Hoops Links: Knicks, Celtics, Hawks
Every Sunday, we link to some of the very best work from around the basketball blogosphere. Do you have a link to a great basketball blog post – either your own or someone else’s – that you want to see featured on Hoops Rumors? Then you should send it to us at HoopsLinks@gmail.com. Here’s this week’s rundown …
- New York Sports Guys breaks down the Knicks’ free agency plan.
- Total Sports Live picks the winners and losers in this year’s draft.
- Big Three Sports compares salaries to previous and future seasons.
- Posting And Toasting notes that the Knicks’ medical staff has improved.
- Peachtree Hoops thinks the Hawks still have a lot of work to do with their roster.
- Orlando Pinstriped Post examines whether Nikola Vucevic fits with the Magic.
- CelticsBlog details Al Horford‘s role with the Celtics.
- Welcome to Loud City offers grades for Josh Huestis.
Please send submissions for Hoops Links to Zach at HoopsLinks@gmail.com.
Kings To Sign Garrett Temple
The Kings and shooting guard Garrett Temple have agreed on a three-year deal, Shams Charania of The Vertical reports. Sam Amick of USA Today Sports tweets that the deal is worth $24MM in total. The third year is a player option, Amick adds.
It became clear after the Wizards acquired Trey Burke that Washington had no plans to re-sign Temple, who is 30. Temple, however, did provide the Wizards with solid production. He averaged a career best 7.3 points per game in a career-high 43 starts. The move could end up being a shrewd one for the Kings. Temple is a solid reserve player with versatility, as James Ham of CSNBayArea.com tweets.
Temple earned the veteran minimum for the last two seasons. He is now obviously cashing in big, comparatively speaking. The Celtics, Nuggets, Kings, Pelicans and Hawks all reached out to Temple, according to J. Michael of CSNMidAtlantic.com.
And-Ones: Gasol, Ginobili, Barnes
The market for Pau Gasol appears to be around $18-22MM per year with the Raptors, Bulls, Blazers, Wolves and Spurs among the teams talking with him, according to Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com (ESPN Now link). Of those teams, the Wolves have made an “aggressive” two-year offer to reunite Gasol with his former coach Tom Thibodeau, Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated reports. It is unclear whether or not Gasol will wait for Kevin Durant to make a decision before pulling the trigger on his own move, Shelburne adds. The Blazers may have a two-year deal worth $40MM out there for Gasol, per Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
Here’s more news from around the league:
- Manu Ginobili, who announced he intends to play this season, plans to re-sign with the Spurs, but the two sides have yet to begin negotiations, Ginobili’s agent Herb Rudoy told Jeff McDonald of of the San Antonio Express-News. Rudoy has fielded calls from multiple teams gauging interest in his client since Ginobili’s announcement, McDonald reports. However, most teams strongly believe the veteran will reach a deal with the Spurs, McDonald adds.
- Matt Barnes has received interest from the Clippers, Kings, Mavs and Warriors, Shelburne reports.
- Derrick Williams‘ future with the Knicks is uncertain because New York could have only about $5MM in available cap space and Williams would likely be able to fetch a larger sum elsewhere, Ian Begley of ESPN.com relays.
Western Notes: Durant, Rondo, Crawford, Mack
Kevin Durant has concluded his meeting with the Heat, tweets David Aldridge of TNT. The session lasted about two hours, according to Manny Navarro of The Miami Herald (Twitter link). Durant plans to meet with representatives from the Thunder this afternoon before making his final decision. He also talked to the Warriors, Clippers, Spurs and Celtics this weekend, although L.A. is now out of the running.
There’s more news from the Western Conference:
- The Kings are “moving on” from free agent point guard Rajon Rondo, according to Aldridge (Twitter link). Aldridge says Sacramento is comfortable with Darren Collison as its starter and will seek a backup in free agency.
- The Sixers have made a “significant” offer to Clippers free agent combo guard Jamal Crawford, tweets Dan Woike of Orange County Register, and several other teams are interested. The reigning Sixth Man of the Year has been contacted by the Kings, Hawks, Nets, Mavericks, Celtics and others, according to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).
- The Jazz have to make a decision on point guard Shelvin Mack this week, tweets Jody Genessy of The Deseret News. Mack’s $2.4MM salary for next season will become fully guaranteed on Thursday. Mack became the starter in Utah after a midseason trade from Atlanta and averaged 12.7 points and 5.3 assists in 28 games. The Jazz are trading backup point guard Trey Burke to the Wizards.
- The Timberwolves are interested in Jordan Hill, but Pau Gasol remains their top priority in free agency, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News.
Manu Ginobili To Play Next Season
San Antonio’s Manu Ginobili has announced his intention to play next season, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Ginobili tweeted the announcement today on his personal blog.
Ginoibili declined a player option with the Spurs last month, making him a free agent. That option would have paid him $2.94MM for next season, but there’s a chance he can earn more on the open market.
The 38-year-old has been with San Antonio for his entire 14-year NBA career. He appeared in 58 games this season, all as a reserve, and averaged 9.6 points in 19.6 minutes.
Andrew Nicholson To Sign With Wizards
Andrew Nicholson will sign a four-year, $26MM deal with the Wizards, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. He will have a player option on his final season, tweets Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today.
The 26-year-old power forward became an unrestricted free agent this week when the Magic elected not to submit a qualifying offer. He spent four years in Orlando and averaged 6.9 points and 3.6 rebounds in 56 games this season.
The Wizards are in need of big men, entering free agency with only center Marcin Gortat and power forward Markieff Morris signed for next season. They reached an agreement with Pacers center Ian Mahinmi on Saturday.
Celtics Notes: Johnson, Horford, Durant, Butler
The Celtics have told Amir Johnson they will pick up his option unless they issue two maximum contracts, according to Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. Johnson, who signed with the Celtics last summer, would make $12MM next season if Boston does pick up his option. The Celtics have until Thursday to make a decision on the 29-year-old power forward, who started 76 games this season, averaging 7.3 points and 6.4 rebounds.
There’s more this morning out of Boston:
- The commitment by Al Horford Saturday night has started dreams of a new Big Three in Boston, Deveney writes in the same piece. The Celtics are hoping Kevin Durant may be more inclined to join a franchise that now has two All-Stars on its roster in Horford and Isaiah Thomas, along with the stability of coach Brad Stevens and GM Danny Ainge, who both received contract extensions last month. The Celtics are coming off a 48-win season and have a collection of young players and draft picks that they can use to acquire more veteran help.
- The Celtics contingent was on a plane Saturday night and ready to leave New York when it learned the news about Horford, writes Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. Horford agreed to a four-year, $113MM max offer, with the fourth year reportedly a player option. He will be able to sign when the moratorium ends on Thursday. “Ever since Boston, Danny Ainge and the whole organization began to show interest in him, that opened his eyes,” said Horford’s father, Tito, who said the decision came down to the Celtics or Hawks. “He always had a good feel about Boston.”
- The Horford signing takes away the sting of not being able to complete a deal for Jimmy Butler on draft night, states Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. Washburn writes that the Bulls wanted two first-round picks and a package of veterans to part with Butler. Both Thomas and Jae Crowder reached out to Horford during the recruiting process, selling him on the merits of living in Boston.
Clippers Out Of Durant Race
The Clippers have been informed that Kevin Durant will not be joining the team, tweets Ben Bolch of The Los Angeles Times. That brings the list of suitors down to four franchises — the Warriors, Celtics, Spurs and Heat — who are trying to pry him away from the Thunder.
L.A.’s contingent met with Durant on Friday and he was reportedly “blown away” by their presentation. However, the Clippers used up a large amount of their cap room Saturday night, possibly already knowing Durant was beyond their reach, by giving a three-year, $35.7MM deal to Austin Rivers.
Durant has been meeting with interested teams all weekend and plans to make a decision today or Monday.
2016 NBA Free Agency: July 2 Recap
The second day of the NBA’s free agent period wasn’t quite as hectic as the first, but there was still plenty of action, with another 15 players reaching agreements with teams on new contracts.
In case you weren’t able to follow along with our updates throughout the second day of free agency, a recap of the day’s highlights can be found below. Going forward, be sure to keep tabs on our free agent tracker for all the latest updates on contract agreements for free agents.
Contract agreements:
- Al Horford, C (Celtics): Four years, max salary
- Ryan Anderson, F (Rockets): Four years, $80MM
- Bismack Biyombo, C (Magic): Four years, $72MM
- Luol Deng, F (Lakers): Four years, $72MM
- Eric Gordon, G (Rockets): Four years, $53MM
- Ian Mahinmi, C (Wizards): Four years, $64MM
- Marvin Williams, F (Hornets): Four years, $54.5MM
- Courtney Lee, G (Knicks): Four years, $48MM
- Jon Leuer, F (Pistons): Four years, $42MM
- Austin Rivers, G (Clippers): Three years, $35.7MM
- Arron Afflalo, G (Kings): Two years, $25MM
- Joe Johnson, G/F (Jazz): Two years, $22MM
- Trevor Booker, F (Nets): Two years, $18MM
- Wesley Johnson, G/F (Clippers): Three years, $18MM
- Anthony Tolliver, F (Kings): Two years, $16MM
Other notable news/rumors:
- Kevin Durant expects to make a decision within the next day or two. After hearing pitches from the Thunder, Warriors, Clippers, Celtics, and Spurs, he’ll meet with the Heat on Sunday, and possibly OKC again after that. The Clippers have reportedly been informed they’re no longer in the running.
- The Mavericks intend to put a four-year, maximum-salary offer sheet on the table for Harrison Barnes when the moratorium ends.
- The NBA announced that the salary cap for the 2016/17 season has been set at $94.143MM.
- The Pacers continue to talk to the Kings about a possible Rudy Gay trade.
- The Mavericks are nearing an agreement with Dwight Powell.
- No. 1 overall pick Ben Simmons has signed his rookie contract with the Sixers.
Previously:
NBA Taxpaying Teams For 2015/16
With the salary cap set for the new league year, the NBA has finalized its luxury-tax calculations for the 2015/16 season, and the champion Cavaliers will be on the hook for a hefty bill. According to ESPN’s Marc Stein, owner Dan Gilbert and the Cavs, having spent well beyond the luxury-tax threshold last season, owe a tax payment of $54MM.
Here’s the complete list of taxpaying teams for the 2015/16 season, per Stein:
- Cleveland Cavaliers: $54MM
- Los Angeles Clippers: $19.9MM
- Golden State Warriors: $14.8MM
- Oklahoma City Thunder $14.5MM
- Houston Rockets: $4.9MM
- San Antonio Spurs: $4.9MM
- Chicago Bulls: $4.2MM
The tax payments owed by those seven teams total nearly $120MM, and according to Stein, half of that money will be used to fund the NBA’s revenue-sharing program. The other half will be split up equally among the league’s 23 non-taxpaying teams, with each franchise receiving about $2.5MM.
On the other end of the spectrum, the Trail Blazers and Magic were the only teams to fall short of the $63MM floor, per Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). They’ll have to make up the difference by cutting checks to the players who finished the season on their respective rosters.