And-Ones: Huestis, D-League, Nets, Dunn
The fact that the Greensboro Swarm, the Hornets‘ new D-League affiliate, selected the rights to Josh Huestis in Wednesday’s D-League expansion draft raised some eyebrows, since the former first-round pick is currently on the Thunder‘s NBA roster. However, as Erik Horne of The Oklahoman explains, the Thunder can still assign Huestis to their D-League affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blue, as long as Huestis remains on the NBA roster. If OKC waived Huestis, the team would also surrender his D-League rights, with the Swarm getting first dibs.
Let’s check in on a few other notes from around the league, including more on yesterday’s D-League expansion draft…
- Adam Johnson of D-League Digest offers up a few more details on the D-League expansion draft, noting that most players selected won’t end up playing for the teams that drafted them. Still, Kiwi Gardner – selected in the second round by the Windy City Bulls – is expected to play for Chicago’s D-League affiliate this season, his agent tells Johnson.
- The Nets clearly value rookie guard Isaiah Whitehead very highly, writes Net Income of NetsDaily. As we noted earlier today, Brooklyn paid $3MM to move up on draft night to nab Whitehead, who was ranked 18th in the team’s 2016 mock draft, per NetsDaily.
- Kris Dunn was linked to several teams leading up to – and during – draft night, including a couple clubs that had interest in trading for him. Ultimately, the rookie point guard landed in Minnesota, and he tells Larry Berger of USA Today Sports (video link) that the Timberwolves are a “beautiful organization.”
Details On Cash Used In 2016 Draft Trades
As our list of 2016 offseason trades shows, five of the deals agreed upon on draft night this year featured one team sending cash to the other. The NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement allows clubs to include cash payments, but only up to a certain amount.
In the 2016/17 league year, teams are allowed to receive a total of $3.5MM in trades, and can also send out $3.5MM in trades. Those limits are separate, so a team that sends $3.5MM in a deal and then later receives $3.5MM doesn’t get a fresh, new slate — that club is capped out for the league year. In 2014/15, the limit for cash sent and received in trades was $3.4MM.
Since the league year ends on June 30, teams that hadn’t taken advantage of those cash allowances earlier in the season will often use remaining cash during the draft to move up or to snag an extra pick. Many of the cash details on those draft-day deals for 2016 were previously reported. For instance, we already knew about the following payments:
- Warriors sent $2.4MM to Bucks to acquire No. 38 overall pick (Patrick McCaw).
- Trail Blazers sent $1.2MM (and a 2019 second-round pick) to Magic to acquire No. 47 overall pick (Jake Layman).
- Cavaliers sent approximately $2.5MM to Hawks to acquire No. 54 overall pick (Kay Felder).
Based on those numbers, it appears the Warriors got a much better deal from the Bucks than the Cavaliers did from the Hawks. Of course, if the Cavs badly wanted Felder, the cost to move into the draft was hardly exorbitant — Atlanta likely asked the Cavs for the maximum amount of money they could send, since Cleveland used over $900K in a separate trade earlier in the year.
In addition to those three swaps, two other draft-night deals featured money changing hands, and Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders has the details on those payments, along with several others from the 2015/16 league year. According to Pincus, these are the details on the other two draft trades involving cash:
- Nets sent $3MM (and the No. 55 overall pick) to Jazz to acquire No. 42 overall pick (Isaiah Whitehead).
- Thunder sent $730K to Nuggets to acquire No. 56 overall pick (Daniel Hamilton).
Once again, one of these deals looks far more favorable than the other, with the Thunder paying a fraction of what the Nets did for a second-round pick. But again, the available players and interested teams essentially set the market for these cash payments.
In the case of the Nets/Jazz deal, Brooklyn clearly wanted to make sure not to miss out on Whitehead, and the team was willing to pay a relatively significant amount to secure him. The Thunder, meanwhile, offered all their available remaining cash to the Nuggets for the 56th pick, and Denver likely had no better offer and no player targeted at that spot — so the Nuggets took what they could get.
Be sure to check out Pincus’ piece at Basketball Insiders for more thorough details of how teams spent and received cash in trades during the 2015/16 league year.
Mario Chalmers Cleared To Get Back On Court
Veteran point guard Mario Chalmers has been medically cleared to get back on the court, he announced today (via Twitter). Chalmers ruptured his right Achilles tendon about five and a half months ago, sidelining him for the end of the 2015/16 season and the postseason.
Chalmers’ contract was set to expire this summer, though he ended up hitting the open market a little early, as the Grizzlies waived him in the wake of his season-ending injury. The 30-year-old’s stock has undoubtedly been hurt this summer by his health status, as major Achilles injuries aren’t easy to come back from. Chalmers remains unsigned for now, but now that he’s been cleared to return to the court, interest could pick up a little.
Even though he missed the final month of the season, Chalmers played more NBA minutes in 2015/16 than all but three other current free agents. In 61 total games with the Heat and Grizzlies, the former Kansas standout averaged a career-high 10.3 PPG to go along with 3.8 APG and 1.4 SPG.
While Chalmers has gotten the go-ahead to get back on the court, it remains to be seen how long it will take him to get back to full health after such a significant injury. Teams interested in signing the point guard will likely exercise patience rather than rushing to add him to their roster immediately.
Extension Candidate: Steven Adams
The Thunder locked up their top extension candidate of the offseason earlier this month, when they inked Russell Westbrook to a new three-year deal that will keep him under team control though at least the 2017/18 season. Still, even after extending Westbrook, the Thunder have more candidates for new deals than virtually any other team in the NBA.
Arthur Hill of Hoops Rumors recently examined the case for a new contract for Victor Oladipo, who arrived in Oklahoma City as a part of the Serge Ibaka trade and is entering the final year of his rookie deal. Like Oladipo, Andre Roberson is also extension-eligible for the first time this offseason, as his rookie contract nears its end. With Kevin Durant no longer a member of the Thunder, the team figures to rely on Oladipo and Roberson to take on larger roles in the short term than they otherwise would have, and may be counting on them to be long-term pieces as well.
[RELATED: Players eligible for rookie-scale extensions]
With Westbrook locked up though, the title of the Thunder’s most important extension candidate now belongs to Steven Adams. A former lottery pick, Adams single-handedly salvaged the James Harden trade for Oklahoma City, and has evolved into one of the NBA’s more steady and reliable centers.
In 2015/16, Adams averaged a modest 8.0 PPG to go along with 6.7 RPG, 1.1 BPG, and a .613 FG%. Those numbers aren’t eye-popping, and his career .551 FT% is a cause for some concern. However, Adams’ showing in the postseason provided a better picture of his importance to the Thunder. In 18 playoff games, the New Zealand native saw his minutes per game increase from 25.2 to 30.7, and he nearly averaged a double-double in those contests, with 10.1 PPG and 9.5 RPG.
Durant’s departure means that there will be a few more shots to go around on offense, and the loss of Ibaka will put more pressure on the Thunder’s remaining interior defenders, so the franchise may be expecting a major step forward from Adams on both ends of the floor. The former University of Pittsburgh standout just turned 23 last month, so his best years should still be ahead of him, and he’s in a great position to have a breakout season in 2016/17. Which raises the question: Should the Thunder lock him up now to avoid having him reach restricted free agency next summer?
To answer that question, it’s worth considering what an extension for Adams would cost. A huge 2016/17 season would certainly make him a lock for a maximum-salary deal next July, but given the jump the salary cap took this year, and the free agent prices we saw last month, Adams may not even need to take a significant step forward this season to be worth the max — that may already be his price, given how valuable young rim protectors are. With so many teams opening up significant chunks of cap room every summer, Adams likely wouldn’t have any trouble finding a max offer next year.
If the Thunder assume it will take a max deal to lock up Adams, there are plenty of arguments for waiting until next summer to complete an extension. First and foremost, the former 12th overall pick would have a cap hold worth just below $8MM as a restricted free agent. As we saw with the Pistons and Andre Drummond – as well as the Wizards and Bradley Beal – keeping an RFA’s cap hold on the books for a little while, having already agreed to a max deal with that player, allows a team to maintain significant cap flexibility and pursue other free agents.
The NBA’s most recent salary cap projection for 2017/18, which is probably a little on the cautious side, would result in a max salary for Adams starting at around $24MM. In other words, Oklahoma City would give up $16MM+ in potential salary cap space at the start of free agency by extending Adams this offseason rather than waiting until next summer to make things official.
[RELATED: NBA’s 2017/18 salary cap projection dips to $102MM]
For a team that has aspirations of pursuing a major free agent such as Oklahoma native Blake Griffin, that extra cap room could be a huge factor. Depending on how optimistic the Thunder are about landing a big-time free agent, the team could hold off on new deals for Adams, Oladipo, and Roberson in order to maximize 2017’s cap flexibility. Waiting on extensions would also alleviate some risk for the team — OKC wouldn’t want to see a newly-extended player suffer a major injury or take a huge step backward in 2016/17, before that new deal even goes into effect.
Of course, as much as it might make sense from a roster-building perspective for the Thunder to wait until July to lock up Adams, the team must also be cognizant of how things transpired this summer with Durant. Adams would be a restricted free agent in 2017, so the Thunder wouldn’t risk losing him to a rival suitor as long as they’re willing to offer the max. But Durant’s departure means the franchise may want to redouble its efforts to make its own core players feel secure.
Westbrook’s extension, which gave him a pay increase of about $9MM for the coming season, was a solid start. Getting something done with Adams before they have to do anything might be the next step for the Thunder. It would be a show of good faith for a player who is extremely important to the franchise, and perhaps it would pay dividends down the road — Adams or another star player might factor the club’s willingness to take care of its own into a future free agent decision. And if Adams is willing to compromise by taking a slight hometown discount this fall, that’s all the more reason for OKC to work something out sooner rather than later.
Barring a significant change of direction for the franchise, there’s little doubt that Adams will remain with the Thunder beyond this season, and he’ll likely stick with the team for a few more years. But when and how the two sides finalize his next contract will be fascinating to watch. Signing Adams to a big-money extension this offseason would severely limit the Thunder’s ability to be major players in next summer’s free agency, barring an Enes Kanter trade. But for a team that just lost the longtime face of its franchise, locking up core players sooner rather than later could be a stronger priority than usual this fall.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Free Agent Notes: N. Robinson, S. Jackson, Cole
Earlier today, we passed along comments from Jason Terry on his free agency process and the teams he considered before landing with the Bucks. While Terry eventually found a new home, another veteran guard is still looking for a place to play.
In a separate conversation on SiriusXM NBA Radio (Twitter link), Nate Robinson told Terry that he wishes NBA teams would give him a fair shot at earning a roster spot and making a comeback. Last month, we heard that Robinson wasn’t receiving much interest around the league, in part because teams were turned off by his previously-stated interest in joining the NFL.
Here are a few more free agent notes from across the NBA:
- Stephen Jackson, another longtime NBA veteran attempting to make an NBA comeback, also appeared on SiriusXM NBA Radio this week (SoundCloud link). Jackson suggested he has “a good two years left” and named the Knicks, Bulls, and Pelicans as a few teams that would interest him. “I’m not one of those guys chasing the ring,” Jackson said. “I have one, so I’m really not one of those guys that’s looking to be a part of a championship team and try to steal a ring and not really earn it. … I just want to play basketball and do what I love to do.”
- According to Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News (Twitter link), free agent guard Norris Cole, who has been represented by Rich Paul for the last two years, has a new agent. The Timberwolves received a call from Cole’s new rep this week and didn’t completely dismiss the idea of signing him, but there’s nothing close right now, says Wolfson. Minnesota already has three point guards with guaranteed salaries on the roster, and yesterday added two more veterans to compete in camp.
- John Wall, who underwent two offseason knee procedures, isn’t a lock to be ready by opening night, prompting Ben Standig of CSNMidAtlantic.com to wonder if the Wizards will explore adding more point guard depth to their roster. There are still several experienced point guards on the free agent market.
Jason Terry Talks Free Agency Process
Veteran guard Jason Terry recently inked a one-year contract with the Bucks, and while it’s only a minimum-salary deal, it’s fully guaranteed, which is something of a rarity at this point in the NBA offseason. In an interview on SiriusXM NBA Radio (SoundCloud link), Terry admitted that the free agency process can be tough at this late stage in his career (he’ll turn 39 next month). He also identified several of the teams he considered before landing in Milwaukee.
“I had a couple contenders that I was really seriously looking at. Two of them were in the Finals, so that tells you right there who they were,” Terry said, referring to the Cavaliers and Warriors. “I made a call to [Gregg Popovich]. San Antonio’s another one. They were my arch-enemy for eight years when I was in Dallas, but that’s another phone call — if they call, you pick up, there’s just no question about it. … I always thought about going back and trying to finish off where I started in Atlanta. I like what they did. And then I seriously considered Boston, though we did not have a conversation.”
Based on Terry’s comments, it’s not clear how many of those teams he reached out to, and how many reached out to him, so it’s possible that interest wasn’t mutual in all those scenarios. Terry also admitted that while he had some interest in the Lakers, that interest wasn’t reciprocated, since Los Angeles already had a good idea of what its 15-man roster would look like.
“I called my good friend Luke [Walton],” Terry said. “I told him if he needed any help — veteran leadership, in that capacity, with an ability to coach at the end of my deal, then that was something I would be looking forward to. He utterly declined, and I respect him for that.”
Although he’s not the scorer he was early in his career, Terry was still a solid contributor in Houston over the last two seasons, averaging 19.5 MPG in 149 regular-season contests, and averaging 6.5 PPG, 1.7 APG, and 0.8 SPG while shooting 37.5% on three-pointers. In both of his seasons with the Rockets, Terry received a bump in playing time during the postseason.
Southwest Notes: Moore, Dawson, Harden, Mavs
E’Twaun Moore, who was one of the first players to commit when free agency began July 1st, chose the Pelicans because he wanted a team where he could make a difference, relays Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. After being with three teams in his first five seasons, the combo guard now has the security of a four-year, $34MM contract with New Orleans. “I definitely wanted to play more minutes and make an impact, helping my team win,” Moore said. “And they’re a team that is, of course, going in a positive direction. They’re a team that’s trying to win. They have a good group of guys; they made the playoffs two years ago and I think they would have made it last year if it weren’t for all the injuries. I think we can get back into playoff contention and that’s another reason I signed.” Moore has a chance to compete for a starting job in the Pelicans’ backcourt with Eric Gordon gone to Houston.
There’s more tonight from the Southwest Division:
- Shawn Dawson understands the odds as he competes for a roster spot with the Pelicans, tweets Brett Dawson of The New Orleans Advocate. The Israeli swingman accepted a camp invitation from New Orleans earlier this month. “They explained the whole situation,” he said. “I know that it’s a tough situation to get a contract when there’s 15 guaranteed already, but things happen. I believe in myself and I feel they like me. I know that they like me.”
- After signing a $118MM extension with the Rockets this summer, James Harden has organized a players-only minicamp for next week, according to Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston. It’s the second year for the camp, and teammate Corey Brewer said it’s a sign that Harden has accepted the role of team leader. “He’s the franchise player,” Brewer said. “He signed the extension. So it’s his team, and he’s doing all the right things to do what we need to do to have a chance to win championships.”
- The Mavericks concentrated on youth during the offseason, notes The Vertical’s Bobby Marks. After age seemed to be a problem in the playoff loss to the Thunder, Dallas brought in Harrison Barnes [24], Seth Curry [25], Quincy Acy [25] and A.J. Hammons [23] to join Dwight Powell [25] and Justin Anderson [22].
Poll: 2008 NBA Draft Take Two (Pick No. 6)
Scouting players and predicting how their skills will translate to the NBA is one of the more difficult tasks front offices have on their plates. Looking back over past drafts and how many lottery picks never evolved into stars, or even made a significant impact in the league, illustrates just how often stats, combine numbers and pure gut instinct often come up short.
Of course, we get the opportunity to critique these moves with the benefit of hindsight — a luxury that GMs don’t have on draft night. Having said that, it’s still fun to go back in time and take a theoretical look at how these drafts should have/could have gone.
We recently finished revisiting the lottery portion of the 2005 NBA Draft, which was one of the weakest in recent memory. In drafts light on impact talent, the GM who can find a diamond in the rough is king. But drafts that have a number of star-potential players can also be difficult and many an executive has made what turned out to be the wrong call. Greg Oden over Kevin Durant immediately springs to mind (sorry Blazers fans), likewise taking Sam Bowie over Michael Jordan…ouch!
The 2008 draft, which is the one we’re tackling now, had a number of players who have gone on to post big numbers in the league. This was the year of Derrick Rose (No. 1 overall), Russell Westbrook (No. 4), Kevin Love (No. 5), Brook Lopez (No. 10) and Nicolas Batum (No. 25). Over the next few weeks, we’ll be posting a series of polls asking readers to vote on whom teams should have selected in each spot.
We’ll continue with the Knicks, who held the No. 6 overall pick that year. In the “real world” draft, New York fans rained down boos on Madison Square Garden when Danilo Gallinari was announced as the Knicks’ selection. He has gone on to a productive NBA career, though his best years have come in Denver, so this was one time where the scouts got it right.
So cast your vote for who the Knicks select and check back on Thursday to see the results and to vote on who the Clippers will nab seventh overall. Also, don’t limit yourself to a simple button click. Take to the comments section below and share your thoughts on the pick and why you voted the way that you did. Also, if I fail to list a player who you think should be selected, feel free to post that in the comments section and I’ll be certain to tally those votes as well.
- Bulls — Russell Westbrook [Actual Pick — Derrick Rose]
- Heat — Kevin Love [Actual Pick — Michael Beasley]
- Wolves — Derrick Rose [Actual Pick — O.J. Mayo]
- Sonics/Thunder — DeAndre Jordan [Actual Pick — Russell Westbrook]
- Grizzlies — Brook Lopez [Actual Pick — Kevin Love]
- Knicks — ? [Actual Pick — Danilo Gallinari]
If you’re a Trade Rumors app user, click here to vote.
Heat Plan To Keep Josh McRoberts
Josh McRoberts has been informed that the Heat intend to keep him for the upcoming season, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. The agent for the veteran power forward told Jackson that Miami officials recently called McRoberts to review his offseason training program and prepare him for the start of camp next month.
McRoberts has been the subject of trade rumors since early last season when Miami was trying to clear cap space to escape luxury tax penalties. More recently, there has been talk that McRoberts might be moved to clear up a shortage of minutes in the front court with the possible return of Chris Bosh, the re-signing of Udonis Haslem, the trade for Luke Babbitt and the free agency additions of Derrick Williams, James Johnson and Willie Reed.
Injuries have limited McRoberts’ effectiveness since he signed with the Heat in 2014. He played just 17 games in 2014/15 and 42 last season, when he averaged 3.6 points and 2.5 rebounds in a reserve role. McRoberts is set to make nearly $5.8MM in 2016/17 and holds a player option for a little more than $6MM for the following season.
Jackson notes that the Heat will have to get rid of someone with a fully guaranteed contract if they want to keep Briante Weber, whom they added in April. Weber signed for $874,636 next season, but only $218,659 is guaranteed if he is waived before opening night. Miami has 11 recently signed players who cannot be traded before December 15th.
Community Shootaround: Comebacks
Fans who want to watch Ray Allen, Ben Gordon, Stephen Jackson and Baron Davis play again may not have to wait for the NBA to bring back its Legends Game.
They are among several former stars who have stated that they want to return to the league, and they’re not even the most surprising names on the list. Derek Fisher, who already has a season and a half of coaching experience, is talking about playing again, as is Kwame Brown, who was the NBA’s top draft pick way back in 2001.
Maybe it’s the money or the lifestyle or the atmosphere in the locker room that they miss. Maybe they’re convinced they can still contribute something to a contending team or maybe they just want one last chance to build on their legacies. Or maybe they’re inspired by what Metta World Peace did a year ago.
The former Ron Artest seemed as much of a longshot to make an NBA roster as any of these other guys when he showed up in the Lakers’ training camp last September. He sat out all of 2014/15 and didn’t play much with the Knicks the season before that. But at age 35, he won a spot on L.A.’s roster with a partially guaranteed contract, then lasted the entire season to earn every penny of his $1,499,187 contract. Like the players mentioned above, World Peace hopes to be back in the league next season.
Are any of these other comebacks realistic? Let’s examine them case by case.
- Allen never announced his retirement; he just stopped playing after the 2014 NBA Finals. There have been rumors before that he was returning, but recent talks with the Celtics and Bucks show there is interest in the 41-year-old shooting guard, who holds the regular season and playoff records for most 3-pointers made.
- Gordon last played in 2014/15, when he appeared in 56 games as a reserve for the Magic. At age 33, he is considering overseas offers as he tries to work his was back into the NBA.
- Jackson, 38, has been out of the league for two seasons and only played nine games for the Clippers in 2013/14. Nevertheless, he said earlier this summer that he was talking to the Warriors about joining their training camp and recently claimed that Jimmy Butler and Rajon Rondo want him to come out of retirement and play for the Bulls.
- Davis has been away from the league since 2012 and has been on a highly publicized comeback trail for a couple of years. The 37-year-old spent time with the Delaware 87ers at the end of last season, but recently said he doesn’t want to pursue the D-League route again.
- After turning 42 earlier this month, Fisher is the oldest of the comeback candidates. The former Knicks head coach, who compiled a 40-96 record, will consider playing in China if he can’t find an interested NBA team.
- Brown’s last significant NBA job was 66 games with Charlotte in 2010/11, although he had brief stints with the Warriors and Sixers after that. At 34, Brown recently signed with a new agency and is also considering opportunities overseas.
That brings us to tonight’s question: Do you expect to see any of these players be in the NBA next season, and can any of them be productive at their current ages? Take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions on the topic. We look forward to what you have to say.