Jennings: Carmelo Trade Rumors Took Toll On Knicks
Although he’s headed to the playoffs as a top-four seed with the Wizards, Brandon Jennings spent most of the season with the Knicks, and said on Thursday that he thinks the constant trade rumors and speculation surrounding Carmelo Anthony had an effect on his old team in the weeks and months leading up to the deadline.
“It definitely took a toll, I think, on the team. Because it wasn’t even about basketball anymore, it was more about what was going on with Melo,” Jennings said, according to Ian Begley of ESPN.com. “… I think it was just a roller coaster, an emotional roller coaster for him this year with everything he had to deal with, which isn’t fair. For a player to wake up every day and you’re hearing trade rumors and you might be gone and this and that. It was like a two-week span where everybody was hitting your phone, (reading reports) about Melo leaving.”
The rumors surrounding Anthony began in earnest around mid-January, when Phil Jackson‘s longtime friend and confidant Charley Rosen published a column criticizing the Knicks forward. Although Rosen dismissed the notion that he was acting as Jackson’s mouthpiece, a handful of reports surfaced in the following weeks suggesting that the Knicks were reaching out to other teams to gauge their interest in the 10-time All-Star, in the hopes that he’d waive his no-trade clause.
Between mid-January and the trade deadline on February 23, the Knicks lost 12 of 17 games, though it’s a bit of a leap to assume that correlation equals causation — even before Rosen’s column was published, New York was off to a sluggish 18-22 start to the season.
Whether or not the constant trade talks had an impact on the Knicks’ on-court performance, Jennings says they weren’t fair to Anthony, as Begley details. In Jennings’ view, Carmelo had “a lot of pressure on him dealing with stuff with Phil.”
Anthony ultimately stayed put at the deadline, but the Knicks are expected to revisit trade possibilities in the summer, at which point Carmelo may be more open to accepting a deal.
Eastern Notes: Pistons, Wizards, Henson, McRoberts
Pistons center Boban Marjanovic and rookie power forward Henry Ellenson will get a long look during the last four games of the season, Aaron McMann of MLive.com reports. Marjanovic, who signed a three-year, $21MM contract as a free agent last summer, has played sparingly behind Andre Drummond and Aron Baynes. Marjanovic could have a bigger role next season if Baynes opts out of the final year of his contract. Ellenson, the team’s first-round selection last June, has spent most of the season with the team’s D-League affiliate in Grand Rapids, Mich. “We will still play our main guys, but we’ll get Henry and Boban in there every night,” coach Stan Van Gundy told the team’s beat reporters.
In other developments around the Eastern Conference:
- Power forward Jason Smith has proven to be a bargain pickup for the Wizards, according to J. Michael of CSNMidAtlantic.com. Smith, who played for the Magic last season, signed a three-year, $15MM deal as a free agent last summer. He’s averaging 5.6 PPG but is shooting 49.2% from 3-point range and 53.1% overall despite getting dropped from the rotation on occasion, Michael continues. His screening has also been a valuable asset, Michael adds.
- Bucks big man John Henson will lose $250K in bonus incentives because of his current thumb injury, Bobby Marks of The Vertical tweets. Henson needed to play in 60 games to collect the bonus. Henson signed a four-year extension in October 2015 that kicked in at the start of this season. The contract is worth between $44MM and $48MM, depending upon if Henson reaches certain incentives.
- Heat forward Josh McRoberts participated in his first contact practice on Tuesday since he was sidelined in late December with a stress fracture in his left foot, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports. Coach Erik Spoelstra is still uncertain if McRoberts will return this season, Jackson adds. McRoberts holds a $6MM option on his contract for next season.
NBA Projects $101MM Salary Cap Next Season
The NBA’s latest salary cap projection for the 2017/18 season is now $101MM, sources told Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. That’s an increase of nearly $7MM over this season’s cap of $94.1MM but lower than previous projections. The tax level is projected to rise $8MM to $121MM next season, Wojnarowski adds. (Twitter links).
This is a slight drop from the projections that Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reported in February. Pincus’ report projected a 2017/18 cap of $102MM with a tax threshold of $122MM. Previous projections had the cap for 2017/18 as high as $108MM, according to RealGM.com.
The somewhat modest increase in the projected cap means that teams will have a little less freedom to throw money around, compared to the free agent spending spree last summer. Players will still make substantial more money than just a couple of seasons ago. The cap was $70MM last season and hovered between $53.1MM in 2006/07 to $63MM in 2014/15.
Southwest Rumors: Anderson, Pelicans, Nowitzki, Spurs
Rockets power forward Ryan Anderson is expected to return to action this weekend after missing six games with a sprained right ankle, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle reports. Anderson practiced without limitations on Thursday and could return as soon as Friday against the Pistons, Feigen continues. Anderson feels it’s important to return to action before the postseason, as he relayed to Feigen. “It’s super valuable for me, in my mind, to be out there before the playoffs, to get my wind back, get back to the flow of playing with the group,” Anderson said. “Obviously, we want to have our full group ready to go at the best we can be for the playoffs. We have a few games to do that. We’ll be good. The timeline’s working out well.”
In other developments around the Southwest Division:
- Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry believes his club can be a serious playoff contender next season if it re-signs unrestricted free agent point guard Jrue Holiday, William Guillory of the New Orleans Times-Picayune writes. Gentry is brimming with optimism that the trio of Holiday, DeMarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis can succeed after seeing the team go 8-5 over the past 13 games. “I think we’re light years ahead of where we were,” Gentry told Guillory. “We’ve got arguably two of the best 10 players in the NBA. Then you add Jrue to the mix, and hopefully that’s going to be somebody we can keep on our team, you’ve got guys that are a year older playing (together).”
- Dirk Nowitzki realizes the Mavericks are probably a few years away from being a serous contender again but he’s enjoying his mentoring role, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com. The team holds a $25MM option on Nowitzki’s contract for next season and he looks forward to playing with an increasingly younger group at least one more year, MacMahon adds. “To turn this around, to be a franchise that plays for the championship, is going to probably take a few years again,” Nowitzki told MacMahon. “I’ve got to do what I can to keep this thing going and get the young guys to improve and see where we can take this next year.”
- New Mexico contacted Spurs assistant James Borrego regarding its head coaching job, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical tweets. Borrego, an Albuquerque native, was the interim coach of the Magic in 2015 before joining Gregg Popovich’s staff.
Draft Notes: Ball, Fultz, Boatwright, Freudenberg
Potential top pick Lonzo Ball has hired Harrison Gaines as his agent, league sources told Shams Charania of The Vertical. It’s a curious choice, given that Gaines has no other NBA clients. However, Gaines will join Ball Sports Group, a new company created by Ball’s outspoken father, LaVar. The UCLA freshman point guard averaged 14.3 PPG, 6.7 APG and 4.7 RPG in his one-and-done season.
In other draft news:
- Ball and Washington freshman guard Markelle Fultz are in a virtual dead-heat to be the top pick, according to ESPN Insider Chad Ford. Speaking to executives and scouts from potential lottery teams, Ford determined that the Celtics, Magic, 76ers, Knicks, Timberwolves, Hornets and Pacers are more likely to select Fultz, while the Suns, Lakers, Pistons, Kings, Mavericks, Pelicans, and Nuggets appear to be leaning toward Ball. Kansas forward Josh Jackson and Duke forward Jayson Tatum could also jump into the picture after the lottery results are revealed and the winning team makes its final evaluation, Ford adds.
- USC sophomore Bennie Boatwright will test the draft waters but not hire an agent, according to the Trojans’ twitter feed. The 6’10” Boatwright averaged 15.1 PPG and 4.5 RPG during his sophomore campaign, including 18.0 PPG in three NCAA Tournament games. He’s ranked as the No. 75 overall prospect by Ford but does not appear on the DraftExpress Top 100.
- St. John’s forward Richard Freudenberg will return to Europe to pursue professional opportunities, Zach Braziller of the New York Post tweets. Freudenberg, a German native, averaged just 1.3 PPG and 1.3 RPG in his lone college season.
NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 4/6/17
With the NBADL playoffs now underway, here are Thursday’s D-League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
- The Lakers assigned guard David Nwaba to their affiliate, the D-Fenders, according to the D-League team’s Twitter feed. Nwaba, who has become a rotation player for the Lakers, contributed 10 points, five rebounds and three assists in 29 minutes against the Spurs on Wednesday. The D-Fenders have a playoff game against the Rio Grande Valley Vipers on Thursday.
- The Rockets assigned point guard Isaiah Taylor and forward Kyle Wiltjer to Rio Grande, its D-League affiliate, according to the Rockets’ Twitter feed. Taylor and Wiltjer were sent down for the Valley Vipers’ playoff game against the Los Angeles D-Fenders. Taylor, a rookie out of Texas, made his NBA debut on Sunday, playing 15 minutes against the Suns. Wiltjer, who attended Gonzaga, has appeared in 13 games with Houston but none of his outings lasted more than six minutes.
Eastern Notes: Pistons, Raptors, Rondo
The Pistons are all but eliminated from playoff contention and coach/executive Stan Van Gundy plans on using the last few games to evaluate the team, Keith Langlois of NBA.com writes. “We’ll try to get to 10 guys a night,” Van Gundy said.
He added that he’s seen enough out of Aron Baynes, who’s been playing well lately. “We may occasionally give one of our guys who’ve been in the rotation a rest, but not all of ’em at the same time. The guy who will be affected the most – doesn’t mean he won’t play – is a guy who’s been playing really well, Baynes,” SVG said.
Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- The Raptors believes Serge Ibaka and P.J. Tucker have helped to alter the identity of the team, Dan Feldman of NBC Sports relays. “They gave us physical toughness,” coach Dwane Casey said, “that we haven’t had.”
- Bulls point guard Rajon Rondo is day-to-day with a sprained wrist, Sam Smith of NBA.com relays. Rondo won’t play tonight against the Sixers.
- John Henson is expected to return to the lineup over the last two games of the regular season, Sirius XM Radio passes along via Twitter. The big man has missed the last eight games for the Bucks with a thumb injury.
Western Notes: Galloway, Carraro, Mavs, Gasol
Langston Galloway came to the Kings in the DeMarcus Cousins trade and didn’t get much playing time initially, but he’s finding the court now as the team begins to rest its veterans. Coach Dave Joerger credits the point guard for staying ready even though he wasn’t receiving consistent minutes, as Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee relays.
“I think he has a survivor mindset. … That mindset that, ‘you know what, when I get my opportunity I’m going to be ready’ and he’s done that,” Joerger said. “He’s practiced hard, he’s worked hard and he’s been ready, keeping himself ready for whatever minutes may come.”
Galloway is making $5.2MM this season and he can become a free agent during the summer if he turns down his $5.434MM player option for the 2017/18 campaign.
Here’s more from the Western Conference:
- Lakers assistant GM Glenn Carraro has resigned, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (Twitter link). Carraro has been with Los Angeles since 2000.
- It would be shocking if the Mavericks don’t select a point guard in the upcoming draft, Kevin Sherrington of the Dallas Morning News writes. Dallas currently owns the ninth spot in our Reverse Standings and there should be several point guard prospects worthy of being selected at the top of the draft.
- Offseason addition Pau Gasol added the 3-pointer to his game and Jeff McDonald of the Express News notes that the big man has made over 54% of his attempts from downtown. That figure, which isn’t likely to decrease severely over the next few games, is by far the best percentage for a 7-footer in NBA history. Gasol has fit in well since coming to the Spurs and he has one more season on his contract after this one.
Luke Kennard Declares For 2017 NBA Draft
Duke shooting guard Luke Kennard has elected to enter the 2017 NBA draft, the school announced today (Twitter link). The sophomore will hire an agent, forgoing his remaining years of NCAA eligibility.
[RELATED: 2017 NBA Draft Early Entrants List]
Although Kennard didn’t have a great performance in this year’s NCAA tournament, he enjoyed an excellent second season at Duke overall, increasing his production across the board after a solid freshman year. The 20-year-old racked up 19.5 PPG, 5.1 RPG, and 2.5 APG on .489/.438/.856 shooting in 2016/17.
Kennard ranks as the 21st-best prospect on Jonathan Givony’s big board at DraftExpress.com, with Chad Ford placing him at No. 32 on ESPN’s top 100. Ford views Kennard as a potential first-round pick, noting that the Blue Devils guard is a great outside shooter in a draft class that isn’t necessarily packed with great outside shooters.
[RELATED: Jayson Tatum to enter 2017 NBA draft]
Duke continues to wait on a decision from Grayson Allen, who may also opt to leave school early and enter the draft. However, ESPN’s Jeff Goodman tweets that he recently heard there’s a “decent chance” of Allen remaining with the Blue Devils for another year.
Kevin Durant On Track To Return On Saturday
APRIL 6, 12:59pm: Durant will play in Saturday’s game against New Orleans, barring any setbacks, the Warriors announced today (via Twitter).
APRIL 3, 4:18pm: The Warriors are targeting this Saturday’s contest with the Pelicans for Kevin Durant‘s return, sources tell Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). It was previously reported that the team was optimistic about a return before the end of the regular season.
The 2013/14 MVP has begun to play in 3-on-3 and 4-on-4 contact situations, Stein adds in a full-length piece. Coach Steve Kerr said Durant will be in the starting lineup when he is ready to play.
“Hopefully we can get him in for a couple of regular-season games,” Kerr said on Sunday.“We’ll see how it goes. We’ll see what the training staff says. I’m not too worried about incorporating him because he’s been with us all season and fit right in from the beginning. So whenever he gets back, we’ll plug him back in there and watch his minutes.”
If Durant is able to return for Saturday’s game, that would give him the potential to play in three games before the postseason begins.