Mike Conley Expected To Miss Rest Of Season
Mike Conley is expected to miss the rest of the regular season and the playoffs because of his sore left Achilles tendon, reports Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal. The same fate appears to be true for Brandan Wright and Jordan Adams, based on the answer coach Dave Joerger gave when asked the status of all three and P.J. Hairston, as Tillery relays. Joerger said only that he thinks Hairston will return to play.
Doctors determined that it would be in Conley’s best interest to sit out until next season after examining him last week, as Tillery details. The Grizzlies and Conley are exercising caution amid fear that playing with the injury would lead to a torn Achilles, Tillery writes. Conley, who hasn’t played since March 6th, is headed into free agency this summer, when he figures to be one of the most sought-after players available and the top point guard on the market.
Wright is in the first season of a three-year contract but has appeared in only 12 games for the Grizzlies because of injury. Conflicting reports early last month surrounded his timetable for recovery from a sprained MCL in his right knee, but according to Tillery, he was never expected to return in the regular season, with only the playoffs a possibility. Postseason play now also appears out of the question. Tillery hears he suffered a Grade II sprain, not a Grade I, as previously reported.
The Grizzlies have been reluctant to give insight on the health of Adams, as Tillery chronicles. The second-year shooting guard has been out since January because of right knee surgery, and the time of his expected return has never been clear.
Hairston hasn’t played since March 15th with what’s generally been listed as a left groin strain, though Tillery refers to it as a hamstring injury. In any case, he ran sprints as part of a workout Sunday, according to Tillery, so his health is a bright spot for the Grizzlies, who’ve used an all-time NBA record 28 players this season as injuries have decimated their lineup.
Memphis can’t receive a disabled player exception, and while the team is carrying two extra roster spots via hardship, it doesn’t seem likely the NBA will allow that to continue into the playoffs, as Chris Herrington of The Commercial Appeal wrote earlier today. The Grizzlies aren’t yet assured of a playoff berth, and though they’re in fifth place and would otherwise seem a safe bet for the postseason, they lead the ninth-place Rockets by only two games in the loss column. The regular season ends a week from Wednesday.
Fate Of Many Traded 2016 First-Rounders Up In Air
Only 10 days remain in the regular season, and a majority of the 20 possible traded 2016 first-round pick exchanges are still unresolved. Seven are mathematical certainties, but the rest will be decided over the next week and a half, or through next month’s draft lottery. Some exchanges appear more likely than others, but five are still too close to call. Using the reverse standings and lottery odds as a guide, here’s how all 20 scenarios stand:
Toss-ups:
- Rockets to Nuggets (top-14 protected) — This pick comes down to whether or not Houston makes the playoffs. The Rockets are outside the playoffs for now but trail the Jazz and Mavs, who are in a seventh-place tie, by only one game. Only three games separate Houston from the banged-up Grizzlies, who are in fifth place.
- Lakers to Sixers (top-three protected) — A mathematical chance exists that the Lakers fall into a tie for the fourth lottery position, but they’re three and a half games clear of Phoenix for the second slot with six games to play, so they’ll probably enter the lottery at No. 2. A top-three pick would still be far from guaranteed, as the team in second entering the lottery stands about a 44% chance of dropping to fourth or fifth. The Lakers know this well, having benefited last year when the Knicks fell to No. 4 from No. 2 in the lottery, allowing L.A. to move up.
- Knicks to Nuggets (Denver gets the better pick of its own and New York’s) —The Nuggets have but a one-game lead on the Knicks, so this one is anyone’s guess.
- Knicks to Raptors (Toronto gets New York’s pick if it comes after Denver’s pick) — The Raptors will end up with whichever pick the Nuggets don’t take in the pick swap described immediately above, so with precious little separation between New York and Denver, this one is just as hard to call.
- Nuggets to Raptors (Toronto gets Denver’s pick if it comes after New York’s pick) — See the explanation for the last two picks.
Mathematically certain to happen:
- Nets to Celtics (unprotected)
- Cavaliers to Suns (top-10 protected)
- Thunder to Sixers (Philadelphia gets Oklahoma City’s pick if it falls outside the top 15 and comes before Golden State’s pick, which will happen.)
Likely to happen:
- Wizards to Suns (top-nine protected) — The Wizards are stuck in a nether world, four games back of the playoffs with five to play and mathematically eliminated from any hopes of moving up to the ninth spot in the lottery. Washington could still move up in the lottery itself, but less than a 4% chance exists of that happening.
- Mavericks to Celtics (top-nine protected) — The Mavs have only a one-game lead for a playoff spot that would make this pick transfer a certainty, but the highest they can climb in the reverse standings is No. 12, which would bear less than a 3% chance of a top-seven pick.
- Heat to Sixers (Philadelphia gets Miami’s pick if it falls outside the top 10 and comes before either Golden State’s pick or Oklahoma City’s pick) — The Heat would have to miss the playoffs for there to be even a ghost of a chance that this wouldn’t happen, and Miami is five and a half games up on a postseason berth with six to play.
- Trail Blazers to Nuggets (top-14 protected) — Denver gets this pick if Portland makes the playoffs. The Blazers have four games to play and are in sixth place with a two-game lead in the loss column on the ninth-place Rockets.
Unlikely to happen:
- Grizzlies to Nuggets (Denver gets the Memphis pick if it falls anywhere from No. 6 to No. 14) — The Grizzlies are still in fifth place, but they’re only three games up on the ninth-place Rockets with five to play. Normally, that would be a fairly safe lead, but with so many key Grizzlies out with injury, the playoffs aren’t assured in Memphis.
- Kings to Bulls (top-10 protected) — Sacramento is in eighth in the reverse standings, but with five games to play, only two games separate them from 11th place. Still, if the Kings can hang on to at least 10th in the lottery, less than a 10% chance exists that they’d drop to No. 11.
- Kings to Sixers (Philadelphia gets the better of Sacramento’s pick and its own if Sacramento’s pick falls inside the top 10) — Sacramento could enter the lottery as high as No. 6 in the order, but that entails only about a 22% chance of moving into the top three. The Sixers, who’ll be No. 1 in the lottery order, have a 35.7% chance of dropping to fourth.
- Sixers to Kings (Sacramento gets the inferior of its own pick and Philadelphia’s pick if its own pick falls inside the top 10) — See the scenario immediately above.
Mathematically impossible:
- Timberwolves to Celtics (top-12 protected)
- Heat to Warriors — Golden State would get Miami’s pick if it falls outside the top 10 and comes after Golden State’s pick and Oklahoma City’s pick, but that can’t happen.
- Thunder to Warriors — Golden State would get Oklahoma City’s pick if it falls outside the top 15 and comes after Miami’s pick and Golden State’s pick, but that can’t happen.
- Warriors to Sixers — Philadelphia would get Golden State’s pick if it comes before either Miami’s pick or Oklahoma City’s pick, as long as Miami’s pick falls outside the top 10 and Oklahoma City’s pick falls outside the top 15. Golden State’s pick won’t come before either Miami’s or Oklahoma City’s, so this won’t happen.
Check out the movement on these scenarios compared to our last update from early March.
Nets Assistant GM Frank Zanin Steps Down
Nets assistant GM Frank Zanin has resigned, as he announced via Twitter (All Twitter links; hat tip to Jake Fischer of SI Now). Zanin was in charge of the front office for more than a month this season in between the time Brooklyn removed Billy King from the GM job January 10th and the February 18th hiring of new GM Sean Marks. Zanin has been one of two assistant GMs for the team since Marks added Trajan Langdon in that position last month.
“I would like to thank the Brooklyn Nets for allowing me to be a part of their organization for the past six years,” Zanin wrote. “After speaking with Sean this morning I have decided to step I down from my position of Assistant GM. This will allow Sean to fill out his staff and give me a chance to pursue other opportunities.”
The Nets didn’t make a roster move while Zanin was in charge, but rival executives nonetheless praised him for his handling of the team, according to Chris Mannix of Yahoo Sports, who suggests Zanin will be a strong candidate for front office vacancies elsewhere (Twitter link). The Kings are looking for an experienced hand under GM Vlade Divac, though they appear to be zeroing in on David Morway. More openings figure to emerge after the season.
Zanin ascended to Nets assistant GM in July 2013, when the team promoted him after he spent three seasons as pro personnel scout and director of player procurement. He was with Philadelphia for several years before that as an assistant coach, scout, video coordinator and originally a video intern, having joined his hometown Sixers upon graduating college in 1999. It’s no shock that he and the Nets are parting ways given his ties to King, who was the GM of the Sixers during Zanin’s time with them. King remains in the Brooklyn front office, but Marks likely wants to place his own imprint on the organization.
Southwest Notes: Barea, Anderson, Duncan
Two moves the Mavericks made last summer are paying off in the stretch run, with free agent signee J.J. Barea and Justin Anderson, the 21st pick in the 2015 draft, delivering in prominent roles of late, as Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com examines. The NBA just named Barea the Western Conference Player of the Week. “Barea’s been here before,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “He’s been heavily relied upon, and he’s had to fill in in big situations. So he knows what this is about. Anderson has learned gradually, and his teammates have been a big part of his development. He’s been an attentive learner, and he’s a really big part of what we’re doing right now.”
See more from the Southwest Division:
- San Antonio’s success this year has come at a tangible cost, and part of that is a $750K bonus that Tim Duncan earned when the Spurs won their 62nd game of the season last week against Memphis, notes Bobby Marks of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports. It means San Antonio is in line for an extra $1.5MM in projected tax penalties, which go on top of the $750K the Spurs have to shell out to Duncan. The win also inflated the cap figure for Duncan’s player option for next season to $6,393,750, since the league considers it likely he’d trigger the bonus against next season.
- The Grizzlies appear to be exploring the feasibility of carrying more than 15 players on their playoff roster, though it seems unlikely the NBA would allow it, writes Chris Herrington of The Commercial Appeal in his Pick-and-Pop column. Memphis is at 17 players, including Xavier Munford, whose second 10-day contract runs out after Tuesday’s game. His minutes and production have increased, and he’s making a case for a deal that would keep him around for the rest of the season and the playoffs, as Herrington details. Such a move would likely necessitate offloading someone already signed through season’s end, and Herrington speculates that Ryan Hollins and P.J. Hairston are candidates to be cut.
- A freewheeling offense and a lack of emphasis on defense provide the right environment for Michael Beasley to succeed with the Rockets, observes Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel. The former No. 2 pick has put up strong numbers since Houston signed him a month ago, having averaged 14.1 points in just 19.8 minutes per game across 15 appearances.
Pelicans Sign Jordan Hamilton For Rest Of Season
MONDAY, 2:01pm: The signing is official, the team announced. The move restores New Orleans to an 18-man roster.
SUNDAY, 3:26pm: The Pelicans plan to sign swingman Jordan Hamilton to a deal that will cover the rest of the season, Rod Walker of the New Orleans Advocate reports (Twitter link). New Orleans has six games left to play, not including today’s victory over the Nets. Hamilton’s 10-day contract expires overnight.
The Pelicans first signed Hamilton on March 25th via the hardship provision. New Orleans has experienced a rash of injuries this season. Hamilton, 25, played well in five games. He scored in double figures in all but one outing and averaged 11 points, 5 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game.
Hamilton had signed with the Russian club Krasny Oktyabr in August but parted ways with the team in November. He joined the Rockets’ D-League affiliate in February and appeared in 14 games, averaging 14.9 points, 9.4 rebounds and 3.9 assists in 29.2 minutes per contest. The 6’7” Hamilton appeared in 14 games for the Clippers during the 2014/15 season, averaging 2.7 points, 1.1 rebounds and 0.5 assists in 8.7 minutes per game.
Latest On Thon Maker
Thon Maker has no intention of withdrawing and attending college if he receives approval from the NBA to formally become a part of this year’s draft class, as he told Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress. It’s a swift conclusion for the 7’0″ power forward from a Canadian prep school, since Maker’s legal guardian, Ed Smith, didn’t reveal to him he had a case to enter the draft until late last month, as Maker said to Givony. Sources told Jeff Borzello of ESPN.com that Maker, who on Sunday publicly announced that he plans to enter the draft, had to declare in order to receive a ruling from the NBA on his eligibility. Maker’s camp has been in communication with the NBA for a while and they expect an answer as soon as this week, tweets Evan Daniels of Scout.com. See more on the intriguing prospect making waves on the draft scene:
- Maker’s case to be included in this year’s draft class is a strong one, Givony argues, citing a clause in the collective bargaining agreement that would deem him an international player rather than an American (Twitter links). The eligibility of American players is tied to the timing of their high school graduations, though Maker has argued that he qualifies in that regard, too.
- It’s difficult to peg how the NBA will rule on his eligibility, though assuming the league comes down in his favor, it’s likely he’ll receive an invitation to next month’s draft combine, writes Chad Ford of ESPN.com in an Insider-only piece. Little semblance of consensus exists regarding Maker’s draft stock, with scouts’ opinions of him ranging from the late lottery to the second round, according to Ford, who ranks him 20th among this year’s prospects. Givony slots the 19-year-old as this year’s 44th-best draft prospect.
- Maker would have a better shot to go in the first round this year than he would if he’s relegated to next year’s draft class, an NBA executive told Sean Deveney of The Sporting News, pointing to the relative strength of the other prospects expected to be available in each draft.
- NBA executives have chiefly seen regression as they’ve watched Maker, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical, who expects him to spend most of the next two seasons on D-League assignment if he’s drafted this year (Twitter link).
Key 2016 Offseason Dates
The 2015/16 regular season ends in little more than a week, so the playoffs and the offseason are fast approaching. With just a few dates still to come on our list of Key 2015/16 Dates, we’ll look ahead to what’s next. The 2016 offseason figures to be among the most entertaining in years, with Kevin Durant poised to hit the open market for the first time and teams across the league flush with cash thanks to a salary cap expected to rise to between $90MM and $95MM.
Some specific contractual deadlines and other dates pertaining to relatively obscure collective bargaining agreement clauses aren’t represented below, but the idea here is to provide a digest of the days likely to have relevance to most teams and players. So, with that in mind, here’s a glance at the important deadlines and events that will influence player movement for the next several months across the league, right up until the start of training camps next fall:
April 13th — Last day of the regular season; luxury tax penalties calculated based on payroll as of this day.
April 15th — Playoff rosters set (2pm Central)
April 16th — Playoffs begin
April 24th — Deadline for early entrants to declare for draft (10:59pm Central)
May 11th-15th — Draft combine
May 17th — Draft lottery
May 25th — Last day for early entrants to withdraw from draft and retain their NCAA eligibility
June 13th — Deadline for early entrants to withdraw from draft (4pm Central)
June 23rd — Draft
June 24th — Last day for pending restricted free agents to exercise player options
June 29th — Last day for decisions on player, team and early termination options, unless individual contracts specify otherwise (see list of contracts that specify otherwise).
June 30th — Last official day of 2015/16 season; last day for teams to make qualifying offers to players eligible for restricted free agency.
July 1st — Official start of 2016/17 season; July moratorium begins.
July 6th — Last day of July moratorium
July 7th — Moratorium over; teams can begin signing players and making trades.
July 15th — Last day for teams to issue required tenders to unsigned first-round picks; those players become free agents July 16th if not tendered.
July 23th — Last day for teams to unilaterally withdraw qualifying offers to restricted free agents
August 31st — Last day teams may waive players and apply the stretch provision to their 2016/17 salaries.
September 5th — Last day for teams to issue required tenders to unsigned first-round picks; those players become free agents September 6th if not tendered.
Late September (specific dates TBA) — Training camps open
Larry Coon’s Salary Cap FAQ and NBA.com were used in the creation of this post.
Brandon Ingram Declares For Draft
11:26am: Ingram expounds on his decision via The Players’ Tribune.
10:56am: Duke small forward and potential No. 1 overall pick Brandon Ingram told Evan Daniels of Scout.com he’s entering this year’s draft, as expected. The freshman is hiring an agent, Daniels adds, so he won’t be eligible to return to school. The 6’9″ 18-year-old eclipsed LSU combo forward Ben Simmons for the top spot in Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress rankings in the middle of last month while Chad Ford of ESPN.com still has Simmons No. 1 and Ingram No. 2.
Ingram’s shooting helps distinguish him from Simmons and others, as he nailed an impressive 41.0% of his looks from 3-point range on 5.4 attempts per game. Givony has also pointed to Ingram’s superior 7’3″ wingspan and 9’1.5″ standing reach, both of which manifested in his 6.8 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game. Ingram put up 17.3 points per outing, but that wasn’t enough to lead his own team, as Grayson Allen, a fringe first-round prospect, poured in 21.6. Still, Ingram scored at least 20 on 14 occasions, including all three of Duke’s NCAA Tournament games. Ford points to Ingram’s passing ability as a plus, but that didn’t show up on the stat sheet, as he averaged 2.0 assists and an identical 2.0 turnovers per contest.
The native of Kinston, North Carolina was just fourth in the Recruiting Services Consensus Index coming into college last year, though an outlier rating of 14th from analyst Van Coleman contributed to that. Most of the rest of the rating services had him third behind Simmons and Kentucky big man Skal Labissiere, who ultimately proved a disappointment. Ingram nonetheless showed improvement to his overall game throughout the season and has a strong chance to join Kyrie Irving and Elton Brand as the school’s third top overall selection since the end of the territorial draft in the 1960s.
UNLV SG Patrick McCaw To Enter Draft
UNLV sophomore shooting guard Patrick McCaw will enter this year’s NBA draft, according to Jon Rothstein of CBSSports.com (Twitter link). McCaw won’t be back with the school, Rothstein says, so presumably that means he’ll hire an agent and forfeit his remaining college eligibility. The 6’7″ 20-year-old stands a decent chance to get drafted, as he’s 49th in Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress rankings and No. 62 with Chad Ford of ESPN.com. Still, it appears his stock would have improved if he’d waited a year, as Givony has him 21st in his 2017 mock draft.
The St. Louis native moved to the Washington, D.C. area and attended the same high school as Kevin Durant did, but despite that, and his presence on a well-regarded AAU team, McCaw wasn’t a highly regarded recruit as he entered his college career, Givony notes. He was outside the top 100 in the 2014 Recruiting Services Consensus Index but appears to have made a strong impression on NBA types since then, particularly over the past year.
McCaw’s production took a leap this season even though he saw about the same amount of playing time he did as a freshman. He averaged 14.7 points per game, up from last season’s 9.6, and he upped his rebounding to 5.1 per contest from 3.3, helping fill the void left by the departure of three perimeter starters from last season’s Runnin’ Rebels, including Rashad Vaughn, last year’s 17th overall pick. McCaw’s 3-point shooting remained steady at 36.6%, so he’s a passable but not fearsome outside threat.
Atlantic Notes: Afflalo, Thomas, Caboclo
The dynamic between Arron Afflalo and Knicks interim coach Kurt Rambis has been the subject of close scrutiny of late amid Rambis’ decision to use the shooting guard in a bench role and their odd disagreement over the basic issue of whether they had a conversation about it. The latest curious dispatch comes from Rambis, who suggested Sunday that Afflalo’s free agent stock benefits from playing as a reserve, and it’s a remark that hints at an assumption Afflalo will turn down his $8MM player option for next season, observes Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News. “Him coming off the bench adds nothing but value to him,” Rambis said. “Because whereas some teams may not be looking at him if he decides to opt out of his contract, because they might not have a guy in his position coming off the bench, well they start to go, OK, he’s got the right attitude to come off the bench. And now they can add some productivity for him. So I just think the more versatile the players are, the better they are around the league.”
See more on Afflalo amid items from the Atlantic Division:
- Nets radio broadcaster Chris Carrino’s comment Friday suggesting Brooklyn might have interest in Afflalo appears to have been speculative, but Afflalo’s agent, Jeff Schwartz, is friendly with Nets management and worked with Brooklyn on the Deron Williams and Joe Johnson buyouts within the past year, NetsDaily points out.
- Lance Thomas appears unlikely to return to action this season after suffering a sprained knee last month, Rambis said, but the Knicks coach has high praise for the soon-to-be free agent, observes Marc Berman of the New York Post. “He’s a huge asset for us,’’ Rambis said. “We miss him a lot — his voice, energy, enthusiasm. He almost embarrasses other guys when they’re not playing as hard as he does.’’
- Raptors D-League GM Dan Tolzman is pleased with the progress of Bruno Caboclo, who’s played 37 D-League games and five NBA games this season, as Doug Smith of the Toronto Star relays. Caboclo, the 20th pick in 2014, will reach the midpoint of his rookie scale contract at season’s end. “The fire that he’s now playing with is something you’d never see out of the guy before and he’s now building a little bit of confidence … he knows that he’s good enough and he’s getting closer and closer to being ready for the NBA level,” Tolzman said. “He’s still playing catch-up but the strides he made are so large from what it would have been had we not had this opportunity for him.”