Offseason Salary Cap Digest: Charlotte Hornets
The Hornets have only about half as much guaranteed salary for next season as the projected $92MM salary cap, but don’t count on them formally opening any cap room this summer. GM Rich Cho wants to keep the team intact, having said he wants to re-sign as many of the team’s free agents as possible. That means Charlotte will probably keep their cap holds on the books until those free agents either re-sign or sign elsewhere, and with the cap holds for Nicolas Batum and Al Jefferson taking up nearly $40MM alone, the Hornets are unlikely to have cap space to use on outside free agents if Batum and Jefferson return. Instead, the team appears poised to stay above the cap and take advantage of the larger mid-level exception afforded capped-out teams, worth $5.628MM, to supplement the roster or simply to re-sign Jeremy Lin, with whom they have only Non-Bird rights. See how Charlotte’s cap situation looks for 2016/17 as Hoops Rumors continues its offseason salary cap digest series.
Guaranteed Salary
- Michael Kidd-Gilchrist ($13,000,000)
- Kemba Walker ($12,000,000)
- Jeremy Lamb ($6,511,628)
- Spencer Hawes ($6,348,759)
- Cody Zeller ($5,318,313)
- Frank Kaminsky ($2,730,000)
- Total: $45,908,700
Player Options
- Jeremy Lin ($2,235,255)
Team Options
- None
Non-Guaranteed Salary
- Aaron Harrison ($874,636)
Restricted Free Agents (Qualifying Offers/Cap Holds)
- Troy Daniels ($1,215,696/$1,215,696)
- Jorge Gutierrez ($1,215,696/$1,215,696)
- Totals: ($2,431,392/$2,431,392)
Unrestricted Free Agents (Cap Holds)
- Al Jefferson ($20,250,000)
- Nicolas Batum ($19,687,961)
- Courtney Lee ($10,782,500)
- Marvin Williams ($9,100,000)
- Jeremy Lin ($2,566,800) — pending player option
- Tyler Hansbrough ($980,431)
- Total: $63,367,692
Other Cap Holds
- No. 22 pick ($1,199,900)
- Jason Maxiell ($980,431)
- Jeff Taylor ($980,431)
- Total: $3,160,762
Projected Salary Cap: $92,000,000
The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.
Lakers Likely To Target Festus Ezeli
The Lakers will have interest in signing Festus Ezeli this summer, reports Sean Deveney of The Sporting News, citing a source. Still, Ezeli prefers to re-sign with the Warriors, believing he’ll inherit a job in the starting lineup once Andrew Bogut‘s contract expires after next season, a source indicated to Deveney. Golden State has the ability to match all offers for him as a restricted free agent, though several league executives suggested it’ll take a three-year, $50MM deal for any team to secure the 26-year-old center.
It’s nonetheless unlikely Ezeli ends up with a four or five-year deal, Deveney writes, pointing to his history of injuries. The 6’11” former Vanderbilt player has only appeared in 170 regular season games since becoming the 30th overall pick in the 2012 draft. A left knee surgery helped limit him to 46 regular season appearances this year. Still, he’s impressed when he’s made it onto the court, and his performance in Tuesday’s playoff game was vital to Golden State’s win over Portland.
Agent Bill Duffy reportedly talked Ezeli out of signing what would have been a team-friendly extension with the Warriors this past fall, but the center said shortly after extension discussions broke down that he wants to remain with Golden State for his entire career. Warriors assistant GM Kirk Lacob, the son of co-owner Joe Lacob, suggested in January that the team would be willing to pay whatever’s necessary to retain Ezeli and fellow soon-to-be restricted free agent Harrison Barnes this summer.
Still, the Warriors, like the Lakers and just about every NBA team, have aspirations of signing Kevin Durant, and it may well be necessary for the team to let go of Ezeli and Barnes to create enough cap room for the former MVP, given that the Warriors already have more than $73MM in guaranteed salary against a projected $92MM salary cap. Durant is in line for an estimated max of about $26MM for next season.
The Lakers have much greater flexibility with only $23MM in guaranteed salary. They’ll have an opening at starting center with Roy Hibbert headed into free agency.
Where do you think Ezeli will play next season? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.
Eastern Notes: Fournier, Sixers, Nets, Wall
The Pistons targeted another Magic player before settling on the trade for Tobias Harris in February, and that player was likely Evan Fournier, as Rod Beard of The Detroit News writes in a slideshow of mostly far-fetched candidates to sign with the Pistons in free agency. Fournier is poised to become a restricted free agent in July, but Magic GM Rob Hennigan, who can match all competing bids for the swingman, expressed determination to keep him, and Fournier apparently wants to stay in Orlando.
See more from the Eastern Conference:
- The Sixers struck deals to hire NBA Associate VP of basketball operations Ned Cohen to a high-ranking basketball operations job and Wizards VP of Scouting Marc Eversley as vice president of player personnel, report The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski, USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt and The Undefeated’s Marc J. Spears (All Twitter links). Cohen and Eversley will presumably report to president of basketball operations Bryan Colangelo. Many around the league regard Cohen highly and see him as a future GM, Wojnarowski tweets. Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post previously reported the Sixers were interviewing Eversley, who worked under Colangelo on the Raptors.
- The Nets have added several to their front office, including former No. 5 overall draft pick Shelden Williams, who’ll serve as a pro scout, and U.S. circuit court law clerk Natalie Jay, who’ll work as a cap and contract specialist, as the team details via press release. Spurs staffer Andrew Baker joins the Nets as strategic planning coordinator and Stanford assistant coach Charles Payne will be a pro and college scout for Brooklyn, the team announced. The Nets also said they promoted Ryan Gisriel to director of basketball administration. Gisriel has served the team as an intern, special projects coordinator and as assistant to the GM since his hiring in 2013.
- John Wall has undergone procedures on both knees, but he’s expected to be ready for the start of next season, the Wizards announced.
Kings To Interview Nate McMillan
MAY 5TH, 11:09am: The interview will take place today or Friday, tweets Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star.
MAY 2ND, 8:20am: McMillan will interview soon, tweets Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. The Pacers are out of the playoffs following Sunday’s Game 7 loss to the Raptors, and uncertainty surrounds the job status of Pacers head coach Frank Vogel.
APRIL 28TH, 10:04pm: The Kings have asked the Pacers for permission to interview assistant coach Nate McMillan for the head coaching job in Sacramento, sources tell Vincent Goodwill of CSN Chicago (Twitter link). Sacramento reportedly hopes to make a hire sometime next week, but Goodwill indicates the Kings are willing to wait until Indiana’s playoff run is over to conduct the interview. The Pacers face an elimination game Friday against the Raptors.
Sacramento isn’t alone in its admiration for the former SuperSonics and Trail Blazers head coach, as Knicks team president Phil Jackson respects his “hard edge,” according to Marc Berman of the New York Post. It nonetheless doesn’t appear as though McMillan is a candidate for the Knicks job or any vacancy other than Sacramento’s at this point. Marc Stein of ESPN.com first identified the 51-year-old McMillan among those in the mix for the Kings opening.
McMillan is 478-452 in parts of a dozen seasons as an NBA head coach, with a 14-20 playoff record. He was last a head man for Portland, which fired him in March 2012.
The Kings have the NBA’s most well-populated list of reported candidates. They’ve interviewed Sam Mitchell, Vinny Del Negro and Mike Woodson and would like to do so with Luke Walton, Kevin McHale and Jeff Hornacek, according to various reports. Mark Jackson, Brian Shaw, Ettore Messina, Ime Udoka, Monty Williams, Jeff Van Gundy, Patrick Ewing, David Blatt, Jay Larranaga, Elston Turner and Henry Bibby are the other apparent candidates.
Coaching Rumors: Rockets, Lakers, Pacers
The major story on the coaching front is that the Pacers have parted ways with Frank Vogel, as we covered in detail here, but plenty more news is developing. Track the latest here:
- Lionel Hollins is among the coaches in whom the Rockets have expressed interest, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle, who writes in a piece examining Vogel’s candidacy for the job.
9:31am updates:
- Mike D’Antoni has already interviewed for the Rockets head coaching job, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com, advancing an earlier report that he would do so this week.
- TNT broadcaster Kenny Smith, whom Stein heard may interview for the Rockets vacancy, said on “Inside the NBA” Wednesday that he’d like to coach under the right circumstances but made it clear that he enjoys his television job, as Stein relays.
- The Rockets are focused on proven NBA head coaches and up-and-coming assistants, sources emphasized Wednesday as they spoke with Stein. That casts doubt on the viability of Smith and college coaches Shaka Smart and Bill Self, who also reportedly intrigue the Rockets.
- It became apparent to former Rockets interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff that the team wouldn’t formally make him its head coach, and that’s what prompted him to withdraw from consideration for the post, Stein also writes.
- Incoming Lakers head coach Luke Walton counts Brian Shaw among the assistant coaching candidates for his staff, but executive Jim Buss was opposed to Shaw as a head-coaching option and many around the league are skeptical that Buss wants a Phil Jackson disciple like Shaw around, writes Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. Shaw served as a Lakers assistant under Jackson.
- Belief around the league is rising that the Pacers will let go of Vogel, Stein writes. President of basketball operations Larry Bird has a press conference scheduled for 10am Central today, and it appears likely he’ll lend clarity to Vogel’s future at that time. The coach’s contract with the Pacers has already expired, as Wojnarowski indicates, citing league sources. Many coaching contracts carry until the end of June, as player contracts do, but apparently that’s not the case with Vogel, who made approximately $2.5MM this past season, according to Wojnarowski. The Vertical scribe speculates that Vogel could double that annual salary in his next job. Bird had yet to speak with Vogel about a new contract as of late Wednesday, league sources told Wojnarowski.
Pacers Dismiss Frank Vogel
The Pacers are letting go of coach Frank Vogel, as president of basketball operations Larry Bird revealed in a press conference streamed via the team’s website. Vogel’s contract had already expired, as The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski first reported and as Bird confirmed, saying he wouldn’t give him a new deal.
“I’ve decided that it’s time for a new voice around here,” Bird said, as the team’s Twitter account relays (Twitter link). “… This is one of the toughest things I’ve done.”
Bird said he won’t replace Vogel with Kevin McHale, his former teammate and the subject of much speculation as a candidate for the Pacers coaching job. McHale earlier withdrew from the running as a candidate for the Kings job, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported.
“I would not do that to Kevin, to have him work for me,” Bird said, as TNT’s David Aldridge relays via Twitter. “That’s not fair. I respect him too much.”
Bird reiterated that he wants more scoring and that his expectations for the Pacers this season were higher than most, The Vertical’s Chris Mannix notes (Twitter link). It appeared a philosophical difference had emerged earlier this season when Bird spoke of his desire for more of an up-tempo attack and Vogel’s fondness for a traditional lineup with two big men. Bird said today that he started thinking about making a coaching change around the All-Star break but felt Vogel deserved a chance to finish the season, Aldridge tweets. Vogel tried to talk Bird out of parting ways with him this morning, Bird said, as Mannix relays (Twitter link), though Bird added that he didn’t meet with Vogel face-to-face, only speaking to him on the phone.
“We’re Hoosiers, we treat people — other than today, we usually treat people pretty good,” Bird said, as Aldridge relays (on Twitter).
Vogel would get a positive recommendation from Bird, the executive said, indicating that he simply believes coaches have a limited shelf life with any team, as Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star and Mannix note (Twitter links). However, Bird said he doesn’t believe Vogel lost the locker room, Mannix adds.
The Pacers went 250-181 in parts of six seasons under Vogel, who inherited the head coaching job, his first in the NBA, when the Pacers fired Jim O’Brien in January 2011. That record doesn’t include Vogel’s 31-30 postseason mark. Indiana made back-to-back conference finals under Vogel’s watch in 2013 and 2014. The Rockets have reportedly wanted to interview him, just as they did before they hired McHale in 2011, and opportunities are available on the Knicks and Kings, too.
Top Target McHale Pulls Out Of Race For Kings Job
The Kings made Kevin McHale their top target as they seek a new coach, as Zach Lowe of ESPN.com hears (Twitter link), but McHale has withdrawn his candidacy, league sources told Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The ex-Rockets coach had reportedly had extensive discussions with Sacramento about the opening, if not a formal interview, though doubt about his willingness to ultimately take the position has existed for weeks.
McHale’s withdrawal comes shortly before a 10am Central time press conference that Pacers president of basketball operations Larry Bird has scheduled. Coach Frank Vogel‘s job is in jeopardy, and belief around the league is rising that the Pacers will let him go, Stein writes. McHale and Bird were Celtics teammates from 1980-92.
Sacramento also reportedly had interest in Tom Thibodeau, Scott Brooks, Kenny Atkinson and Luke Walton, but all have since taken head coaching jobs with other teams. Still no shortage of Kings candidates remain. Sam Mitchell, Vinny Del Negro and Mike Woodson have already interviewed, according to earlier reports. The same appears to be true of David Blatt and Mark Jackson. The team reportedly has plans to interview Ettore Messina, James Borrego, Henry Bibby, Patrick Ewing, Mark Jackson, Nate McMillan, Jeff Hornacek and Corliss Williamson.
Sacramento has reportedly received permission from the Grizzlies to interview assistant Elston Turner, but USA Today’s Sam Amick reported Monday that he’s a candidate to serve as lead assistant for the Kings, casting doubt on the idea that he’s in the running for the head coaching job. Jay Larranaga, Brian Shaw, Ime Udoka, Jeff Van Gundy and Monty Williams are the other reported head coaching candidates for Sacramento.
And-Ones: Bargnani, Jersey Ads, Burton
Former Nets power forward Andrea Bargnani, who was waived in February as part of a buyout arrangement, took to his personal Facebook page to explain the reason he wanted out of Brooklyn (translation via Orazio Cauchi of Sportando). The veteran claims he was promised more minutes than he was seeing by the team prior to inking his deal, and since he wasn’t receiving the playing time he was promised, it made more sense to part ways with the club than remain unhappy. Bargnani also added that he wanted to sign with a Euroleague club after securing his release from the Nets, but there wasn’t enough time to get a deal done. The 30-year-old former No. 1 overall pick made 46 appearances for Brooklyn this season, notching averages of 6.6 points and 2.1 rebounds in 13.8 minutes per outing.
Here’s more from around the league:
- As the NBA moves ever closer to the reality of paid advertisements on team uniforms, the league has informed franchises that any ads promoting alcohol, tobacco, gambling, politics, or from media companies and Nike competitors are prohibited, Darren Rovell of ESPN.com relays (Twitter link).
- Cavs forward LeBron James is itching to square off against the Heat and his friend and former teammate Dwyane Wade in the Eastern Conference finals, Jason Lloyd of The Akron Beacon Journal writes. When asked if he wanted to play Miami if the Cavs advance past Atlanta, James responded, “Naturally, of course. That’s since I came back [to Cleveland]. It’d be great to play against those guys in the postseason. Throughout my whole career, I’ve always wanted to go against Wade in a playoff series. We’ve always talked about it even before we became teammates in ’10. It’s not been heavy on my mind, but it’s crossed my mind throughout my whole career.”
- Iowa State junior guard Deonte Burton intends to withdraw from the 2016 NBA draft and return to school for his senior campaign, Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com reports (via Twitter). Burton is the No. 31 ranked junior in his class according to Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.
Latest On Rockets Coaching Search
9:46pm: The Rockets are intrigued by college coaches Shaka Smart (Texas) and Bill Self (Kansas), and also may seek to interview former Rocket and current broadcaster Kenny Smith, Stein relays (Twitter links).
9:08pm: Sixers associate head coach Mike D’Antoni will interview for the vacant post this week, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (Twitter links). Houston will also desire an interview with Frank Vogel if he is let go by the Pacers, Stein adds.
8:00pm: Rockets interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff has withdrawn from consideration for the team’s head coaching position after meeting with team ownership and front office personnel on Monday, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports. Other NBA teams have now begun reaching out to Bickerstaff about available lead assistant positions, which is what he is now focusing on, the Vertical scribe adds, though Wojnarowski makes no mention of which teams have been in contact with the coach.
Houston intends to conduct a wide-ranging search for its next head coach, Wojnarowski relays. GM Daryl Morey and team owner Les Alexander met with Bickerstaff on Monday, as well as with Clippers assistant coach Sam Cassell and Rockets assistant Chris Finch, league sources informed Wojnarowski. The Rockets are trying to arrange interviews with Jeff Hornacek and Hornets assistant Stephen Silas, league sources told Wojnarowski. The franchise also reportedly plans to interview former Cavs coach David Blatt, though reports peg former Rockets and Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy as the front-runner for the vacant post.
Bickerstaff posted a mark of 37-34 after taking over for the fired Kevin McHale, who got off to a 4-7 start to the campaign. Houston indicated that Bickerstaff would receive consideration to have his interim tag removed, but apparently guiding the team to the playoffs wasn’t enough to sell ownership on him as a viable long-term option.
2015/16 D-League Usage Report: Pistons
The NBA’s relationship with the D-League continues to grow, and this season a total of 19 NBA teams had one-to-one affiliations with D-League clubs. Those NBA organizations without their own affiliates were required to assign players to D-League clubs associated with other NBA franchises. D-League teams could volunteer to take on the assigned players, and if no volunteers emerged, the players were assigned at random.
This significant change from the 2014/15 season came about after the Pacers purchased the Fort Wayne Mad Ants and turned them into their one-to-one partner for the 2015/16 campaign. Other NBA teams have interest in following suit in the years ahead, and the NBA’s ultimate goal for the D-League is for all 30 NBA franchises to have their own D-League squads. You can view the complete list of D-League affiliates here.
We at Hoops Rumors are recapping the D-League-related activity for the 2015/16 campaign for each team, and we’ll continue with the Detroit Pistons, whose D-League affiliate is the Grand Rapids Drive:
The Pistons made 18 assignments for the 2015/16 campaign, sending four players to the D-League for a total of 42 days. Listed below are all the assignments and recalls made by Detroit for the 2015/16 season:
- December 5th: Assigned Spencer Dinwiddie (1st) — Recalled December 6th
- December 5th: Assigned Darrun Hilliard (1st) — Recalled December 6th
- December 6th: Assigned Spencer Dinwiddie (2nd) — Recalled December 9th
- December 6th: Assigned Darrun Hilliard (2nd) — Recalled December 9th
- December 13th: Assigned Spencer Dinwiddie (3rd) — Recalled December 14th
- December 13th: Assigned Darrun Hilliard (3rd) — Recalled December 14th
- December 17th: Assigned Brandon Jennings (1st) — Recalled December 21st
- December 19th: Assigned Darrun Hilliard (4th) — Recalled December 21st
- December 19th: Assigned Reggie Bullock (1st) — Recalled December 21st
- January 7th: Assigned Spencer Dinwiddie (4th) — Recalled February 9th
Grand Rapids also had one player assigned to it from another NBA franchise via the flexible assignment rule:
- The Clippers sent Branden Dawson (two assignments, 48 days).
Here is how the Pistons’ players performed while on assignment to the D-League this season:
- Reggie Bullock: In one D-League appearance, the swingman scored 29 points, grabbed five rebounds and dished out five assists while shooting 83.3% from the field.
- Spencer Dinwiddie: The combo guard appeared in 13 D-League contests and averaged 14.7 points, 3.5 rebounds and 6.0 assists to accompany a shooting line of .421/.340/.869.
- Darrun Hilliard: The shooting guard made three D-League appearances and compiled averages of 25.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists to go along with a slash line of .490/.440/.800.
- Brandon Jennings: The point guard made one D-League appearance and scored 11 points, snagged three rebounds and issued 11 dimes while connecting on 44.4% of his field goal attempts.