Community Shootaround: 2016/17 NBA MVP
Stephen Curry has won each of the last two NBA Most Valuable Player awards, but his path to a third straight trophy is complicated by the arrival of another former MVP, Kevin Durant. With Durant now a Warrior, both he and Curry could see their scoring averages take a slight hit, and without a clear-cut top star leading the way in Golden State, the duo may split votes during award season.
Both players, of course, are still strong MVP candidates. Offshore betting site Bovada.lv views Curry as a top-three contender for the award, and puts Durant in the next tier behind him. Still, as the site’s odds show, there’s some uncertainty surrounding the MVP race heading into the 2016/17 season.
Russell Westbrook is Bovada’s favorite for the award, and the idea that the point guard will put up massive numbers without Durant has been a popular narrative throughout the offseason. Still, the Thunder are widely expected to take a step back in the standings. Would Westbrook’s candidacy lose steam if Oklahoma City is battling to even make the playoffs in the West?
Along with Curry, LeBron James rounds out Bovada’s top three, but there’s a belief that LeBron will play fewer minutes than ever this season after carrying the team to a title in the spring. James has racked up a ton of miles over the course of his NBA career, and with the Cavaliers clearly atop the pecking order in the East, the team may not need him to play every game, or even to play 30 minutes per game, to snag a top seed.
Bovada’s other top contenders? Anthony Davis, who is already battling an ankle issue; Kawhi Leonard, who has never ranked among the NBA’s top 10 scorers; and James Harden, whose Rockets are coming off a disappointing season. Further down the list, Paul George, Blake Griffin, Damian Lillard, Kyrie Irving, Carmelo Anthony, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Chris Paul are among the other top candidates, per Bovada.
What do you think? Who will be the NBA’s Most Valuable Player in 2016/17? Will it be a repeat winner like Curry, Durant, or LeBron, or will a new name be added to the league’s list of MVPs? Is there a long-shot candidate you think has a realistic chance to take home the hardware? Take to the comments section below to weigh in!
Jazz Waive Eric Dawson, Quincy Ford, Marcus Paige
The Jazz have begun paring down their roster in advance of the regular season, announcing today in a press release that Eric Dawson, Quincy Ford, and Marcus Paige have been placed on waivers. The team’s roster now stands at 17 players, so two more cuts will be necessary before opening night.
[RELATED: Offseason In Review: Utah Jazz]
Dawson and Ford both signed free agent contracts with the Jazz this offseason, but were always viewed as long shots to make the club’s regular-season roster. While Dawson’s deal was fully non-guaranteed, Ford got a modest $75K guarantee, which will remain on Utah’s cap unless he’s claimed on waivers.
As for Paige, the rookie guard was the 55th overall pick in this year’s draft, and received a $125K guarantee from the Jazz. By waiving him, the team forfeits its NBA rights to Paige, so he’ll be free to join another NBA team if he clears waivers. If he goes unclaimed and unsigned, the 23-year-old is probably a good bet to join the Salt Lake City Stars, Utah’s D-League affiliate.
The Jazz now have 14 players on fully guaranteed salaries, plus Henry Sims on a partially guaranteed deal ($75K) and Chris Johnson and Jeff Withey on non-guaranteed pacts. Withey is expected to earn the club’s final roster opening.
Southeast Notes: Magic, Ibaka, Hawks, O’Bryant
Within a piece on Kevin Murphy‘s quest for a roster spot, Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel notes that Magic officials likely want to open the season with 14 players instead of the maximum 15, to maintain some flexibility. Still, if the team decides to carry a 15th man with a non-guaranteed contract, that player could be cut any time before January 10 and Orlando wouldn’t be on the hook for his full salary. As Robbins notes, Jodie Meeks‘ absence could help improve Murphy’s chances of earning a roster spot for the Magic.
Here’s more from out of the Southeast:
- In another story for The Sentinel, Robbins notes that Serge Ibaka showed signs in his Magic debut on Wednesday of why the team traded for him. Meanwhile, new Orlando head coach Frank Vogel believes the frontcourt additions the team made this summer, including Ibaka, will benefit Elfrid Payton, as John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com details.
- The Hawks announced earlier this week that big man Tiago Splitter is expected to miss at least four weeks of action due to a hamstring injury, but Splitter’s status shouldn’t have an impact on how the team’s final roster is determined, per head coach Mike Budenholzer (Twitter link via Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution).
- After spending two seasons in Milwaukee, Johnny O’Bryant talks to Ava Wallace of The Washington Post about making the transition to Washington, where he’s battling to earn a roster spot with the Wizards.
Griffin: Free Agency “Nothing I Really Think About”
As the first installment of our 2017 free agent power rankings shows, Blake Griffin figures to be one of the biggest names available next summer, trailing only a pair of probable Warriors free agents – Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry – in terms of star power and value. However, Griffin didn’t exactly jump at the chance to discuss his potential free agency, telling SiriusXM NBA Radio that it’s “nothing I even really think about” (SoundCloud link).
“[I] haven’t had the conversation with anybody,” Griffin said about his free agency. “That includes friends, family, agents, coaches, teammates. It’s not a conversation I have. I got a lot of basketball left to play this year. I got a full season and postseason, still got some preseason. So that’s on the back on my mind. I’ll deal with that one when the appropriate time comes, but right now isn’t the time.”
Technically, Griffin remains under contract with the Clippers through the 2017/18 season, but that final year of his contract is an early termination option, which functions similarly to a player option. The star forward could reach the open market in 2017 by exercising that option to terminate his contract a year early.
Even if he intends to re-sign with the Clippers, it makes a lot of sense for Griffin to opt out, since he could ensure he gets a raise for 2017/18 on a new deal. Currently, Griffin is slated to earn a salary of $21,373,952 for the ’17/18 season. If he opts out and signs a new contract next July, he’d be eligible for a starting salary in the neighborhood of $28.8MM, based on the NBA’s most recent cap projection.
While Griffin doesn’t seem eager to discuss his looming free agency, there are no indications yet that the Clippers are at risk of losing him. As head coach Doc Rivers noted when he addressed the issue over the summer, as long as L.A. plays well this season, there’s no reason the team shouldn’t enter next summer as the strong favorite for Griffin, and for teammate Chris Paul, who also has an early termination option for 2017/18.
“With Steve [Ballmer as team owner], I’m extremely confident that we can keep both,” Rivers said in July of Griffin and Paul. “You know, listen, winning is the key. The better we play on the floor, the better chance we have of not only keeping those guys but actually adding to our basketball team. That’s always the key factor in this. Quality of life is important, being comfortable, players getting along with the staff and each other. All that goes into it. But I think we’re in a good place there. I know both of them have said they want to play here. They want to play for us forever.”
Pacific Notes: Clippers, Bogut, Deng, Tolliver
Four positions are set for the Clippers, but the starting small forward could vary from game to game, writes Dan Woike of The Orange County Register. Luc Mbah a Moute, Wesley Johnson, newcomer Alan Anderson and even shooting guard Austin Rivers may get starts at the position, although coach Doc Rivers would like to see someone step up and claim it. “You always want separation. That’s always nice,” Rivers said. “I don’t know who it will be. I’m hoping it will be someone, but I can’t predict the future. It’d be nice, but if not, it’ll be matchup-based.” It’s a familiar problem for the Clippers, who used Lance Stephenson, Paul Pierce and Johnson at the position last season before giving the role to Mbah a Moute.
There’s more tonight out of the Pacific Division:
- Even as they were making history with 73 wins, the Warriors were dealing with Kevin Durant rumors all season, Andrew Bogut tells Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com. Bogut believes the Warriors knew well before summer that they were likely to sign Durant, and he says he isn’t surprised that he was traded away. “Andre Iguodala and I knew it was one of us that was going to go, and it was me,” Bogut said. “That’s part of the business. I have no gripes about it. You get a Hall of Famer — he’s going to be a Hall of Famer — in K.D. If I’m the GM, I do the same deal. That’s just the reality of the business.”
- New coach Luke Walton helped lure Luol Deng to the Lakers, according to Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News. Deng liked the impressive history of the franchise and the idea of living in Los Angeles, and of course the four-year, $72MM offer was a huge factor. But he says the transition to Walton, who took over the team after serving as Steve Kerr‘s lead assistant in Golden State, helped seal the decision. “He’s new to coaching, but he has a positive mindset,” Deng said. “The way he coaches, he really respects players and demands respect back.”
- At age 31, newly signed Anthony Tolliver wants to show the Kings he can be more than just a mentor, relays Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. Sacramento gave the small forward a two-year, $16MM deal over the summer to leave Detroit, but he will have to compete for playing time with Omri Casspi and Matt Barnes. Tolliver doesn’t mind taking on a mentor’s role, but he want to be thought of as a player first. “Maybe in a few years, with a few more miles on my body, maybe I’ll be in that position to be a locker room guy,” Tolliver said. “But right now I feel I can still compete and help teams win games. That’s why I came here to get that chance. Looks good so far.”
Ranadive Draws Angry Response From Geoff Petrie
Geoff Petrie, who ran the Kings’ front office for two decades, is blasting Sacramento owner Vivek Ranadive for a “sophomoric attempt at revisionist history,” writes Kevin Draper of Deadspin. Ranadive conducted a two-part interview with USA Today in which he deflected blame for many of the franchise’s poor decisions. Petrie responded with an email to Draper calling Ranadive’s statements “an ugly lie” and taking issue with “representations regarding [former head coach] Keith Smart, myself, and our professional staff.”
Petrie and Smart were fired shortly after Ranadive’s group purchased the Kings from the Maloof family in 2013. Here are a few excerpts of Petrie’s interview with Deadspin:
On how he handled the transition after the sale took place:
“Leading up to the actual sale of the team, it was obvious the team was going to be sold. What became of the bidding match between the [Steve] Ballmer group and ultimately Vivek’s group, through the league office, people were concerned about their jobs, what their future was going to be, what it would hold for them. And really, we had a group of people there that had been there, and we had worked together for a long time and were part of the best heritage that the Kings have ever had in Sacramento. I brought everybody together at different occasions and said, “Look, we’re going to be professional here, we’re going to continue to work like we’d work any other year, we’ll prepare for the draft like we would every other year, and ultimately we will assist any new people that may come in here and try and make them comfortable and get them situated. And that’s what we did.”
On Ranadive’s statement implying that nobody from the previous regime wanted to stay and work for him:
“The way it came across in the article is like [Ranadivé] came in there and there was nobody there, nobody wanted to be there. Keith Smart wanted to be there! He had a year left on his contract. He didn’t get a discussion or an interview, he got a 90-second phone call in his car that they weren’t going to keep him. How do you arrive at a statement that he didn’t want to be there?”
On his first impression of Ranadive:
“I only had about an 8- or 10-minute little meeting with him. I found him to be a very arrogant and dismissive little chap. He doesn’t seem to understand that he owns it. He was the one that came in with Basketball 3.0, and changing the culture, ‘I have the smartest guys in the room, they’re four steps ahead of everybody else, I have 80 gigs of data, nobody else has that.’ Well, okay, you know?”
On the start of the Kings’ playoff drought:
“The really good team we had, it ultimately had to be rebuilt because the core of that team wasn’t one that started out in its early 20s, it started out in their mid-to-late 20s, so that period of time once you have a core that you can win with and become very good with, the longevity is not … and of course with [Chris Webber’s] injury that accelerated things. We had to get into serious rebuilding, and unfortunately the last three, three-and-a-half years of that period, were under some really difficult operating circumstances salary cap wise, and we were really limited in certain things. And then our last two drafts were not good, which is on us, although we did get Isaiah Thomas and Hassan Whiteside in there.”
On his desire to return to the NBA:
“Listen, I love the NBA. It’s been a lifetime of basically living your dream, even with the ups and downs over some of the different periods. But the ups were so great. You remember the people you worked with and the fans in both Portland and Sacramento are unbelievably loyal. I would like to see them get back to a higher level and all that. But as far as me, I certainly think I could be a good advisor to somebody. With running a team again, without having a really close relationship with the people you’re working with, pre-existing relationships I guess, probably wouldn’t be of great interest. But I am comfortable with the life I have and grateful for what it was up to this point. Fortunate and grateful.”
Offseason In Review: Chicago Bulls
Over the next several weeks, Hoops Rumors will be breaking down the 2016 offseason for all 30 NBA teams, revisiting the summer’s free agent signings, trades, draft picks, departures, and more. We’ll evaluate each team’s moves from the last several months and look ahead to what the 2016/17 season holds for all 30 franchises. Today, we’re focusing on the Chicago Bulls.
Free agent signings:
- Dwyane Wade: Two years, $47MM. Second year player option.
- Rajon Rondo: Two years, $27.397MM. Second year partially guaranteed.
- Isaiah Canaan: Two years, minimum salary. Second year partially guaranteed.
Camp invitees:
- Spencer Dinwiddie: Two years, minimum salary (no guarantee)
- J.J. Avila: One year, minimum salary (summer contract)
- Vince Hunter: One year, minimum salary (summer contract). Waived.
- D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera: One year, minimum salary (summer contract)
- Thomas Walkup: Two years, minimum salary ($69.5K guaranteed)
Trades:
- Acquired Spencer Dinwiddie from the Pistons in exchange for Cameron Bairstow. Subsequently waived Dinwiddie, then re-signed him.
- Acquired Robin Lopez, Jose Calderon, and Jerian Grant from the Knicks in exchange for Derrick Rose, Justin Holiday, and Bulls’ own 2017 second-round pick.
- Acquired the draft rights to Ater Majok from the Lakers in exchange for Jose Calderon, Nuggets’ 2018 second-round pick, and Bulls’ own 2019 second-round pick.
- Acquired the draft rights to Albert Miralles from the Cavaliers in exchange for Mike Dunleavy and draft rights to Vladimir Veremeenko.
Draft picks:
- 1-14: Denzel Valentine. Signed to rookie contract.
- 2-48: Paul Zipser. Signed for four years, $3.832MM. Third year non-guaranteed. Fourth year team option.
Departing players:
- Cameron Bairstow
- Aaron Brooks
- Mike Dunleavy
- Justin Holiday
- Pau Gasol
- E’Twaun Moore
- Joakim Noah
- Derrick Rose
Other offseason news:
- Reportedly considered Jimmy Butler trade scenarios before making him unavailable.
- Taj Gibson eligible for a contract extension. Tony Snell eligible for a contract extension until October 31.
- Acquired D-League rights to 12 players in D-League expansion draft. Named Nate Loenser head coach of expansion Windy City Bulls.
Check out our salary cap snapshot for the Chicago Bulls right here.
The Bulls shook up the league several times this summer. Now we’ll see if they can do it once the season begins.
The most shocking move, of course, was the one that brought Dwyane Wade home to Chicago. A legend in Miami and an indispensable part of that city’s sports foundation, Wade found his relationship with the Heat front office souring for financial reasons. For years, Wade played for less than his market value to give the team enough cap room to add LeBron James and Chris Bosh. But he grew increasingly frustrated with a franchise that was willing to give a maximum contract to Hassan Whiteside, but not to him.
So Wade began shopping his services around the league. The move was widely dismissed as a negotiating ploy — until July 6th, when the 13-year veteran announced that he was taking his talents to Chicago. Wade, whose cousin was killed in August by stray gunfire in the city, said basketball was only part of his motivation for wanting to return to his childhood home.
“Now I’m back in the city of Chicago — I’m back for a reason,” he said. “I played 13 years in Miami. Now I’m back in the city, let me see what I can do as one person to help lend my voice and help shed light on the tragedy that’s going on and find a solution to start the process of making change.”
Before Wade was in their plans, the Bulls made headlines with a blockbuster deal in June, sending former MVP Derrick Rose and Justin Holiday to the Knicks in a trade that brought back Robin Lopez, Jerian Grant and Jose Calderon. Many factors led to the decision to part with Rose, but among them were an injury-plagued past, his impending free agency next summer and an uncomfortable fit with backcourt partner Jimmy Butler.
The Bulls filled the void at point guard by signing free agent Rajon Rondo, last season’s league leader in assists, to a two-year contract worth $28MM. After agreeing to the deal, Rondo called the Bulls a “great organization with pieces around me that I’m excited about.”
Nearly as significant were the moves that the Bulls didn’t make. They held onto Butler despite aggressive attempts by the Timberwolves and Celtics to swing a deal on draft night. The franchise also kept coach Fred Hoiberg, who many thought was on the hot seat after missing the playoffs and being the target of a much-discussed locker room rant by Butler.
But Hoiberg can’t feel too safe as he tries to reconstruct a team that was hit hard by free agent losses. Starting center Joakim Noah, whose season was cut short by a separated shoulder in January, accepted a four-year, $72MM offer to join Rose in New York. Fellow big man Pau Gasol headed to San Antonio for $30MM over two seasons.
Lopez will take over at center, with Nikola Mirotic as the likely starter at power forward because of his 3-point range. Taj Gibson, Bobby Portis and Cristiano Felicio will all be in the mix for playing time. Gibson represents the Bulls’ next major roster decision, as he is eligible to receive a veteran’s extension. He averaged 8.6 points and 6.9 rebounds in 73 games last season, but enters the final year of his contract making just $8.95MM. He could be looking at a substantial raise in free agency if the Bulls don’t re-sign him. Fourth-year swingman Tony Snell, who averaged 5.3 points in 64 games a year ago, is eligible for a rookie-scale extension through the end of October.
Chicago passed up a chance to move up in the draft in a potential Butler deal and settled for its own 14th pick, which it used on Michigan State’s Denzel Valentine. The 6’6″ shooting guard will help make up for the loss of Mike Dunleavy Jr., who was traded to Cleveland to help clear cap space for the Wade signing. With their second-round selection, the Bulls took 6’8″ German swingman Paul Zipser, who seems like a good bet to make the team after getting two guaranteed seasons on his rookie contract.
With just seven players in camp who were on the roster when last season ended, continuity will be a major issue for Chicago. Another will be outside shooting, which neither Butler, Wade or Rondo particularly excels at. Hoiberg promised that floor spacing would be an important part of his coaching philosophy when he accepted the job in June of 2015, but he didn’t have the shooters to make that work last season and this year’s group might be even worse.
It’s up to Chicago’s new version of a Big Three to prove that their unique skills can be effective against defenses that don’t have to worry much about guarding the 3-point line. If they can, it will be a happy homecoming for Wade and a return to the playoffs for the Bulls. If not, it could mean another shakeup in midseason and an early exit for Hoiberg.
Salary information from Basketball Insiders used in the creation of this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Atlantic Notes: Pierce, Rose, Jennings, Sixers
Paul Pierce confirmed last month that 2016/17 will be his final NBA season, writing in a piece for The Players’ Tribune that he intends to retire next year. Pierce’s story for The Players’ Tribune didn’t mention how exactly he plans to go out, but in in a conversation today on SiriusXM NBA Radio, Pierce announced that he’ll retire as a member of the Celtics (Twitter link via Justine Termine of SiriusXM).
That decision comes as no real surprise — Pierce has played for a few different teams in recent years, but spent 15 seasons in Boston, winning a championship with the Celtics and making 10 All-Star appearances as a member of the franchise. He figures to join the team one last time during the 2017 offseason when he signs a one-day ceremonial contract to announce his retirement.
Here’s more from around the Atlantic:
- According to various reporters, including Nancy Dillon of The New York Daily News (Twitter link), the judge in Derrick Rose‘s civil trial denied motions from the defense to dismiss the case or rule it a mistrial. The trial will continue this week, and Knicks head coach Jeff Hornacek said today that Rose won’t rejoin the club until it wraps up, per Marc Berman of The New York Post (Twitter link).
- Carmelo Anthony feels like the Knicks got a “steal” in free agency by landing Brandon Jennings, who still believes he should have been drafted by the franchise seven years ago. Berman has the quotes and the details in a piece for the Post.
- Derek Bodner of PhillyMag.com examines the battle for the Sixers‘ final roster spot, noting that injuries to Nik Stauskas and Brandon Paul have muddied the waters in that competition. Philadelphia technically only has 11 players on fully guaranteed contracts, but Bodner views T.J. McConnell, Jerami Grant, and Elton Brand as near-locks.
Cavaliers Were Interested In Signing Dwyane Wade
The Cavaliers wanted to sign Dwyane Wade this summer, but couldn’t make it work financially, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com.
Cleveland had the highest payroll in the league last season and has more than $122.6MM committed for 2016-17. That left the team with little flexibility when negotiations between Wade and the Heat broke down in early July. But it doesn’t mean the defending champs weren’t very interested.
“We couldn’t afford him,” said LeBron James, Wade’s longtime friend and former teammate in Miami. “It’s that simple.”
Chicago gave Wade a two-year, $47MM deal with a player option on the second season. To clear enough cap space for the signing, all the Bulls had to do was arrange deals involving Jose Calderon and Mike Dunleavy Jr. Ironically, the Cavs benefited from one of those moves, picking up Dunleavy in a deal involving the draft rights to two players taken more than a decade ago.
Cleveland would have needed a major roster adjustment in a short time to create the cap space needed to chase Wade. As it was, all the franchise had to offer was the taxpayer midlevel exception, which was only worth about $3.5MM. That money was eventually used to re-sign Richard Jefferson.
“Who wouldn’t be interested in a Hall of Famer?” Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said about the possibility of acquiring Wade. “That don’t even make sense. Yeah, we wanted him.”
James has spoken often about his friendship with Wade and the possibility of someday teaming up with him, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul. He also addressed the sudden break-up of the dominant Miami teams, while hinting that a reunion with Wade could still occur some day.
“In professional sports things can change from one year to another like that, so I’ve always had that perspective ever since I came into the NBA,” James said. “I’ve always known it’s a business and you could be with one team this year — have teammates this year, the next year you might not have them. That’s part of the business. So I’ll always have that perspective.”
Only Seven TPEs Currently Available Around NBA
The NBA’s huge salary cap spike this summer impacted the free agent market most significantly and most obviously, with second- and third-tier free agents landing larger contracts than they ever otherwise would have. But the cap increase has also had some under-the-radar side effects, including having a significant impact on our list of traded player exceptions.
Traded player exceptions allow over-the-cap teams to acquire a player whose salary is equal than or less to the TPE amount, without sending out any salaries of their own in the deal. However, in order to create a trade exception in the first place, a team must be over the cap. All but three of the league’s 30 teams went under the cap this summer, meaning they renounced their previous TPEs and were unable to create new ones until they went back over the cap.
[RELATED: Hoops Rumors Glossary: Traded Player Exception]
Now that the majority of the NBA teams have used up their cap room, we should see things normalize — there’s a good chance many clubs will create new TPEs with in-season deals, and perhaps they’ll be able to make use of those exceptions before or during next year’s draft, before contracts come off their books in July. For now though, there are only seven TPEs available around the NBA, and only one of those seven has a real chance to make an impact before the 2017 trade deadline.
As our list of outstanding TPEs shows, the Hornets, Clippers, and Bucks each hold a trade exception, but they range in value from $1.2MM to $1.75MM — it’s possible those teams will find a way to use their exceptions, but many of the players whose salaries would fit within those constraints are on minimum salaries, and the minimum salary exception allows over-the-cap teams to acquire those players in trades anyway.
The Cavaliers are the only other team with any TPEs on their books, and Cleveland holds four of them. Three of those exceptions will likely go unused — they’re worth $845K, $947K, and $1.33MM. However, the fourth TPE, created in last year’s Anderson Varejao deadline swap with the Blazers, could come in handy for the Cavs this season. It’s worth $9.64MM.
Of course, given the rising NBA salary cap, more players than ever are earning more than $9.64MM, and wouldn’t fit into Cleveland’s trade exception. By our count, there are 105 NBA players – not including the Cavs’ own players – whose 2016/17 cap hit is too pricey for the Cavs to acquire them using that TPE. Still, while that number may sound high, it works out to just three or four players per squad, which leaves a long shopping list of potential targets for the Cavs, including everyone who is still on a rookie contract.
Will the Cavs end up using that Varejao TPE before it expires on February 18? That remains to be seen, and there are reasons why the team may let it go unused — bringing on additional salary is pricier than it appears on the surface for the Cavs, who will pay a premium as their cap number increases due to the luxury tax. But having that exception gives Cleveland options, and perhaps gives the team a leg up on its competition, since no other over-the-cap club has that sort of potential flexibility in trades.
What do you think? Will the Cavs make use of that trade exception? Which players whose salaries would fit into that TPE do you think Cleveland could target prior to 2017’s trade deadline?