed 10-day contracts with both Phoenix and New Orleans.
- Johnson, Lorenzo Brown (Pistons and Suns), Sean Kilpatrick (Nets and Nuggets), Jordan McRae (Cavs and Suns) and Alex Stepheson (Clippers and Grizzlies) all signed 10-day contracts with multiple teams.
- One of McRae’s two 10-day pacts with Phoenix was actually a 12-day contract. That’s because all 10-day deals have to cover at least three games. If a team signs a player to a 10-day contract and it doesn’t play at least three games over the next 10 days, the contract runs as long as necessary to get three games in. The NBA’s lengthy All-Star break was the reason for the extra two days on McRae’s deal, which was worth $37,065 instead of the $30,888 he would have seen on a regular 10-day.
- Teams ended 10-day contracts early on five occasions last season, but that only happened once this year, when the Sixers released Christian Wood on just the fourth day of his contract to claim Sonny Weems. Philly later reversed course on that decision, cutting Weems to sign Wood to a second 10-day contract.
- Impact Sports and Octagon were the leading agencies involved with 10-day contracts this year, landing 10-day deals for four clients apiece. Impact client Jeff Ayres went on to sign for the rest of the season with the Clippers, while Octagon’s Alan Williams did the same with the Suns.
Eastern Notes: Knicks, Batum, Hoiberg
The Knicks increasingly sense that Warriors assistant coach Luke Walton won’t leave Golden State for a head coaching job this summer, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post. Knicks team president Phil Jackson is in contact with Bulls executive VP of basketball operations John Paxson, who used to play for the Zen Master, and Jackson isn’t impressed with Tom Thibodeau, who worked for Paxson as Bulls coach, Berman writes. The Post scribe also implies Jackson isn’t about to go out of his way to hire former Nuggets coach Brian Shaw, leaving few options other than interim coach Kurt Rambis, whom Berman hears is closer with Jackson than just about any coach is with his boss and allows Jackson the level of input he’s longed for. However, Knicks players don’t respect Rambis as much as they did former coach Derek Fisher, sources indicated to Berman.
While we wait to see just who gets the job in New York, see more from the Atlantic Division:
- Assistant coach Jim Cleamons, a former NBA point guard, was allowed only limited contact with rookie point guard Jerian Grant while Fisher was coach, but those restrictions have been lifted since Rambis took over, Berman reports in the same piece.
- An NBA GM told The Oregonian’s John Canzano he thinks Nicolas Batum will be able to command salaries of $15MM to $17MM in free agency this summer (Twitter link). That’s well beneath the roughly $25MM maximum salary, though Zach Lowe of ESPN.com wrote in January that the Hornets swingman was likely to draw max offers. Batum is No. 9 in the Hoops Rumors Free Agent Power Rankings.
- Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg has drawn criticism for his inability to reach players, but, perhaps buoyed by Taj Gibson‘s support, Hoiberg insists the locker room is united, notes K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. “You have to have that continuity in the locker room, that unity,” Hoiberg said. “You have to look like you’re getting your message across. And I think we’ve done that with the guys. I can just base it on how our film sessions are going and how when they’re on the [practice] floor, they’re locked in. I feel like we have good chemistry with our staff and players.”
Purdue SF Vince Edwards To Test Draft Waters
Purdue sophomore small forward Vince Edwards will enter this year’s draft without hiring an agent, the school announced. He’ll be able to withdraw anytime before May 25th and retain his college eligibility as long as he doesn’t sign with an agent. Edwards has only long-shot hopes of getting drafted in June as the 219th-best prospect in Chad Ford’s ESPN Insider rankings. Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress doesn’t go beyond 100 in his overall rankings, but he tabs the 6’8″ 20-year-old as the 24th-best sophomore.
Edwards made his mark as a 3-point shooter, nailing 40.7% of his attempts this year. He otherwise put up mostly pedestrian numbers, averaging 11.3 points and 5.4 rebounds in 27.5 minutes per game, though he saved his best for last, delivering 24 points and a career-high 13 rebounds in Purdue’s first-round tournament loss to Arkansas-Little Rock.
He entered college outside the top 100 in the Recruiting Services Consensus Index, but he was an integral part of the Boilermakers from the beginning, failing to start only three times in his college career. The Ohio native improved across several categories this season compared to his freshman year even though he saw a similar number of minutes.
Maryland C Diamond Stone To Enter Draft?
TUESDAY, 7:43am: Stone’s father refuted the reports, telling Roman Stubbs of The Washington Post that no decision has been made.
6:13pm: Stone isn’t expected to return to Maryland despite not hiring an agent, and his college career is likely over, tweets Jon Rothstein of CBSSports.com. So, it looks like Stone won’t withdraw from the draft.
MONDAY, 5:45pm: Maryland freshman center Diamond Stone will declare for this year’s draft but hold off on hiring an agent, league sources tell Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group and the Cleveland Plain Dealer (Twitter link). He can withdraw by May 25th and retain his college eligibility as long as he doesn’t hire an agent. The 7’0″ 19-year-old is the 18th prospect in Chad Ford’s ESPN Insider rankings, while Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress pegs him 24th.
Stone had a solid freshman season with the Terrapins, averaging 12.5 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in 22.6 minutes. He also shot 56.8% from the field, in part because the post player did not have a 3-point attempt. Stone struggled with foul issues in Maryland’s three NCAA Tournament games, picking up four fouls in each while averaging 7.7 points and 3.7 rebounds.
His low-post skills make him the third-highest ranked center on Ford’s board and the sixth highest-ranked freshman on Givony’s prospect list. He is considered a physical player with outstanding low-post moves, excellent footwork and a soft touch around the rim. Ford also praises him for his shot-blocking, rebounding and passing, but he’s not considered an elite athlete and has to display a more consistent motor.
Dana Gauruder contributed to this post.
Hoops Rumors Community Shootaround 4/4/16
The NBA took a break on Monday, ceding the spotlight to the NCAA title game between Villanova and North Carolina. The championship is sure to attract a big audience but the ratings, compared to recent seasons, are virtually certain to drop.
Why? College basketball’s championship landed on cable this year, with TBS paying for the broadcast rights. According to a New York Times article, CBS and TBS will take turns broadcasting the title game through 2024.
While a majority of Americans have cable, it’s still somewhat controversial to not broadcast a major sports championship on network TV. Not too long ago, it would have been considered taboo to deny anyone without cable the opportunity to watch a championship game.
Of course, times have changed, with more people watching sports on their phones and computers. Yet, selling the broadcast rights for a major sports championship to a cable company still raises some eyebrows.
For the most part, top professional championships have remained on broadcast TV, including the Super Bowl, NBA Finals and World Series. But many playoff games can only be seen on cable TV.
Some other big events, such as the new College Football Playoff and top tennis tournaments, have been moved to ESPN and other cable stations.
The NBA broadcasts many of its playoff games on TNT, ESPN and even NBA TV. But the Finals have remained on ABC, allowing everyone with a TV access to the best-of-seven series.
This leads us to our question of the day: Would you have a problem with the NBA broadcasting the Finals on a cable network, like the NCAA has done with its major basketball and football title games?
Please take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions on the subject. We look forward to what you have to say.
Eastern Rumors: Carroll, Lucas III, Jennings
The Raptors are hopeful of getting small forward DeMarre Carroll back in action for the final three games of the season, Mike Ganter of the National Post reports. Carroll, who hasn’t played since January 3rd after undergoing knee surgery, practiced in full on Monday and coach Dwane Casey wants him to scrape off some rust before the playoffs, Ganter adds. “The last three or whatever games there are when he comes back, we will use those as his test lab,” Casey told Ganter and other media members. “No disrespect to those teams but to get some work in, get some run in, get knocked down a few times, get hit a few times and see where he stands.”
In other news around the Eastern Conference:
- Veteran point guard John Lucas III could sign with the Heat this week, Marc Stein of ESPN.com tweets. The Heat will soon have the financially flexibility to add two players and Lucas nearly made Miami’s roster during training camp, Stein adds. Lucas, who appeared in 21 games with the Pistons last season, was playing for the Pacers’ D-League team, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, before he was waived last month.
- Magic point guard Brandon Jennings would like to re-sign with the club, Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders tweets. Jennings, an unrestricted free agent after the season, is averaging 7.1 points and 4.0 assists in 24 games with Orlando since the Pistons dealt him and power forward Ersan Ilyasova at the trade deadline for power forward Tobias Harris.
- A New York City man has been arrested in connection with the December 30th robbery and shooting of Knicks small forward Cleanthony Early, according to John Marzulli of the New York Daily News. Early has averaged 20 minutes over the team’s last two games after a D-League stint.
Central Rumors: James, Drummond, Bucks Arena
Cavs coach Tyronn Lue asserted his authority in a recent meeting with LeBron James in which Lue told the superstar small forward to cut out the distractions, Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com reports. Lue’s challenge came in the wake of James’ recent actions, including comments about his desire to play with Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony and cryptic messages on social media, Windhorst continues. James has lifted his game since the meeting, averaging 28.9 points, 8.9 rebounds and 9.6 assists over the past seven games as Cleveland has solidified its status as the Eastern Conference’s top seed, Windhorst adds.
In other developments around the Central Division:
- Andre Drummond‘s woeful free throw shooting is making it increasingly difficult for Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy to keep his star center on the court at the end of close games, David Mayo of MLive writes. Drummond was on the bench during the closing minutes of Detroit’s crucial win over the Bulls on Saturday night after Chicago began intentionally fouling him. Drummond, who made just one of 10 free throw attempts during that game, is shooting a league-worst 35.4% from the foul line. “In a close game like that, back and forth, we can’t be playing hoping for one point, at most, when they’re playing for two or three,” Van Gundy told Mayo and other media members. “You can’t do that. You’re putting way too much pressure on your defense.”
- The latest design proposal for the Bucks’ new arena received approval from Milwaukee’s planning commission on Monday, moving the $500MM project forward for groundbreaking this summer, Tom Daykin of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. The development plan also requires Common Council approval, Daykin continues. The arena is scheduled to open by the 2018/19 season, Daykin adds.
- The Pacers recalled power forwards Shayne Whittington and Rakeem Christmas from their D-League affiliate, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, according to the team’s website. Whittington played in 40 games for the Mad Ants, averaging 12.1 points and 7.9 rebounds, while Christmas appeared in 48 games, averaging 13.9 points and 7.1 rebounds.
Western Notes: Jazz, Anderson, Young
- Mavs rookie small forward Justin Anderson has made an impact with his shot-blocking and rebounding since he was inserted into the lineup four games ago, Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News writes. Dallas coach Rick Carlisle has also been impressed by Anderson’s hustle, as he told Sefko and the gathered media. “He’s a guy that just goes hard and he never gives up on a play,” Carlisle said. “In a transition situation, he sees it as an opportunity and a challenge and not something like, oh well, I guess he’s going to score. You love that fighting sort of spirit and that’s what we need right now.”
- Lakers shooting guard Nick Young has lost his mental focus and dropped out of the team’s rotation as a result, according to Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times. Young has kept a low profile since a gossip site leaked the video of rookie point guard D’Angelo Russell secretly taping him talking about his personal life. “Right now he’s not here with us mentally and there’s no need for me to put him out there on the floor as well,” Lakers coach Byron Scott told Bresnahan and other media members. The team shopped Young this season and will continue to do so in the offseason, Bresnahan adds.
- Suns point guard Brandon Knight has been shut down the remainder of the season because of a sports hernia, Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic reports. Knight will get a second opinion this week to determine if surgery is needed for the injury, which has limited him to 52 games this season, Coro adds.
Draft Notes: Davis, Ingram, Hield, Trier
- Duke freshman and potential top pick Brandon Ingram, who declared for the draft on Monday, isn’t quite the prospect that Kevin Durant was coming out of college but there are similarities, as Mike Schmitz of The Vertical examines in great detail. Ingram was more of a facilitator in his freshman year, though Durant has developed into a superior passer as a pro, Schmitz continues. Durant was a prolific scorer and threat from anywhere on the court at Texas while Ingram only showed flashes of taking over games in his season at Duke, Schmitz adds.
- Oklahoma’s Buddy Hield gets the nod over Michigan State’s Denzel Valentine in NBA.com David Aldridge’s rankings of the top shooting guard prospects. Though scouts that Aldridge interviewed do not consider Hield a “turnaround kind of talent,” his shooting ability stands out among his peers. France’s Timothe Luwawu, who’s played in Serbia this season, is ranked third on Aldridge’s list.
- Arizona shooting guard Allonzo Trier will return to school for his sophomore season, ESPN.com’s Jeff Goodman tweets. The 6’5” Trier, who averaged 14.8 points and 3.3 rebounds in his freshman season, is rated No. 79 by Ford and No. 76 by Givony.