Pacers Notes: Turner, Bird, Scouting
Having Nate McMillan as his head coach should accelerate the development of Pacers big man Myles Turner, states Ric Bucher of Bleacher Report. In a video interview, Bucher names Turner as one of the NBA’s young players to watch for next season, and part of the reason is the addition of McMillan, who was hired in May to replace Frank Vogel. Bucher notes that Turner has many qualities similar to LaMarcus Aldridge, whom McMillan helped to develop into an All-Star as head coach of the Trail Blazers nearly a decade ago. Bucher believes Turner will also benefit from an upgrade at point guard, where Jeff Teague was picked up in a trade with the Hawks to replace George Hill. The 20-year-old Turner averaged 10.3 points and 5.5 rebounds in 60 games last season.
There’s more news out of Indiana:
- After an offseason spent acquiring offense, the Pacers must prove they can be successful with their new approach, writes Lang Greene of Basketball Insiders. For about 20 years, Indiana has been a physical, defensive-minded team that won with hard-working overachievers, Greene notes. But team president Larry Bird decided he wanted to build a better offense, which is why Vogel was let go. Bird followed up that move by dealing for Teague and power forward Thaddeus Young, then signing center Al Jefferson to a three-year, $30MM deal in free agency. Teamed with Paul George and Monta Ellis, the Pacers can now put scorers on the floor at every position.
- The Pacers have named José Luis Galilea as their new overseas talent evaluator, according to Scott Agness of Vigilant Sports. He replaces Pete Philo, who left the organization in May. Indiana now has eight full-time scouts and 11 overall.
Contract Details: E. Williams, Christon, Paige
We’ve already published one contract details round-up today, passing along some specifics on deals for Jason Terry (Bucks), Joel Bolomboy (Jazz), and Yi Jianlian (Lakers). However, several more details on recently-signed contracts have surfaced since then, so let’s dive in and round up the newest updates…
- As expected, the one-year deal signed by Elliot Williams with the Warriors earlier this month is a minimum-salary pact. The contract was initially reported as having a “strong” partial guarantee — the amount of that guarantee is $250K, per Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (via Twitter). If Williams earns a spot on Golden State’s opening-night roster, his full salary will become guaranteed.
- Draft-and-stash signee Semaj Christon got a three-year, minimum-salary deal from the Thunder, according to Pincus (via Twitter). Christon’s 2016/17 salary is guaranteed for $200K, so he’s no lock to make the roster, particularly since Oklahoma City already has 15 players on fully guaranteed contracts.
- D.J. Kennedy‘s three-year contract with the Nuggets is a minimum-salary pact that features a modest $50K guarantee in year one, tweets Pincus.
- The Celtics‘ deal with Marcus Georges-Hunt is a one-year, minimum-salary contract that includes a $25K guarantee, says Pincus (via Twitter). Despite the guarantee, Georges-Hunt is a long shot to make Boston’s regular-season roster.
- By re-signing with the Grizzlies, Tony Wroten received a $25K guarantee and a second non-guaranteed year, tweets Pincus. Wroten’s previous contract included several guarantee dates, but those have been removed — the point guard will get his full 2016/17 salary if he remains under contract through January 10.
- According to Bobby Marks of The Vertical, Marcus Paige‘s new deal with the Jazz is a two-year, minimum-salary pact with $125K guaranteed in year one.
Lakers Re-Sign Tarik Black
AUGUST 24: More than a month and a half after agreeing to terms with Black, the Lakers have officially re-signed him, the team announced today in a press release. The delay was a result of the Lakers using all their cap room before going over the cap to sign Black using the Early Bird exception.
“Tarik is a player whose strengths are well-suited for the style of play we envision for our team going forward,” Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak said in a statement. “He plays the game with a mix of athleticism, energy, and physicality that make him a valuable frontcourt contributor in today’s NBA.”
JULY 4: The Lakers have reached an agreement on a new deal for restricted free agent center Tarik Black, reports Shams Charania of The Vertical (via Twitter). According to Charania, the two sides agreed to a two-year, $12.85MM pact. Within his full report on the agreement, Charania writes that Black’s new deal will feature a trade kicker and won’t be fully guaranteed in the second year.
[RELATED: Lakers, Timofey Mozgov agree to four-year deal]
A former undrafted free agent, Black made his NBA debut with the Rockets during the 2014/15 season, appearing in 25 games (12 starts) for Houston before being cut. The Lakers nabbed Black off waivers, and he played well for Los Angeles in 2014/15, starting 27 of his 38 games with the team and averaging 7.2 PPG and 6.3 RPG, with a .589 FG%, in just 21.1 minutes per contest.
Black was used exclusively in a reserve role in 2015/16 for the Lakers, and saw his minutes reduced to just 12.7 per game, but the team apparently still liked what it saw from him enough to lock him up to a multiyear deal.
As Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets, based on the numbers, it looks like it will be an Early Bird signing, which means that the Lakers won’t have to allocate any extra cap space for Black. Currently, his cap hold is worth $1,180,431, which is the amount of his qualifying offer. The Lakers will be able to keep that number on the books until they run out of cap room (if they do so), at which point they can exceed the cap to finalize Black’s new deal.
2016 NBA D-League Expansion Draft Results
The NBA D-League conducted its expansion draft today, allowing the league’s three new teams to add the rights to 12 players apiece. The league’s previously-existing 19 teams had been permitted to retain the rights to 10 players each, leaving the rest of their players unprotected and free to be drafted, as Chris Reichert of UpsideMotor.com explained earlier today.
As we noted on Tuesday, the D-League’s three new franchises this year are affiliates for the Nets (Long Island Nets), Hornets (Greensboro Swarm), and Bulls (Windy City Bulls).
The players those three teams added today won’t necessarily play for them this season — in fact, it’s somewhat rare for expansion draftees to suit up for their new clubs, as D-League Digest tweets. Many of those players will try to catch on with an NBA team or will end up playing overseas. Still, the expansion draft gives the D-League’s new teams some assets as they start to build their rosters for the coming season.
Per Reichert, here are the results of today’s expansion draft. The player’s former D-League team is noted in parentheses, and picks are ordered by round. The teams will hold their players’ rights for the next two seasons:
Long Island Nets (Twitter link)
- Gary Forbes (Grand Rapids Drive)
- Carrick Felix (Santa Cruz Warriors)
- Jamaal Franklin (Los Angeles D-Fenders)
- Akil Mitchell (Rio Grande Valley Vipers)
- Peyton Siva (Delaware 87ers)
- Alex Kirk (Canton Charge)
- Austin Freeman (Westchester Knicks)
- Kendall Gray (Iowa Energy)
- Lazar Hayward (Los Angeles D-Fenders)
- Dwayne Polee Jr. (Reno Bighorns)
- Matt Bouldin (Fort Wayne Mad Ants)
- Lewis Jackson (Salt Lake City Stars)
Greensboro Swarm (Twitter link)
- Josh Davis (Austin Spurs)
- Abdul Gaddy (Maine Red Claws)
- Tony Bishop (Rio Grande Valley Vipers)
- Scotty Hopson (Sioux Falls Skyforce)
- Toure’ Murry (Sioux Falls Skyforce)
- Rodney Williams (Oklahoma City Blue)
- Josh Huestis (Oklahoma City Blue)
- Ralston Turner (Grand Rapids Drive)
- Keanau Post (Raptors 905)
- Damien Wilkins (Iowa Energy)
- Kris Joseph (Westchester Knicks)
- Dee Bost (Raptors 905)
Windy City Bulls (Twitter link)
- Wesley Saunders (Austin Spurs)
- Kiwi Gardner (Santa Cruz Warriors)
- Ralph Sampson III (Maine Red Claws)
- Booker Woodfox (Texas Legends)
- Jerel McNeal (Northern Arizona Suns)
- Akeem Richmond (Reno Bighorns)
- Casey Prather (Northern Arizona Suns)
- Jon Octeus (Canton Charge)
- Justin Dentmon (Texas Legends)
- Jamal Jones (Delaware 87ers)
- Xavier Thames (Fort Wayne Mad Ants)
- Ian Chiles (Salt Lake City Stars)
Latest On Ben Gordon
Ben Gordon didn’t appear in an NBA game during the 2015/16 season, but he hasn’t given up on the idea of returning to the league. And it appears the NBA isn’t the only league he’s considering. According to international basketball journalist David Pick (via Twitter), Gordon likes the idea of playing ball overseas.
Pick clarifies that, despite an earlier report, Gordon has not received a contract offer from Anadolu Efes, a team located in Istanbul. It’s not clear whether the Turkish club has interest in Gordon, but according to Pick, no offer from Anadolu Efes is on the table for the veteran guard at the moment.
Although he was waived by the Warriors during the 2015 preseason and averaged just 14.1 minutes per contest during his last season in the NBA, with the Magic, Gordon recently expressed a desire to continue his playing career.
“I would definitely love to get back in the league after being out for a year,” Gordon told Ian Begley of ESPN.com earlier this month. “Just watching the way the game is being played, up and down. Obviously, the three-point shot is always a big deal but it seems like just now, more than ever, that shot is being used more and more. So I feel like I can still play at a high level and shoot that three-ball and add that kind of depth to a team that may be looking to fulfill that need. So yeah, I definitely have hopes of making a return with an NBA team or just playing period, wherever that may be.”
An 11-year veteran, Gordon scored more than 11,000 NBA points during his time in Chicago, Detroit, Charlotte, and Orlando. In his 744 regular-season contests, the 33-year-old has averaged 14.9 PPG and shot 40.1% on three-pointers.
Poll: Should Nets Trade Brook Lopez?
Shortly after he was hired, new Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson raved about Brook Lopez, suggesting that he views the big center as an important part of the club’s rebuilding plan. Lopez expressed similar enthusiasm earlier this month, telling Fred Kerber of The New York Post that he feels like the Nets are the moving in the right direction. Lopez also helped the team recruit free agents this offseason.
Still, the Nets project to be a lottery team this season, and perhaps the year after that too. That’s a problem for Brooklyn because a poor finish won’t allow the team to add a potential star with a top pick — the Celtics have the ability to swap first-round picks with the Nets in 2017, and own Brooklyn’s pick outright in 2018.
In other words, the Nets’ rebuilding process could be a long, painful one, and it will likely extend beyond the end of Lopez’s current contract, which expires in 2018. As such, it’s no surprise that the 28-year-old’s name has surfaced in trade speculation. Lang Greene of Basketball Insiders identifies Lopez as one of three trade candidates to watch as the season approaches, while Michael Pina of RealGM.com argues that the Nets should trade Lopez at some point — it’s just a matter of finding a fit.
Pina has a hard time finding a suitable trade partner for the Nets, eventually landing on the Bucks as a suitor that could make sense. However, he concedes that even Milwaukee isn’t a perfect match, and points out that it may not be easy for Brooklyn to pick up long-term assets in a deal involving Lopez. Even though the Nets probably should trade Lopez, Pina writes, simply selling him to the highest bidder may not be an ideal course of action.
Our poll question is fairly simple: Should the Nets trade Lopez during the 2016/17 league year? But there are nuances to the discussion. What sort of assets should Brooklyn be targeting? Do you see any team that would make sense as a trade partner for the Nets? Could it be in the club’s best interests to hang on to Lopez and perhaps seek a deal in 2017/18, allowing him to be a veteran presence this season on a young roster?
Vote in our poll, and weigh in below in the comment section to share your thoughts!
Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.
Timberwolves Sign Toure’ Murry, John Lucas III
The Timberwolves have added a pair of players to their offseason roster, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com, who reports (via Twitter) that the team has signed guards Toure’ Murry and John Lucas III. While RealGM’s transactions log lists Murry’s deal as official, it’s not clear if Lucas’ signing has also been formalized.
Murry, 26, appeared in 51 games for the Knicks during the 2013/14 season, but has only played in five NBA games since then, enjoying brief stints in Utah and Washington. Lucas has a more extensive NBA resume, having played in 237 regular season contests with the Rockets, Bulls, Raptors, Jazz, and Pistons. The 33-year-old averaged 4.8 PPG and 1.5 APG in those games, shooting 34.5% on three-pointers.
According to Stein, both Murry and Lucas will be given the opportunity to compete for a roster spot in Minnesota this fall. However, for that to happen, the Wolves would need to either trade or cut a player with a guaranteed salary. Currently, the club has 15 players on guaranteed contracts, including Ricky Rubio, Kris Dunn, and Tyus Jones at point guard, and Zach LaVine, Shabazz Muhammad, and Brandon Rush at the two.
[RELATED: Minnesota Timberwolves’ depth chart at RosterResource.com]
One other scenario that could open up a roster spot in Minnesota would be a retirement decision from Kevin Garnett. For now, Garnett – who has one year remaining on his contract – hasn’t made a call one way or the other on his future.
Contract Details: Terry, Bolomboy, Yi
More and more of the deals being signed by players with NBA teams as training camps approach will be non-guaranteed, minimum-salary pacts which essentially function as camp invites. However, there are still a handful of players getting a decent amount of guaranteed money in their newly-signed contracts. Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders has updates on a few of those players, so let’s round up the details…
- Jason Terry‘s one-year contract with the Bucks is a guaranteed, minimum-salary deal, according to Pincus (via Twitter). While the cap hit for Milwaukee will be just $980,431, Terry – who has more than 10 years of NBA experience – will earn the highest allowable minimum salary, worth $1,551,659.
- Joel Bolomboy, the 52nd overall pick in this year’s draft, received a fully guaranteed first-year salary of $600K from the Jazz, and has half of his minimum second-year salary guaranteed as well, per Pincus (Twitter link). Utah’s cap flexibility allowed the team to sign the Weber State alum for more than the minimum and for three years; a $1MM+ commitment in guaranteed money suggests the club expects Bolomboy to be on its regular-season roster.
- We passed along the general details of Yi Jianlian‘s unusual contract with the Lakers on Tuesday, but in a series of tweets, Pincus goes into more detail as he attempts to figure out exactly how the deal will work. Jianlian has nearly $7MM in likely incentives on his one-year deal, and Pincus believes those incentives will be tied to how many games the Chinese big man plays, with multiple checkpoints along the way.
Salary Cap Snapshot: Milwaukee Bucks
With the free agent signing period winding down and teams looking ahead to the preseason, we at Hoops Rumors will be tracking the Salary Cap figures for each team around the league. These posts will be maintained throughout the season once financial data is reported. They will be located on the sidebar throughout the year, once all the teams’ cap figures have been relayed. You can always check RosterResource.com for up-to-date rosters for each franchise, with the Bucks’ team page accessible here.
Here’s a breakdown of where the Bucks currently stand financially:
Guaranteed Salary
- Greg Monroe —$17,145,838
- Khris Middleton —$15,200,000
- John Henson —$12,267,606
- Mirza Teletovic —$10,500,000
- Matthew Dellavedova —$9,607,500
- Spencer Hawes — $6,348,759
- Jabari Parker —$5,374,320
- Giannis Antetokounmpo —$2,995,421
- Thon Maker —$2,568,600
- Tony Snell — $2,368,327
- Larry Sanders —$1,865,547 [Waived via Stretch Provision]
- Rashad Vaughn —$1,811,040
- Michael Beasley —$1,403,611
- Steve Novak — $980,431 [Waived by team; actual salary — $1,551,659]
- Jason Terry — $980,431 [Actual salary — $1,551,659]
- Malcolm Brogdon —$925,000
- Terrence Jones —$230,690 [Waived by team; actual salary — $247,285]
- Axel Toupane —$51,449 [10-day contract (Feb 25)]
- Gary Payton II —$35,166
Total Guaranteed Salary= $92,659,736
Cash Sent Out Via Trade: TBD. An unknown amount was sent to the Hornets in the Miles Plumlee trade. [Amount Remaining $3.5MM]
Cash Received Via Trade: $200K received from Cavaliers in Matthew Dellavedova trade [Amount Remaining $3.3MM]
Payroll Exceptions Available
- Trade Exception — $5,000,000 (Roy Hibbert trade) — Expires on 2/23/18
- Trade Exception — $1,733,880 (Tyler Ennis trade) — Expires on 9/22/17
- Trade Exception — $1,151,241 (Miles Plumlee trade) — Expires on 2/2/18
- Trade Exception — $815,199 (Michael Carter-Williams trade) — Expires on 10/17/17
- Room Exception — $2,898,000
Total Projected Payroll: $92,659,736
Salary Cap: $94,143,000
Estimated Available Cap Space: $1,483,264
(Note: team would have to renounce trade exceptions to use cap space)
Luxury Tax Threshold: $113,287,000
Amount Below Luxury Tax: $20,627,264
Last Updated: 4/6/17
The Basketball Insiders salary pages and The Vertical’s salary database were used in the creation of this post.
And-Ones: Matthews, Harden, Hunter
Wesley Matthews says he is fully recovered from the Achilles tear he suffered in 2015 and predicts much stronger results for his second campaign with the Mavericks, Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com relays. “I want the season to start now,” Matthews said. “I’m a whole different person. I’m a whole different player, and I’m really just excited to get out there and show it, and just to be who I know I can be and just to continue to grow. Obviously, it was different coming off of an Achilles [injury] and not having four or five months to prepare and all that stuff, and jumping right into the season being physically able to play every single game and play heavy minutes. It took until about after the All-Star break for me to get my legs back, because I play both ends of the court. And I feel better than when I got hurt.”
Here’s more from around the league:
- Despite the roster and coaching changes the team has made, the Rockets will only go as far as James Harden takes them, writes Oliver Maroney of Basketball Insiders. The guard is one of the most criticized players in the league, Maroney notes, something that GM Daryl Morey disagrees with. “He’s only a polarizing figure to people who don’t watch,” Morey told Maroney. “Players voted him MVP [in 2014/15] for a reason. He’s had a winning team every season of his career, with multiple Conference Finals appearances.”
- The Long Island Nets, Brooklyn’s D-League affiliate, named Ryan Gomes and Pat Rafferty as assistant coaches, the team announced via press release.
- ESPN’s Chad Ford (Insider subscription required) released his first mock draft for 2017. The current top three, according to Ford, are Markelle Fultz (Washington), Harry Giles (Duke) and Josh Jackson (Kansas).
- R.J. Hunter, James Young, John Holland, and Ben Bentil are expected to compete for the Celtics‘ final regular season roster spot, though Hunter appears to have the advantage heading into the preseason, Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe writes. Regardless of any advantage he has, Hunter plans on earning his place on the team, Himmelsbach adds. “I’m a competitor, so it’s just absolutely motivation for me,” Hunter said. “I think it just adds an extra competitive spirit to training camp, which is a great way to get the year started. So I’d rather have it that way, because now I have no reason not to be on my toes on every possession and at every practice. So I’ll try to use it to my advantage.”