Central Notes: Cavaliers, Jackson, Freeman, Bulls
The Cavaliers are a veteran team, but with role players like Matthew Dellavedova, Timofey Mozgov, and Mo Williams no longer in the mix, some of the club’s young players may have to step up this season. As Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com details, two of those young players, Jordan McRae and Kay Felder, have looked promising so far this fall. McRae joined the Cavs down the stretch last season, while Felder was a second-round pick in this summer’s draft.
Here’s more from out of the Central:
- Within his latest Pistons mailbag at NBA.com, Keith Langlois says he’d be “willing to wager” that Reggie Jackson will be in the club’s starting lineup on opening night of the regular season. There have been indications that Jackson could miss six to eight weeks of action, but that’s viewed as a worst-case scenario.
- Aaron McMann of MLive.com takes a look at Pistons camp invitee Trey Freeman, who recently had a workout for the coaching staff of the Grand Rapids Drive and could end up with Detroit’s D-League affiliate if he doesn’t make the team’s 15-man roster.
- Dwyane Wade‘s veteran leadership is paying early dividends for the Bulls, writes Nick Friedell of ESPN.com, while K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune notes that the presence of Wade and Rajon Rondo in Chicago could help Jimmy Butler evolve into a leader.
Zach Randolph Transitioning To Bench Role
JaMychal Green will start at the power forward position for the Grizzlies, nudging Zach Randolph to the bench, Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal reports (Twitter links). Green’s placement into the starting lineup almost surely indicates he will make the team. His contract is only partially guaranteed for $200K this season, but his whole salary worth roughly $980K will become guaranteed on January 1, according to Bobby Marks of The Vertical (Twitter link).
Randolph has been a regular starter for Memphis since coming to the team in 2009. The 35-year-old understands the change and is putting the team first, as Tillery passes along (Twitter links). “I’m fine with it. You know how I am. Whatever is best for the team,” Randolph said.
New Grizzlies head coach David Fizdale reportedly told Z-Bo that he’s not going to be paid to be a starter anymore, Tillery relays (Twitter link). “Let’s audition you for what you can be for the rest of your career,” Fizdale said. The power forward will make roughly $10.36MM in the last year of his deal before becoming eligible for free agency next summer. That figure is currently fourth on the team.
Randolph had a nice season last year, but the move is more about the evolving NBA than it is with the level of his play. Having two traditional big men on the floor for long stretches isn’t a recipe for success anymore.
The move is also about the Grizzlies trying to manufacture some offense out of their thin bench unit. Without plucking Randolph from the starting lineup, Memphis’ second unit could have been the worst of any team in the league with serious playoff aspirations. Rookie Wade Baldwin may not be ready to play meaningful minutes. New addition Troy Daniels should be solid, but can he be the team’s sixth man? Can a 39-year-old Vince Carter still make plays? How consistent will James Ennis be on a night-to-night basis? The team surely hopes a few contributors emerge in its second unit, but it doesn’t look all that dangerous on paper.
Moving Randolph to the second unit ensures the team will have a least one player on the court who can create some offense once the starters hit the pine. Randolph is willing to do whatever is takes to win. He’s a fan favorite in Memphis and part of the reason is his dedication to the team. “If Coach [Fizdale] wants me to play 10 minutes, I’ll come in and play the hardest 10 minutes,” Randolph said.
Brandon Jennings Plans On Staying With Knicks
Brandon Jennings has only played one preseason game with New York, yet the point guard feels the team is a great fit long-term. “I plan on staying,” Jennings said on his Twitter feed. “[There’s] nothing like being a Knick, I feel the energy already!” (note: Jennings has since deleted the tweet).
The 27-year-old signed a one year, $5MM deal with the Knicks during a busy offseason for the franchise. New York’s plan was to have an experience point guard lead the second unit and be able to step into the starting lineup in the event that Derrick Rose would suffer another injury. Rose is currently healthy, but he’ll be absent from the team to defend himself in his civil trail, so Jennings may get an opportunity to play with the starters this preseason. Jennings, like Rose, will be a free agent next summer and if Jennings plays well this season, he could land himself a salary that’s in line with other starting point guards at the end of the year.
Jennings was drafted by the Bucks with No. 10 overall pick in the 2009 draft. After his rookie campaign, it appeared he was on his way to stardom and there was a case to be made that he was the best guard in his rookie class, one that included Stephen Curry, James Harden and Tyreke Evans. However, his next six seasons didn’t look as promising and when Jennings became an unrestricted free agent over the summer for the first time in his career, there weren’t many suitors lining up for his services.
Jennings was recovering from a torn Achilles injury last season, but he appears to be fully healthy entering this season. He scored seven points and dished out four assists in Tuesday’s preseason game.
Gary Harris Likely To Miss Start Of Season
Gary Harris suffered a partially torn groin muscle and is expected to miss four to six weeks, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (Twitter link). The injury occurred on Monday night during the Nuggets’ first preseason game.
Denver has several options to replace Harris’ production in the starting lineup. Will Barton unexpectedly excelled last season off the bench and coach Mike Malone could insert him into the starting lineup to begin the year. While Barton is certainly qualified to be the team’s starting shooting guard, I’ll speculate that 2016 No. 7 overall pick Jamal Murray gets the nod. Malik Beasley is an excellent shooter and lurks as a candidate to see increased minutes should Harris’ injury linger.
The Bulls selected Harris with the No. 19 overall pick in the 2014 draft and subsequently dealt him to the Nuggets in the Doug McDermott draft night trade. He averaged 8.5 points in 24.1 minutes per game over the last two seasons.
Bucks Waive Jabari Brown
The Bucks have waived shooting guard Jabari Brown, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). Brown signed with the team roughly two weeks ago.
If Brown opts to rejoin the D-League, he will play for he Los Angeles D-Fenders since the Lakers’ affiliate owns his rights, Chris Reichert of Upside Motor notes (Twitter link). The 23-year-old played 41 games with D-Fenders over the last two seasons.
The team entered the day with 19 players under contract, as the team’s depth chart at Roster Resource indicates. Brown had an opportunity for playing time in Milwaukee, as someone needed to fill Khris Middleton‘s void. Instead, it’s likely that new additions Matthew Dellavedova and Jason Terry will see increased usage.
Wolves Notes: Thibodeau, Muhammad, Rubio
Wolves coach/executive Tom Thibodeau didn’t want to make too many personnel moves during his first offseason with the team, instead, he wanted a chance to evaluate Minnesota’s talent during the preseason to determine which pieces of the core were going to be in his plans moving forward, Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com relays. “I liked the core of the team. I want to get to know them better,” Thibs said. “I’m going to focus on the players we have. That gives me a better idea of what our needs are. It’s like building a house. We’re still working on the foundation.”
Here’s more from Minnesota:
- Thibodeau named Peter Patton the team’s shooting coach in part because he was highly recommended by Chip Engelland, the legendary shooting coach of the Spurs, Kent Youngblood of the Star Tribune passes along. “He’s had an opportunity to work with a number of our players already. I like his background. I like that he’s worked with Chip before and that’s important to us,” Thibodeau.
- Shabazz Muhammad spent his summer working defense and he believes the arrival of Thibodeau will help me become a more complete player, Youngblood writes in a seperate piece. “It’s crazy,” Muhammad said. “I already feel like I’ve gotten way smarter on defense with just the things Coach has been explaining to us. Just attention to detail, his defensive scheme. This is my fourth year and I’m getting the terms down.” The UCLA product is currently eligible for an extension.
- There have been Ricky Rubio trade rumors all offseason and Bradford Doolittle of ESPN.com believes it’s the right time for the Wolves to sell the 25-year-old. Doolittle argues that the team should trade Rubio for some shooting on the wing if rookie Kris Dunn is ready to start at the point.
Eddie Scarito contributed to this post
Kyle Lowry Plans To Opt Out In 2017, Hopes For New Deal With Raptors
During the 2016 offseason, DeMar DeRozan opted out of the final year of his contract with the Raptors, but quickly agreed to terms with the team on a new deal when free agency opened on July 1. If Kyle Lowry has his way, he’ll emulate the path of his All-Star teammate in 2017. Lowry tells Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical that he plans to decline his 2017/18 option, but hopes to re-sign with Toronto.
“If you’re that franchise’s guy, and you’re the guy that they’ve been rolling with, and you’ve given that franchise everything you have, yeah, I think [negotiations] should be easy,” Lowry said. “I think it should be a situation where a guy shouldn’t have to talk to another team. DeMar didn’t have the chance to talk to another team. … For me, I think that at 12:01 a.m. on July 1 – something should be close. If not, I’m open to seeing what else is out there.”
[RELATED: Offseason In Review: Toronto Raptors]
As Wojnarowski points out, Lowry isn’t issuing any sort of threat or ultimatum to the Raptors — his decision to opt out will simply be a reflection of the “robust” free agent market. The veteran point guard is currently set to earn $12MM in 2016/17, with a $12MM option for 2017/18. If he has another All-Star season and hits the market, there’s a very good chance Lowry will receive multiyear offers worth five to 10 times that amount next July, even at age 31.
According to Wojnarowski, Lowry “loves the life he has” in Toronto, and his preference next summer will be negotiating a new long-term deal with the team, preferably for five years. In training camp last week, the Villanova product expressed a desire to avoid talking about his contract throughout the season, so he’ll likely take an approach similar to the one DeRozan took a year ago. And if the Raptors are as aggressive in contract talks with Lowry as they were with DeRozan, it sounds like he won’t be going anywhere.
Lowry ranked ninth last month in the first installment of our 2017 free agent power rankings, though he would have moved up a spot after Giannis Antetokounmpo signed an extension with the Bucks.
Dwyane Wade “Thought About” Cavs In Free Agency
Dwyane Wade was one of the last top free agents to make a decision on his next team back in July, and while the Bulls and Heat were his primary suitors, along with teams like the Nuggets and Bucks, there were whispers that the Cavaliers were involved as well, with amateur sleuths attempting to track the whereabouts of Wade and Cavs owner Dan Gilbert.
Cleveland never really made sense as a destination for Wade unless he and/or LeBron James were willing to take a significant pay cut to make it happen. However, in an interview with Leo Sepkowitz of SlamOnline.com, the longtime Heat star admitted the thought of teaming up with LeBron again crossed his mind, but he ultimately couldn’t pass up the opportunity to return home.
“For me, it’s as simple as, I got a deal in Miami for $41 million, I got a deal in Chicago for $47 million,” Wade said. “It didn’t come down to the money. I thought about Cleveland, but I didn’t fit there. You don’t just do something because, ‘Oh, I could win the ring there.’ I have three rings. I don’t need to chase the ring. This is what I wanted to do. I couldn’t fight it. If you fight it, you’re gonna always be like, You shoulda, or, What could’ve—I don’t like to live my life like that.”
Wade also acknowledged that his decision to leave Miami was one that caught the NBA world off guard, particularly coming on the heels of Kevin Durant‘s announcement that he was leaving the Thunder to join the Warriors.
“I made a decision that was like, ‘What?!’ We were already like, ‘What?!’ when KD made his decision, so it was like, ‘What?! What?!’—like a double ‘What!'” Wade told Sepkowitz. “I’m happy that he made his decision for himself, and myself the same. If you’re a supporter of mine, then you’re happy that I made the decision for me. Doesn’t mean you love it, but you’re happy for me.”
If things don’t go smoothly for Wade and the Bulls in 2016/17, the former Finals MVP will have the opportunity to explore the market again next summer — his two-year deal with Chicago includes a player option.
Atlantic Notes: Paul, Zizic, Knicks, Sixers
Shooting guard Brandon Paul, whom the Sixers signed to a partially guaranteed deal in July, led the team with 15 points in their preseason victory over Boston and has a legitimate shot to make the regular season roster, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
“He was instant offense,” Sixers coach Brett Brown said of Paul’s performance. “You know, he got a bounce, and he had a mentality to come in and make plays. And didn’t have much second-guesses going on … I thought his energy and his bounce stood out. I think defensively, too.”
The 25-year-old played for the Sixers’ Summer League team this offseason, where he averaged 10.7 points and 1.7 steals in 19.6 minutes per game. Here’s more from around the Atlantic:
- After writing about Guerschon Yabusele earlier this week, Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe shifts his focus to the Celtics‘ other draft-and-stash prospect from the first round of the 2016 draft. As Himmelsbach writes, 23rd overall pick Ante Zizic was initially frustrated with Boston’s decision, since he wanted to join the team immediately, but he has adjusted to continuing his career in Croatia, and texts with director of player personnel Austin Ainge nearly every day. “Just to make sure that he knows that he’s in our plans and is a big part of our future,” Ainge said, “and that we’re monitoring his development.”
- The Knicks may be without two of their high-profile additions from the summer for the immediate future, Marc Berman of The New York Post notes. Point guard Derrick Rose heads to Los Angeles to join the $21.5MM civil trial for an alleged sexual assault – which began with jury selection Tuesday – and has indicated he’s unsure when he’ll return to the team, acknowledging that he likely will miss practices on Thursday and Friday, per Berman. Meanwhile, center Joakim Noah is currently sidelined with a hamstring injury that he suffered on Saturday during the team’s final practice of training camp, Berman adds.
- Sixers general manager Bryan Colangelo is taking an “organic” approach to building Philadelphia’s roster, according to Marcus Hayes of The Philadelphia Daily News, who suggests the team will let its frontcourt rotation develop based on which players are healthy and which players produce.
Eddie Scarito contributed to this post.
Community Shootaround: Pistons’ PG Situation
Last week, one Central division team faced some uncertainty at its point guard spot, when the Cavaliers received news of Mo Williams‘ decision to retire, which left the team with just Kyrie Irving and Kay Felder at the point. Cleveland subsequently signed Toney Douglas to provide veteran depth, and now one of their division rivals is facing similar questions at the same position.
Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy revealed today that Reggie Jackson, who is dealing with knee tendinitis and a bone bruise, could miss up to six to eight weeks of action. According to Van Gundy, Jackson is considering treatment options and will make a decision soon (Twitter link via Keith Langlois of Pistons.com). If the point guard undergoes platelet-rich plasma therapy, his recovery timetable would be in that six-to-eight-week range, but it’s possible he’ll be back before then.
Faced with the possibility of being without Jackson for the first few weeks of the regular season, the Pistons are exploring their options. However, Van Gundy said today that it’s unlikely the team would cut one of its young players to add another point guard to provide short-term coverage (Twitter link via Langlois). He added that a trade is also unlikely, per Rod Beard of The Detroit News (Twitter link).
Still, without Jackson, the Pistons are somewhat thin at the point. Ish Smith would move into the starting role, with someone like Ray McCallum, Lorenzo Brown, or Trey Freeman potentially backing him up. McCallum and Brown are both on non-guaranteed deals, so if the team wanted to keep both players for depth purposes, it would mean waiving a player with a guaranteed contract, as Van Gundy noted today (Twitter link via Vincent Ellis of The Detroit Free Press).
Sam Amico of AmicoHoops.net hears that Mario Chalmers and Steve Blake are among the players the free agents the Pistons are considering. Kendall Marshall, Andre Miller, and Kirk Hinrich are also available, and Van Gundy said that the team is keeping an eye on players on other rosters who may be cut before the regular season (Twitter link via Ellis).
What do you think the Pistons should do to address the point guard position, if anything? Are their in-house options fine, or should they add a free agent? If they sign someone, which player would be the best fit? Are Jackson’s knee issues worrisome enough that they should consider adding a veteran guard for the season, rather than for just a few weeks?
Take to the comments section below to weigh in and share your thoughts on the Pistons’ point guard situation.