Metta World Peace Hoping To Play Three More Years
Metta World Peace is hoping to play professional basketball for 20 seasons, Mark Medina of The Orange County Register writes. “I want to finish off strong,” World Peace said. “It’s not about what it will mean to me. It’s about, ‘Can I get there?’”
World Peace faces stiff competition to make the Lakers’ opening night roster, but the veteran isn’t worried about his status on the team. “My concern is having a good time. There’s nothing to overcome,” World Peace said. “I’m a hell of a basketball player. That’s the hard part, becoming a good basketball player. Once you do that, you don’t have to worry about nothing else.”
The Lakers signed the 36-year-old to a one year, non-guaranteed deal last month. The forward similarly signed with the team late last summer and became a mentor to the team’s young talent over the course of the season. Despite the additions of several veterans, such as Luol Deng and Timofey Mozgov, World Peace has a chance to carve out the same role. “We didn’t expect him to make the team last year and he made it,”GM Mitch Kupchak said. “The same thing can happen this year.” If he makes the team, the 2016/17 seasons will be World Peace’s 17th NBA season and 18th overall in his professional career.
Coach Luke Walton and rising star D’Angelo Russell both feel Metta World Peace is nothing like his reputation would suggest and believe the veteran is a great teammate, Tania Ganguli of the Los Angeles Times relays (series of tweets). “Metta is very professional,” Walton said. “There’s a lot of help having him around and having him at camp.” Russell added that the forward took him under his wing last season.
The man formerly known as Ron Artest enjoys hearing the kind words, but understands the reason that he has the adverse reputation. “I used to be a bad teammate,” World Peace lamented.
Submit Your Questions For Hoops Rumors Mailbag
We at Hoops Rumors love interacting with our readers. This is why we provide an opportunity for you to hit us up with your questions in our weekly mailbag feature, which is posted each Sunday.
Have a question regarding player movement, free agent rumors, the salary cap, the NBA draft, or the top storylines of the week? You can e-mail them here: hoopsrumorsmailbag@gmail.com. Feel free to send emails throughout the week, but please be mindful that we may receive a sizable number of questions and might not get to all of them.
If you missed out on any past mailbags and would like to catch up, you can view the full archives here.
Offseason In Review: Oklahoma City Thunder
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 Oklahoma City Thunder.
Free agent signings:
- Ronnie Price: Two years, $5MM.
Draft-and-stash signings:
- Alex Abrines: Three years, $17.175MM.
- Semaj Christon: Three years, minimum salary. First year partially guaranteed. Second and third years non-guaranteed.
Camp invitees:
- Alex Caruso: One year, minimum salary ($50K guaranteed)
- Kaleb Tarczewski: One year, minimum salary ($75K guaranteed)
- Chris Wright: One year, minimum salary ($100K guaranteed)
Contract extensions:
- Russell Westbrook: Three years, $85.741MM. Third year player option. Extension gave him a raise to the maximum salary for 2016/17, added an extra guaranteed season to his contract, and pushed his player option back by one year.
Trades:
- Acquired the draft rights to Domantas Sabonis (No. 11 pick), Victor Oladipo, and Ersan Ilyasova from the Magic in exchange for Serge Ibaka.
- Acquired the draft rights to Daniel Hamilton (No. 56 pick) from the Nuggets in exchange for cash ($730K).
- Acquired Joffrey Lauvergne from the Nuggets in exchange for the Thunder’s 2017 second-round pick (protected 31-35) and the Grizzlies’ 2017 second-round pick (protected 31-35).
Draft picks:
- 1-11: Domantas Sabonis. Signed to rookie contract.
- 2-56: Daniel Hamilton. Has not signed.
Departing players:
Other offseason news:
- Kevin Durant departed in free agency to sign with the Warriors.
- Steven Adams, Victor Oladipo, and Andre Roberson eligible for contract extensions until October 31.
- Mitch McGary suspended five games for a failed drug test, then suspended an additional 10 games for non-compliance with the NBA’s drug policy.
- Cameron Payne suffered another foot fracture and is expected to be sidelined to open the regular season.
- Lost NBA rights to 2012 second-round pick Tomislav Zubcic.
Check out our salary cap snapshot for the Oklahoma City Thunder right here.
It is difficult to argue that any team in the NBA had a worse start to its offseason that the Thunder, who lost future Hall-of-Famer Kevin Durant to a conference rival via free agency. While KD’s defection to the Warriors is likely to sting for a number of years, things are not as bleak as they may seem for fans of the team. A number of moves by GM Sam Presti over the summer have made the team younger and set up the franchise for a solid future and interesting campaign ahead.
The biggest external move by the Thunder this offseason was made with the intent to make OKC’s roster more desirable for Durant to re-sign with the team. I’m referring to the draft day trade that shipped out power forward Serge Ibaka to Orlando in exchange for combo guard Victor Oladipo, big man Ersan Ilyasova and the draft rights to No. 11 overall pick Domantas Sabonis. Despite not having the desired effect of keeping Durant in the fold, the swap should pay strong dividends for the franchise.
In Oladipo, the Thunder may have finally found a long-term answer for who they will pair in the backcourt alongside superstar Russell Westbrook. Since the ill-advised trade of James Harden back in 2012, one which I believe cost the franchise an NBA title, the team has struggled to find a suitable partner for Westbrook. The 24-year-old Oladipo, whose three-and-D game appears to be a perfect fit with the Thunder’s roster, has the opportunity to blossom into a star with Oklahoma City. His solid perimeter defense will be a boon with the plethora of mad-bombers out West, and his outside shooting should take pressure off of Westbrook and the team’s up-and-coming big men.
I won’t pretend that Ibaka won’t be missed, but the team should be able to weather his loss in aggregate with the solid depth it has in the frontcourt. The addition of Ilyasova will help, though he’s not close to being the defender that Ibaka is/was. Ilyasova can provide an offensive spark from deep, with the 29-year-old owning a 37% mark from beyond the three-point arc for his career. He’s in the last year of his current deal, so his addition is a low-risk, high-reward prospect for the Thunder. The Turkish big man will likely open the season as the starter at the four spot for OKC. The other benefit of shipping out Ibaka, who is an unrestricted free agent at season’s end, is that it will make the task of retaining Oladipo and center Steven Adams, both of whom are headed for restricted free agency next summer, a much easier task.
Landing Sabonis in the trade is icing on the cake for Presti. The rookie out of Gonzaga is one of the more polished players in this year’s draft class and while he may not make a noticeable impact on the court this season, Sabonis is a solid building block for the franchise moving forward. The 20-year-old averaged 17.6 points, 11.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game while shooting 61.1% from the field, including a mark of 35.7% from three-point range during the 2015/16 campaign. He is also an excellent passer, a strong rebounder and looks to be a prototypical stretch-four in the NBA. His defense will need work before he is to log significant minutes, but he’s a smart player who should figure it out sooner rather than later.
The Thunder obviously have an enormous hole to fill at small forward, and while Kyle Singler or Andre Roberson, are certainly not the long-term answers, draft-and-stash signee Alex Abrines, who inked a three-year, $17.175MM pact this summer, just might be. The 2013 second-rounder is off to a solid start to the preseason, connecting on four of his five three-point attempts. If he can continue to provide a scoring punch from deep, the Spaniard could become a vital player for the team, who badly need to step up their outside shooting from a season ago. Like any young player, he’ll be a liability on defense, which is another reason why the addition of Oladipo, not to mention the continued development of Adams, is vital to any potential success OKC hopes to have in 2016/17.
The most important move that the Thunder made over the summer was in signing Westbrook to a contract extension. The point guard would have been able to opt out of his deal after the 2016/17 campaign, but he’ll now be in the fold for at least through 2017/18. After the departure of Durant, losing Westbrook would have been beyond devastating for the franchise and its fanbase. Not only does it signal Westbrook’s commitment to the team, it also removes the potential season-long distraction that always accompanies a superstar headed for free agency from the locker room. The 27-year-old should be at the top of the MVP candidate list now that Durant is elsewhere and he’ll likely play this season with an enormous chip on his shoulder as he attempts to demonstrate that he, and the franchise, don’t need Durant around in order to be successful. Western Conference guards had better watch out for Russell this season! Another benefit to extending Westbrook is that the team will have a clearer picture of what it has to work with next offseason, which will help shape the front office’s plans more definitively.
While it would be rash not to classify 2016/17 as a rebuilding/transition season for the franchise, Oklahoma City should be a dangerous team to play on most nights. Health will play a major factor in determining whether or not the Thunder make the playoffs. The loss of Cameron Payne for an extended period of time doesn’t help matters, but as long as Westbrook and Oladipo can remain out of street clothes during games and produce, the team should give its fans plenty to root for. It will take some time to get over the loss of Durant, not just for the fans, but for the franchise as a whole. While I don’t necessarily expect OKC to contend for an NBA title this season, the franchise’s offseason re-tooling has it headed in the right direction.
Salary information from Basketball Insiders used in the creation of this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Brice Johnson Out Indefinitely With Back Injury
Clippers rookie Brice Johnson has suffered a herniated disc in his lower back and will be out of action for an indefinite amount of time as a result, Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com reports. The goal is for the forward to avoid surgery, and Johnson will be miss at least four-to-six weeks, Goodman notes. The injury occurred during L.A.’s preseason contest against the Raptors.
The loss of Johnson isn’t a major blow to the Clippers, seeing as Blake Griffin, Brandon Bass, DeAndre Jordan, and Marreese Speights are all ahead of him on the team’s frontcourt depth chart. However, it will certainly set the No. 25 overall pick’s development back in his rookie campaign.
Johnson appeared in the team’s first two preseason games, averaging just 1.0 point and 1.0 rebound in 5.6 minutes per outing. The 22-year-old was extremely solid in summer league play in Las Vegas this offseason, notching 15.4 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 31.1 minutes. His shooting line was .500/.000/.850.
Eastern Conference Salary Rankings: Point Guards
Hoops Rumors is in the process of ranking the salaries, separated by conference, for each NBA player by position. We’ve already looked at the point guards, shooting guards, small forwards, power forwards and centers of the Western Conference and will now turn our attention toward the East, beginning with the point guard spot.
All told, the teams in the east have committed a total of $276,502,813 in cap hits this season to the men who man the one spot. The average conference salary for point guards this season is currently $4,937,550, with Derrick Rose topping the list with $21,323,252 to account for on his year-end W-2 form.
It should be noted that teams won’t necessarily pay out every dollar listed here. There are quite a few players who have non-guaranteed or partially guaranteed contracts. Some of those players won’t make it out of the preseason, while others will be sweating it out until January 10th. That’s when teams must waive players with no specific guarantee date written into their contracts to avoid having to guarantee their salaries for the rest of the season. In addition, incentive clauses that a player either triggers or fails to meet can leave a player with more or less money than his cap hit reflects. Still, the purpose of this list is to show the relative pay scale by position, which is why all contracts are included in this post.
I should also add that not every player listed below will play the point this season, as some will likely see some time at shooting guard. To maintain uniformity, I used their positions listed on the teams’ official rosters to determine which list to include them on. So if you see a player who isn’t expected to play point guard for his team this season listed below, that’s why.
The Eastern Conference’s point guards are listed below, in descending order of salary:
- Derrick Rose [Knicks] —$21,323,252
- Kyrie Irving [Cavs] —$17,638,063
- John Wall [Wizards] —$16,957,900
- Goran Dragic [Heat] —$15,891,725
- Reggie Jackson [Pistons] — $14,956,522
- Rajon Rondo [Bulls] — $14,000,000
- Kyle Lowry [Raptors] —$12,000,000
- Kemba Walker [Hornets] — $12,000,000
- Jeremy Lin [Nets] — $11,483,254
- Matthew Dellavedova [Bucks] — $9,607,500
- Jerryd Bayless [Sixers] —$9,424,084
- Sergio Rodriguez [Sixers] —$8,000,000
- Jeff Teague [Pacers] — $8,000,000
- Cory Joseph [Raptors] —$7,315,000
- D.J. Augustin [Magic] —$7,250,000
- Rodney Stuckey [Pacers] — $7,000,000
- Isaiah Thomas [Celtics] —$6,587,132
- Ramon Sessions [Hornets]— $6,000,000
- Ish Smith [Pistons] — $6,000,000
- Deron Williams [Waived by Nets via stretch provision] — $5,474,787
- Brandon Jennings [Knicks] —$5,000,000
- C.J. Watson [Magic] —$5,000,000
- Greivis Vasquez [Nets] — $4,347,826
- Marcus Smart [Celtics] —$3,578,880
- Trey Burke [Wizards] —$3,386,598
- Michael Carter-Williams [Bucks] — $3,183,526
- Dennis Schröder [Hawks] — $2,708,582
- Aaron Brooks [Pacers] — $2,700,000
- Elfrid Payton [Magic] —$2,613,600
- Terry Rozier [Celtics] —$1,906,440
- Jerian Grant [Bulls]— $1,643,040
- Delon Wright [Raptors] —$1,577,280
- Jarrett Jack [Hawks] — $1,551,659
- Beno Udrih [Heat] — $1,551,659
- Demetrius Jackson [Celtics] — $1,450,000
- Toney Douglas [Cavs] — $1,315,448
- Joseph Young [Pacers] — $1,052,342
- Brian Roberts [Hornets] — $1,050,961
- Lorenzo Brown [Pistons] — $1,015,696
- Will Bynum [Hawks] — $1,015,696
- Isaiah Canaan [Bulls] — $1,015,696
- Ray McCallum [Pistons] — $1,015,696
- Spencer Dinwiddie [Bulls] — $980,431
- Jorge Gutierrez [Nets] — $980,431
- Julyan Stone [Pacers] — $980,431
- T.J. McConnell [Sixers] —$874,636
- Casper Ware [Wizards] — $874,636
- Briante Weber [Heat] —$874,636
- Andrew Andrews [Hornets] — $543,471
- Cat Barber [Sixers] — $543,471
- Kay Felder [Cavs] —$543,471
- Yogi Ferrell [Nets] — $543,471
- Trey Freeman [Pistons] — $543,471
- Chasson Randle [Knicks] —$543,471
- D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera [Bulls] — $543,471
- Fred VanVleet [Raptors] —$543,471
Atlantic Notes: Bennett, Lowry, Bradley
Anthony Bennett is hoping to salvage his NBA career with the Nets this season. In an interview with Oliver Maroney of Basketball Insiders, Bennett addressed his individual goals for the season, telling the scribe, “I just want to come in and become a part of the Nets family. My work ethic is something that I want to speak for itself. I want to show my ability to lead by example, a skill I got through playing with Team Canada. This year, one of my goals is to have fun with the game again. And I want to represent the city of Brooklyn and the Brooklyn Nets the best I can on and off the court.”
In response to a question about why he believed Brooklyn would be a good fit for him, Bennett told Maroney, “Our mix of youth and experience is something that makes us unique. We have good chemistry, everybody seems to be unselfish and is playing the game the right way. I just want to fit in the best I can with the team, starting with my defense and rebounding. My offensive game will be an extension of those things.”
Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony was reportedly never a fan of Jeremy Lin‘s when the two were teammates. When asked about Lin potentially becoming the face of the Nets franchise, ‘Melo may have taken a veiled shot at the point guard, Ian Begley of ESPN.com writes. “What do I think about it? … He is the face of that franchise, believe it or not. He came up, they paid him and now the ball is in his hands,” Anthony said. “So now he’s one of the franchise players over there. What do you want me to say about that? I’m happy for him, excited for him to see how it’s going to work out, turn out over there.” The wording in question is the “believe it or not” portion of the statement, Begley adds. It should be noted that during the same interview, Anthony said that he’d love to have Line back with the Knicks.
- Given the current economics around the NBA, it should come as no surprise that Kyle Lowry intends to opt out of his deal with the Raptors at season’s end, writes Doug Smith of The Toronto Star. The scribe also classifies the point guard as a “young 30-years-old,” given that he was a reserve for a large portion of his career.
- Avery Bradley has made his name in the NBA as a tenacious defender, but the Celtics guard wants to change the perception that he’s limited offensively, Chris Forsberg of ESPN.com relays. “I want people to see me as a two-way player,” said Bradley. “A defensive player and an offensive player. It’s fun, man. That’s what the game is supposed to be about: always wanting to get better, be the best you can be. I hold myself to that every single summer, every single year. I’m just trying to improve. I love the game of basketball so much. I have a lot of goals for myself. I want to make sure I compete every single day.“
Hoops Rumors Originals: 10/2/16-10/8/16
Here’s a look back at the original content and analysis generated by the Hoops Rumors staff this past week.
- As part of our Offseason In Review Series, we looked at the following teams:
- Will Joseph highlighted some of the better basketball blogs around in his weekly installment of Hoops Links.
- Luke Adams ran down all the players who have the ability to veto/block trades this season.
- Arthur Hill answered reader questions in our Weekly Mailbag. Here’s how you can submit your own questions for our mailbag feature.
- We ran down the salary rankings of the power forwards and small forwards of the Western Conference.
- We ran down all the free agents who have signed overseas this offseason.
- In our Community Shootarounds this week we discussed:
- Will Joel Embiid, Nerlens Noel, Jahlil Okafor and Ben Simmons ever play a game together as Sixers teammates?
- If the Pistons need to make a move to add point guard depth?
- Which recently retired player do you miss the most heading into the new season?
- Our Free Agent Tracker continues to have up-to-date data on this summer’s contract agreements and signings from around the NBA.
- We looked at which NBA teams made the most trades this offseason.
- You can stay up to date on any contract extensions agreed to this season with our tracker.
- If you haven’t already, be sure to download the Trade Rumors app for your iOS or Android device.
Week In Review: 10/2/16-10/8/16
With the preseason now in full swing, here’s a look back at all the notable news and events from around the NBA this past week:
Waivers
- The Hawks waived Richard Solomon.
- The Cavaliers waived Eric Moreland.
- The Pelicans waived Chris Copeland.
- The Bulls waived Vince Hunter.
- The Bucks waived Jabari Brown.
- The Grizzlies waived Tony Wroten.
- The Wizards waived Daniel Ochefu.
Signings/Agreements
NBA
- The Cavaliers signed Toney Douglas.
- The Hawks signed Josh Magette.
International
- Norris Cole signed with the Shandong Golden Stars of the Chinese Basketball Association.
- Jabari Brown signed with the Jilin Northeast Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association.
- Richard Solomon signed with Gravelines-Dunkerque in France.
- Greg Smith signed in Turkey with Istanbul BSB.
News/Rumors
- The NBA suspended Kings point guard Darren Collison for the first eight games of the regular season.
- The Timberwolves added Ed Pinckney to their coaching staff.
- Former NBA guard Salim Stoudamire has some interest in attempting an NBA comeback.
- The Jazz hired former NBA player DeSagana Diop as a coaching associate.
- Bulls rookie Denzel Valentine is expected to miss at least two weeks of action due to a left ankle sprain.
- Kyle Lowry plans to opt out of his deal after the season, though, he still hopes to re-sign with the Raptors.
- Nuggets shooting guard Gary Harris suffered a partially torn groin muscle and is expected to miss four to six weeks.
And-Ones: VanVleet, Crawford, Lorbek
Fred VanVleet has a chance to make the Raptors’ opening night roster and the point guard is making the most out of his opportunity, Doug Smith of the Toronto Star writes. “When I’m out there, try to make it hard to notice who is the guy trying to make the team,” VanVleet said. “[I] try to be seamless in that regard, look like one of the starters, look like a bench player and look like you belong.”
Here’s more from around the league:
- Jordan Crawford will return to the D-League and play for the Westchester Knicks, sources tell Chris Reichert of Upside Motor (Twitter link).
- Center Wally Niang will play in the D-League this season, Reichert reports (Twitter link). Niang played in the Liga ACB League in Europe during the past two seasons.
- Erazem Lorbek, whose rights right were traded to the Spurs in the Kawhi Leonard deal, has agreed to play for Barcelona’s farm team, Lassa II of LEB Gold, according to international jounralist David Pick (Twitter link).
Western Notes: Stephenson, Kings, Cousins
Lance Stephenson has an edge over Alonzo Gee for a roster spot on the Pelicans because of his versatility, John Reid of The Times-Picayune opines. Stephenson’s ability to play point guard will be especially useful with Jrue Holiday set to miss significant time. Reid also added that he wouldn’t be surprised if New Orleans ends up trading Gee.
Here’s more from around the league:
- New Kings head coach Dave Joerger aims to change the culture in Sacramento, Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee writes. “I think it’s what we hope to have on a nightly basis,” Joerger said. “A mindset of being physical, being active. Flying around, being a good teammate, each guy up and down the line and helping each other.”
- The Kings signed Matt Barnes this offseason and DeMarcus Cousins is happy to have the veteran on his team, Jones adds in the same piece. “He’s a true competitor,” Cousins said. “He leaves it all out there on the floor. I think he’s a great role model for the younger guys on how to approach a game on a nightly basis.”
- Gordon Hayward will likely miss six weeks after injuring his left ring finger and Ryan McDonald of the Deseret News examines his absence from the court will impact the Jazz.