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Month: October 2016

Pacific Notes: Lakers, Ulis, Durant

By | at October 7, 2016 8:50 pm

Zach Auguste faces stiff competition to make the Lakers‘ roster, but the team is impressed the forward thus far in camp, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders writes. “Zach is relentless on the offensive glass,” Walton said. Auguste’s contract is only partially guaranteed for $60K and Walton admitted that players’ contracts are considered when determining playing time in camp. “We’re going to continue to give the guys who are under [fully guaranteed] contracts the first and second looks, so the reps aren’t always as high [for the non-guaranteed players],” Walton added.

  • The Suns believe Tyler Ulis can be part of the team’s long-term plans and they plan to bring him along slowly, Tyler Emerick of NBA.com writes. Ulis may not see many minutes this season because of the team’s backcourt depth, but coach Earl Watson has a plan for the Kentucky product. “He has to be close to our coaches – in the next seat over,”  Watson said. “He has to read the play calls of the other team. He has to call them back on the bench and learn the other team’s offense. So when he gets the opportunity, he’s well-prepared mentally.”
  • The Lakers have hired Lorena Martin as their Director of Sports Analytics, according to the team’s website. Los Angeles also added Jennifer Swanson as their Head Physical Therapist, Stacey Robinson as their Massage Therapist and Sean Light as an Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach.
  • Kevin Durant is enjoying his adjustment to the Warriors‘ culture, Anthony Slater of the Bay Area News Group passes along. “I’m used to going into practice and having it a certain way,” Durant said. “These guys around here are super loose. But disciplined at the same time. It’s just a fun brand. They make basketball just even more fun than it was.”
0 comments Golden State Warriors Los Angeles Lakers Phoenix Suns

Cavs Notes: James, Point Guards, Thompson

By | at October 7, 2016 7:50 pm

Dwyane Wade doesn’t believe it’s possible for LeBron James to surpass Michael Jordan’s legacy, Nick Friedell of ESPN.com passes along. “The only thing you can do is tie it,” Wade said. “You can’t go past it. How can you? That’s as great as it gets, man. The only thing you can do, like I said, is be A-1, A-B. There’s no way higher.” Wade added that he and James have never discussed the legacy comparison.

Here’s more from Cleveland:

7 comments Cleveland Cavaliers

Wizards Expected To Waive Daniel Ochefu

By | at October 7, 2016 6:33 pm

The Wizards will soon waive Daniel Ochefu, international journalist David Pick reports (Twitter link). Washington signed the forward to partially guaranteed, three year minimum salary deal over the summer.

The franchise entered the day with 18 players under contract, as the team’s depth chart at Roster Resource indicates. Washington bolstered their bench through free agency, adding Ian Mahinmi and Jason Smith in the frontcourt, so the 22-year-old was never expected to make the team.

Ochefu averaged 10.0 points and 7.5 rebounds in 23.4 minutes per game for Villanova. He was a major contributor in the Wildcats’ championship run.

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Gordon Hayward Injures Finger, Likely Out Six Weeks

By | at October 7, 2016 4:37 pm

5:17pm: Surgery is an option for Hayward, but no decision has been made yet, Tony Jones of the Salt Lake Tribune reports  in a series  of tweets. Jones also adds that it’s Hayward’s left ring finger which is injured. The injury occurred when he got his hand caught inside a teammate’s jersey.

4:37pm: Gordon Hayward has suffered a finger injury expected to keep him out of action for a little while, according to Chris Haynes of ESPN.com, who tweets that Hayward dislocated a finger on his left hand. Jody Genessy of The Deseret News adds some more details, reporting (via Twitter) that Hayward’s finger is broken in addition to being dislocated. Per Genessy, the Jazz forward is expected to miss six weeks and will be re-evaluated in three weeks.

[RELATED: Offseason In Review: Utah Jazz]

The injury is an unfortunate setback for Hayward and the Jazz, who have been viewed as a candidate to take a major step forward in 2016/17. While Utah didn’t make a huge splash in free agency this summer, the team added some veteran help by signing Joe Johnson and trading for George Hill and Boris Diaw. With the newcomers expected to complement an improving young core that includes Hayward, Derrick Favors, Rodney Hood, Rudy Gobert, Dante Exum, and others, the Jazz are widely viewed as a good bet to make the playoffs in the West.

Hayward’s injury shouldn’t seriously impact the Jazz’s odds of making the postseason, but if he’s sidelined for six weeks, he’ll miss some regular-season action. If Hayward is able to return to the court for the team exactly six weeks from today, he’d be back for Utah’s 14th game of the season.

A former ninth overall pick, Hayward was the Jazz’s leading scorer last season, setting a new career high with 19.7 PPG. The 26-year-old also chipped in 5.0 RPG, 3.7 APG, and 1.2 SPG, while making 1.8 three-pointers per contest.

0 comments Newsstand Utah Jazz

Grizzlies Waive Tony Wroten

By | at October 7, 2016 4:03 pm

Veteran point guard Tony Wroten finds his name on the NBA’s transaction wire once again, with the Grizzlies announcing today in a press release that they’ve waived him from their roster. It’s the third time since the end of the season that Wroten has been cut, including the second time by Memphis.

Wroten, the 25th overall pick in the 2012 draft, appeared in just eight games for the Sixers last season before Philadelphia waived him in December. The Knicks later signed Wroten to a two-year deal, minimum-salary deal that contained no guaranteed money for the 2016/17 campaign, but removed him from their roster in June when they acquired Derrick Rose from the Bulls. The Grizzlies claimed him off waivers at that point, cut him in July, and re-signed him in August.

When Memphis initially claimed, waived, and re-signed Wroten, it appeared the team just wanted to make sure he was under contract on modified terms, but it’s unlikely that’s the case this time around. The Grizzlies had guaranteed a small portion of the point guard’s salary for 2016/17, so the team will carry a cap hit of $25K after waiving Wroten, assuming he goes unclaimed.

With Wroten no longer on the roster, Wade Baldwin and Andrew Harrison will continue to vie for the backup point guard job behind Mike Conley. Check out the Grizzlies’ depth chart at RosterResource.com.

5 comments Memphis Grizzlies Newsstand Transactions

NBA Teams That Made Most Offseason Trades

By | at October 7, 2016 3:48 pm

While most NBA teams rely on a variety of different types of roster moves to revamp their rosters in the offseason, a club can sometimes find itself leaning more heavily on one approach in a given summer. That could mean signing a handful of free agents and forgoing the trade route. It could mean loading up on draft picks and staying out of free agency.

For the teams we’ll examine in this post, the trade market was a primary means of addressing their rosters over the last few months. Each of the clubs we’ll discuss below made at least three trades since the end of the season. In some cases, the moves were designed to cut costs and clear cap room; for other teams, those deals were a way to add talent without having to foray into the free agent market, where contract prices were at an all-time high.

Let’s dive in and examine the teams that made the most trades this offseason…

Orlando Magic

The Magic certainly didn’t sit out free agency, bringing players like Bismack Biyombo and Jeff Green aboard on big-money deals. You could also make the case that the team made the biggest trade of the offseason by landing Ibaka. if Ibaka doesn’t mesh well with Biyombo and Nikola Vucevic, and Meeks misses significant time with injury issues this season, Orlando’s offseason deals won’t look great, but the club remains optimistic for now.

Utah Jazz

The Jazz were a perfect example of a team that used its cap room to improve via trades rather than free agency. The salaries for Hill and Diaw easily fit within the team’s cap space, and while Hill cost a first-round pick, Diaw was essentially a salary-dump for the Spurs. The Jazz were also on the other end of a couple salary dumps, most notably sending Pleiss to the Sixers for Marshall, a player they immediately waived.

Chicago Bulls

While Lopez figures to be a key piece in Chicago this season, the deal with the Knicks was more noteworthy for the star headed in the other direction, as the Bulls finally decided to move Rose, a Chicago native and a former MVP. The Bulls significantly revamped their roster using free agency as well, and the trades of Dunleavy and Calderon reflected the team’s need to create cap room for those signings.

Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cavaliers used the trade market well this summer, acquiring Dunleavy from a Bulls team that couldn’t afford to keep him, and only parting with cash to acquire Felder, who could be the team’s backup point guard. Kaun, meanwhile, was a salary dump, reducing Cleveland’s future tax bill, while the Dellavedova deal allowed the club to get something out of nothing, since Dellavedova had already agreed to sign an offer sheet the Cavs weren’t going to match.

Indiana Pacers

Like Utah, Indiana isn’t typically a big-time free agent destination, so the Pacers turned to the trade market to make a couple of their biggest moves of the summer, landing Teague and Young, who will likely both start for the club this season. Indiana dove into free agency a little, signing Al Jefferson, Aaron Brooks, and Kevin Seraphin, but I’d expect their trade acquisitions to have a larger impact in 2016/17.

Milwaukee Bucks

The Bucks could move up this list before the regular season gets underway, since the team continues to scour the market for a player to replace Khris Middleton. Milwaukee also reportedly wouldn’t mind moving Greg Monroe and Michael Carter-Williams.

Oklahoma City Thunder

Moving Ibaka was the major move for the Thunder, and one that occurred while the team still had a shot at re-signing Kevin Durant. It would have been interesting to see what the team would have looked like in 2016/17 with Sabonis, Oladipo, and Ilyasova playing alongside KD and Russell Westbrook, but even with Durant no longer in the mix, the move could pay off for Oklahoma City. Sabonis looks like a promising young big man who won’t be expensive for the next few years, and Oladipo could be the backcourt mate the Thunder have long been seeking for Westbrook.

Other teams that made more than one trade this offseason:

  • Atlanta Hawks
  • Brooklyn Nets
  • Charlotte Hornets
  • Dallas Mavericks
  • Denver Nuggets
  • Detroit Pistons
  • Golden State Warriors
  • Los Angeles Clippers
  • Memphis Grizzlies
  • New Orleans Pelicans
  • Philadelphia 76ers
  • Portland Trail Blazers
  • Sacramento Kings

For the full rundown of the offseason’s trades to date, check out our list right here.

0 comments Chicago Bulls Cleveland Cavaliers Hoops Rumors Originals Indiana Pacers Milwaukee Bucks Oklahoma City Thunder Orlando Magic Utah Jazz

Community Shootaround: Duncan, KG, And Kobe

By | at October 7, 2016 2:16 pm

Kobe Bryant‘s final season was one of the NBA’s top stories throughout the 2015/16 season, capped with a 60-point performance in the Lakers’ regular-season finale against the Jazz. However, Bryant wasn’t the only longtime NBA star who called it a career in 2016. Tim Duncan announced his retirement in the summer, and Kevin Garnett did the same this fall.

Bryant, Duncan, and Garnett are three of the most accomplished players of the last two decades, having combined for four MVP awards, 11 NBA titles, and an incredible 48 All-Star appearances. While they were hardly at their best in 2015/16, their career résumés prior to last season were strong enough to ensure they’ll become Hall-of-Famers as soon as they become eligible.

In a community roundtable, the basketball writers at SI.com look at the three retired stars and attempt to determine which one they’ll miss the most. The trio had very different styles of play, with Garnett defined by his intensity on the court, while Duncan was more of a steady, calm presence in San Antonio. As for Kobe, his production was more unpredictable than that of the two forwards, but he also had the ability to put up 50 points on any given night.

As we enter the first NBA season since 1994/95 in which none of these three players will take the court, which one will you miss the most? Bryant, Duncan, or Garnett? Take to the comments section below to weigh in and share your thoughts on the three retiring stars.

5 comments Community Shootaround Los Angeles Lakers Minnesota Timberwolves San Antonio Spurs

NBA Free Agents Who Signed Overseas

By | at October 7, 2016 12:46 pm

As our 2016 Free Agent Tracker shows, a good deal of the players who finished the 2015/16 campaign with an NBA team but without a contract for 2016/17 have since signed new deals with NBA clubs. However, some players in that category ended up heading overseas for the coming season.

Signing a deal with a club in Europe, Asia, or elsewhere doesn’t necessarily mean that a player was unable to find any NBA teams interesting in adding him. Joining an international team can give a player the opportunity to earn a greater role, often serving as a primary option rather than as a 10th or 11th man. It can also be more lucrative and provide a little more cost certainty than an NBA deal — Norris Cole, for instance, reportedly received only minimum-salary offers from NBA clubs, but was able to land a multi-million dollar deal in China.

Listed below are the players who, according to our tracker, finished last season with an NBA team and reached an agreement with an international club. There are far more players who have some form of NBA experience and will head overseas — just this week, for example, camp invitees Jabari Brown and Richard Solomon, having been waived by NBA teams, agreed to terms with teams in China and France, respectively. They weren’t on regular-season NBA rosters in the spring though, so they’re not included on the list below.

NBA free agents who signed overseas:

There are also a handful of players who didn’t finish the 2015/16 campaign with an NBA team, but are notable because they’re former top draft picks or All-Stars. Those players are noted below.

Other notable former NBA players who signed overseas:

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Greg Smith To Play In Turkey

By | at October 7, 2016 11:33 am

Veteran NBA big man Greg Smith will head overseas for the next few months, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando, who writes that Smith has signed in Turkey with Istanbul BSB. The team has confirmed that Smith will be joining the roster on a three-month contract, replacing the injured Jarvis Varnado.

Smith, 25, has appeared in 149 total NBA regular-season games over the last five seasons, spending time with the Rockets, Mavericks, and Timberwolves. Last season, he played 18 games for Minnesota, averaging 2.4 PPG and 2.3 RPG in 10.7 minutes per contest. He was waived by the Wolves in June before his salary for 2016/17 became guaranteed.

Assuming Smith’s new team doesn’t extend his contract beyond its current three-month term, the Fresno State product should have the opportunity to catch on with an NBA team later in the season. His stint with the Wolves in 2015/16 began with a pair of 10-day contracts, so Smith could get a look once teams are permitted to hand out 10-day deals this season.

Smith’s new deal in Turkey removes another name from our list of 2016 NBA free agents, a list that is growing increasingly thin.

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Spurs Notes: Ginobili, Lee, Mills, Aldridge

By | at October 7, 2016 10:10 am

While Manu Ginobili is continuing his career with the Spurs this year, several of his longtime teammates are no longer around. Tim Duncan retired this offseason, Boris Diaw was traded to the Jazz, and Matt Bonner has not been re-signed by San Antonio. As Ginobili noted in an article for Argentinian newspaper La Nacion (link via Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype), there has been a real adjustment period for the Spurs this fall without Duncan and others on the team.

“Making it to the locker room and seeing another person in [Duncan’s] place is, without a doubt, odd,” Ginobili said. “It’s been 15 years together; his presence brought a lot of different things. But I insist it’s going to be felt more during the course of the season.

“It also feels strange not having Boris and Matt, who were key too,” Ginobili continued. “Those are big absences. Boris’ is felt on and off the court. Matt’s more off the court because he played less. Those two players made me feel comfortable on a day-to-day basis and everything was enjoyable. I could talk with them about things not related to basketball. I’m going to miss them a lot from a personal standpoint.”

As Ginobili gets accustomed to the new-look Spurs, let’s round up a few other notes from out of San Antonio…

  • Discussing his decision to sign with the Spurs, David Lee called it a “perfect fit,” expressing a desire to win a title in San Antonio, per Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News. “[Gregg Popovich] called me in the middle of the summer and told me they’d love to have me,” Lee said. “We talked a little bit about the role he thought I’d have, and it sounded great.”
  • Lang Greene of Basketball Insiders identifies Patty Mills as one of 20 players entering a contract year who are worth watching in 2016/17. With the salary cap on the rise, Mills may be in line for an eight-figure payday, Greene writes.
  • LaMarcus Aldridge, the Spurs’ big free agent signing in the summer of 2015, is feeling much more comfortable heading into this season, writes Michael C. Wright of ESPN.com. As Wright details, Aldridge is much more confident this year, no longer feeling like he has to defer to longtime Spurs like Duncan, Ginobili, and Tony Parker.
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